Cleveland Foundation Introduces LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund;
Announces $3 Million for Endowment to Ensure Long-Term Impact

Community members named to advisory committee; first round of grantmaking in 2025


The Cleveland Foundation today introduced the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund, a permanent source of funding to support Greater Cleveland organizations serving and uplifting the LGBTQ+ community. To help meet community needs today and for years to come, the foundation has endowed the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund with a $3 million gift and will support further growth with active fundraising and by inviting the broader community to participate in giving.

According to a 2023 report (Adult LGBT Population in the United States) from the Williams Institute, Ohio has the sixth-largest LGBTQ+ population in the United States; and yet, organizations that serve this population are underrepresented in philanthropic funding.

Affinity funds bring together donors and community members united by a shared heritage, identity, or common interest to support specific areas of need. The LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund is the Cleveland Foundation’s first endowed affinity fund, with funds supporting the Latinx and Black communities to be launched in the coming months.

“At the Cleveland Foundation, we are endeavoring to transform philanthropy by expanding opportunities for people across our community to give in powerful, new ways and we are broadening who sees themselves as a philanthropist,” said Lillian Kuri, president and CEO, Cleveland Foundation. “Our affinity funds will offer an innovative and accessible way for anyone to make a lasting impact by contributing at a level that works for them.”

The fund’s advisory committee will guide the work of the fund in partnership with Cleveland Foundation staff, including setting priorities for grantmaking, reviewing and selecting applications, supporting fundraising efforts, and advocating on behalf of the fund and its priorities.

“What’s truly exciting is that the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund leverages philanthropy and community giving in a new and more inclusive way,” said Gregg Levine, senior consultant at Ratliff & Taylor, and member of the advisory committee. “With a mission to advance queer justice and equity in Greater Cleveland, the fund will uplift the organizations and causes that are driving true change across the community for years to come.”

The committee, named below, will leverage the findings of the Cleveland LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment, which will be released in October, as well as conversations across the community to determine the areas of highest need that will be key priorities for the fund. The fund will begin its grantmaking in 2025.

LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund Committee Members

  • Gregg Levine – Ratliff & Taylor
  • Nancy Mendez – Starting Point
  • Peter Schindler – Community West Foundation
  • Marques Richeson – Jones Day
  • Shannon Scott-Miller – Trans Allies & Fostering Hope
  • Michelle Tomallo – Fit Technologies
  • Suzanne Hamilton – ERIEBANK & HRC

Since 2013, the Cleveland Foundation and its donors have invested more than $5.5 million in LGBTQ+ causes. The foundation continues to be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community through grants supporting direct services, collaboration and coalition building, investing in research through Kent State University’s Greater Cleveland LGBTQ+ Community Needs Assessment, and creating this Affinity Fund for dedicated, long-term resources supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

The Cleveland Foundation invites community members to learn more about the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund by visiting clevelandfoundation.org/OpportunityFund.