Cleveland Foundation announces $3.6 million in April grants

Several grants will promote innovation and talent development efforts

RELEASE DATE: 4.30.2015

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Foundation board of directors has approved $3.6 million in grants for the month of April.

Among the grants is one announced with Cuyahoga County today, a $200,000 grant to aid the County’s innovation efforts by supporting the creation of a Chief Innovation Officer position, a senior leadership role.

Modeled after similar positions in Austin and San Francisco, and private sector businesses across the nation, this role will inform the vision of the County by researching successful practices in industries of all types and identifying those that have the most potential to streamline county processes, save taxpayer dollars, and increase the government’s responsiveness.

The Cleveland Foundation board approved several other grants this month also focused on promoting talent development and innovation:

  • $20,000 to the Musical Arts Association to support the League of American Orchestras’ 2015 national conference being held in Cleveland on May 27-29. The League is partnering with The Cleveland Orchestra for the conference, which will showcase the orchestra’s innovations, as well as the creativity of the entire music arts community in Cleveland.
  • $18,500 to the National Guild for Community Arts Education to fund the participation of two emerging leaders from local nonprofit arts organizations in a 7-month professional development program through the Community Arts Education Leadership Institute. The grant will also support additional learning opportunities from the Institute for the broader arts nonprofit community.
  • $12,500 to Oberlin College for scholarships for three low-income Cleveland students to participate in a summer on-campus program that teaches high school students how to develop environmental sustainability-friendly solutions to social and economic issues. The grant will also provide a special mentorship component for the Cleveland students, with guidance on how to establish sustainability-related projects in their schools and communities.
  • $1,400 to Baldwin Wallace University for two disadvantaged Cleveland students to take part in an on-campus Health Care Exploration Week program this summer. Designed for students in grades 10-12, the program exposes them to clinical and administrative career options in the health care field.

Other grants this month will support the health and well-being of the community, through programs designed for our area’s most vulnerable:

  • $160,000 to Cornerstone of Hope to expand the center’s Inner City Traumatic Grief Support Program, which was launched in 2011 with funding support from the Cleveland Foundation. The program, which currently provides counseling and grief support to adults who have suffered the traumatic death of a loved one, will now also be able to provide specialized services to children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic loss. 
  • $100,000 to Women’s Recovery Center to grow the center’s program to meet the increased demand for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services on Cleveland’s west side. The grant will help fund a building renovation to create additional treatment space, which will allow the center to double the number of patients it treats within two years. 
  • $86,500 to Neighborhood Family Practice to support the health care provider’s efforts to attract and retain patient families in its mission to serve the most vulnerable on Cleveland’s west side. In the past five years, Neighborhood Family Practice has opened two centers and renovated a third, and seeks to increase awareness of the services it offers in these medically-underserved neighborhoods.

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Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is the world’s first community foundation and one of the largest today, with assets of $2.1 billion and 2014 grants of $98 million. Through the generosity of donors, the foundation improves the lives of Greater Clevelanders by building community endowment, addressing needs through grantmaking, and providing leadership on vital issues. The foundation tackles the community’s priority areas – economic transformation, public-school improvement, youth development, neighborhood revitalization, and arts advancement – and responds to the community’s needs.

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