Cleveland Black Futures Fund announces $1 million to 42 nonprofits in its third round of grantmaking

Close to 40 organizations will also join four peer-learning fellowship groups

Release Date: 2.1.2023

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Foundation and its partners today announced $1 million to 42 organizations in the third round of grantmaking from the Cleveland Black Futures Fund (full list of recipients below). The Fund has amassed nearly $6.2 million since its inception in late 2020 to support the capacity of Cleveland-based nonprofit organizations that are both Black-led and Black-serving. The Fund previously awarded $3,465,000 to 92 organizations in the first two rounds of grantmaking dating back to June of 2021.

For the second consecutive round, the Fund also awarded fellowships that will help organizations build their capacity through one of four focus areas: fund development, leadership development, long-term/strategic planning, and marketing & communications. Close to 40 organizations – some of whom also received a grant in the third round – will participate in each focus area; these groups are designed to foster peer learning among like-minded nonprofits. The foundation is committing additional funding to this effort, including $3,000 stipends to each organization for their participation as well as an outside facilitator in each discipline. The fellowships are expected to launch in February and run for six months.

“It’s hard to believe that the Cleveland Black Futures Fund has supported well over 100 organizations in just 18 months, but it points to the ongoing need in our community,” said Dale Anglin, Cleveland Foundation vice president for program. “The fellowship opportunities were very well received in the last round and we’re committed long-term to continuing those parallel to the grantmaking as both are critical to bolstering the nonprofit network in Greater Cleveland.”

The overarching goal of the Cleveland Black Futures Fund is to strengthen the ecosystem of Black leaders and Black-serving organizations in Greater Cleveland by providing intentional resources to help grow organizational infrastructure and capacity. Long term, the foundation aims to deepen the field of leaders working to dismantle systemic racism and advance the community towards racial equity.

The foundation received more than 140 submissions during the round-three application period, which was open to both new applicants and organizations who didn’t receive funding during the first two rounds. Multiple review teams forwarded recommendations to a seven-person committee comprised of community leaders and foundation representatives, who worked to select the final recipients.

Throughout the first three rounds, the Cleveland Foundation was not able to fund each organization recommended by the grant review teams due to budgetary constraints. The fourth round of funding will focus on resourcing some of the organizations who have applied in past rounds but didn’t receive funding due to a limited budget. In spring 2023, the fourth round of funding will be invitation-only to a subset of prior applicants. Moving forward, the Cleveland Black Futures Fund will shift its cycle to annual; the fifth round of funding is expected to open early spring 2024 to all eligible Black-led and Black-serving organizations. For more information or to donate to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund, visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Futures.

Cleveland Black Futures Fund Recipients – Round 3

99Treasures Arts & Culture ($25,000)

100 Black Men of Cleveland Incorporated ($25,000)

AfricaHouse International ($25,000)

Alea’s Helping Hand ($15,000)

Art of Me Productions ($15,000)

Bigman’s Family Center ($15,000)

Black Environmental Leaders Association ($15,000)

Building Hope In The City ($15,000)

Center for Intellectual Property, Technology & Telecommunications, Inc. ($15,000)

Delta Alpha Lambda Foundation, Inc. ($15,000)

Diaper Bank of Greater Cleveland ($15,000)