The Cleveland Foundation The board of directors announced $ 40.4 million in grants on Thursday, June 24th, which were approved in the second quarter of 2021. In support of residents of Cuyahoga, Lake, and Geauga counties, the Foundation and its donors have invested nearly $ 65.2 million in the community so far this year, including nearly $ 13.6 million from donor-recommended funding in the first Half-year 2021. The highlights of the grants include:
Arts and Culture
- Cleveland Public Theater, Inc. (CPT) ($ 200,000): Like many arts organizations across the country, CPT has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. To mark its 40th anniversary, CPT will use this support to produce an entire season of plays – including a full lineup of outdoor performances – designed to raise awareness and encourage compassion, while running cultural engagement programs and neighborhood events.
- The sculpture center ($ 25,000): Much of the history of East Cleveland and Cleveland’s Near East Side neighborhoods has been forgotten or overwritten, detrimental to racial harmony in the community. This scholarship will support the organization’s Crossroads program, a three-year public art exhibition viewed in Augmented Reality (AR), and their new Still We Rise exhibition, featuring 12 local Black, Indigenous and Colored artists (BIPOC ) AR public art that explores this story.
education
- College now Greater Cleveland, Inc. ($ 250,000): College tuition – while a major obstacle – isn’t the only challenge for many students. In addition to financial support for the ancillary study costs of participation, social-emotional and scientific funding also play an essential role in the success of the scholarship holders. The Say Yes Scholars Program at Cuyahoga Community College is a cohort-based initiative at Tri-C to provide Say Yes-eligible CMSD graduates with targeted success coaching and guidance on navigating various aspects of college life. It offers students the opportunity to become part of the Say Yes efforts, benefit from the College Now mentoring program, and receive much-needed incentive scholarships. In just two short years, these components have resulted in a dramatic increase in persistence – despite the pandemic – and the sense of community and student participation in events and activities. The Cleveland Foundation continues to work with the George Gund Foundation, Say Yes Cleveland, College Now, and the Tri-C Foundation to support the Tri-C Say Yes Scholars program in its third year of effort.
Alliance for Climate Education (ACE)Surroundings
- Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) ($ 200,000): According to 2019 data compiled by the Rhodium Group, Ohio is the third largest emitter of CO2 after California and Texas. Studies have shown that higher CO2 emissions have a greater impact on color communities. This grant will enable ACE to hire a Cleveland-based civic engagement organizer to nurture and deepen partnerships with local organizations and with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, as well as work with other state and local civic engagement partners related to youth activism to mobilize on climate issues.
- United States Energy Foundation ($ 1,000,000): As the country’s third largest emitter of carbon, Ohio is significant to the national and global climate equation. This funding will help scale the Power a Clean Future Ohio (PCFO) and Ohio Climate Justice Fund (OCJF) initiatives launched last year. PCFO’s goal is to equitably reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2030, and a new Regional Director will be charged with engaging cities in the greater Cleveland area, with a particular focus on providing contacts, technical assistance and planning support for the cities Majority of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and BIPOC-led cities most likely to benefit from the clean energy transition. The “hearing. To lead. Share. ”OCJF’s program provides small grant funding and trains local groups to host a community meeting to imagine what their clean energy future will look like.
guide
- Cleveland Leadership Center ($ 100,000): The Legacy Leaders Program fulfills a key need within the Encore network to more fully engage and empower experienced leaders who are retired, about to retire, or in their careers Find ways to contribute – or continue to contribute – to the community. This grant will enable the continued growth of the three-pronged initiative: 1) Cleveland Forward, an ongoing series of educational interviews, a strategic planning and roadmap project with Cleveland Cultural Gardens, and building a color guide advocacy network; 2) Puerto Rico Service, a missionary trip that will help build stronger connections between the island and the Puerto Rican community of Cleveland; and 3) Social Entrepreneurism, running the annual “Accelerate: Citizens Make Change” pitch competition for individuals with innovative ideas for social change.
HI OhioRevitalization and engagement in the neighborhood
- Cleveland Restoration Society, Inc. ($ 165,000): The need to address the affordable housing crisis in Cleveland remains great as poverty, pre-1940 housing stock, redlining, and other interventions have all grown together to create today’s housing conditions in Hough. This new initiative will enable the preservation and maintenance of architecturally significant homes in a historic neighborhood and highlight the cultural heritage of Newton Avenue and its residents. In addition, the project provides current, long-term tenants with naturally occurring affordable housing that is well below market rents and even below rents for affordable housing in adjacent buildings.
- HI Ohio ($ 10,000): The upcoming demolition of Club Azteca, an iconic Cleveland building, has exposed the lack of awareness of more than 100 years of Mexican immigrant presence and contributions that are part of Cleveland’s diverse fabric. Through this project, HOLA will work in partnership with the Western Reserve Historical Society and other institutions to tell the complex story of Mexican history in Cleveland and to help formulate a plan that will proactively preserve that history for future generations.
Asian services in actionYouth, health and social services
- Asian Services in Action, Inc. (ASIA) ($ 100,000): The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already poor access of the Asia-American / Pacific Islander community (AAPI) to quality culturally and linguistically appropriate information, health and social services. This funding will enable the organization to build capacity for its International Community Health Center (ICHC) with a dual approach to telemedicine: the implementation of a telemedicine pilot program for 25 high-risk patients as well as telemedicine practices in clinics with reduced risk of COVID-19 transmission between patients, staff and providers while responding to patient preferences for personal health care.
- B. Riley Sober House ($ 45,675): Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that LGBTQ + people are twice as likely to abuse drugs or alcohol than their heterosexual peers, with finding and maintaining employment among the greatest challenges in maintaining the population Heard sobriety. This scholarship enables the organization to introduce professional prep training by engaging a certified career development facilitator to lead a month-long career preparation program for LGBTQ + individuals that includes interpersonal and problem-solving skills, basic computer skills, and financial literacy.
- Cleveland Rape Crisis Center ($ 200,000): According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, an American is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds. More than 50% of victims of sexual assault are people between the ages of 12 and 34, and the majority of sexual assault victims are women, with one in six women experiencing attempted or consummated sexual assault in their lifetime. Recent research published in The New England Journal of Medicine has described sexual violence during COVID-19 as “one pandemic within a pandemic.” This grant will enable the organization to further strengthen its presence in the Shaker Square and Clark-Fulton communities while building capacity for outreach and community engagement.
- Enterprise Community Partner, Inc. ($ 175,000): Homelessness and housing instability have profound negative effects on health and well-being, as those affected by homelessness are more likely to experience chronic illnesses and other poor health outcomes. This grant will enable the organization to fight homelessness and housing instability in partnership with key local agencies including the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, Cleveland’s network of community development companies, and others.
- Free Clinic in Lake County ($ 650,000): Having moved from its previous location, the Lake County Free Clinic is now ready to move to a permanent home. This funding will not only allow the organization to streamline its operations, but will also support more dental services while introducing new lines of services in women’s health and case management.
- Welcome Home, Inc. ($ 195,000): Cuyahoga County Developmental Disabilities Provider Consortium (DDPC) was established in 1994 to serve providers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). However, all IDD service providers in Cuyahoga County are currently facing a staffing crisis with the average annual staff turnover rate being around 45-60%. This scholarship will enable the DDPC to learn over the next two years whether an employer resource network led by success coaches can work individually with employees to reduce staff turnover.
