OVERVIEW: The Cleveland Foundation supports arts and culture, economic and workforce development, education, the environment, neighborhood revitalization and youth development and social services in the Cleveland region.
IP TAKE: A little over half of the Cleveland Foundation’s grantmaking comes from proactive and reactive grantmaking by the board and staff, rather than donor-directed giving. Combined with its broad range of areas of giving, this creates many opportunities for local groups to get involved with this funder.
PROFILE: Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is a community foundation based in Cleveland, Ohio. A lawyer, Frederick Harris Goff, created the foundation, which has inspired communities around the U.S. to create similar foundations since then. The foundation aims to “enhance the lives of all residents of Greater Cleveland, now and for generations to come, by working together with our donors to build community endowment, address needs through grantmaking, and provide leadership on key community issues.” It funds local efforts for arts and culture, economic and workforce development, education, the environment, neighborhood revitalization and engagement and youth development and social services. It also runs a broad variety of in-house programs in areas of leadership development, internships and neighborhood connections.
The foundation’s arts and culture program is committed to supporting Cleveland’s diverse arts and culture landscape by investing in organizations of all sizes through three separate programs. Creative Fusion is a residency program that brings artists from around the world to work with local nonprofits, while the its Arts Mastery program aims to bring high quality instruction in visual and performing arts to every child in Cleveland. It’s third program is the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards program, which recognizes books that have “made important contributions to our understanding of racism and diversity.”
In the area of economic and workforce development the Cleveland Foundation works to create jobs by leveraging existing local industries, building commercial hubs and supporting minority entrepreneurship. It also works in the areas of career education, job training and apprenticeship programs, prioritizing the IT and health industries.
Education is the foundation’s largest grant program, filling a large range of local needs. The initiative supports special services for disabled students and a city-wide effort to renovate and improve Cleveland’s K-12 schools. The program also supports secondary education access and runs college scholarship programs.
Environmental funding focuses on freshwater protections, clean energy and “creating a more equitable environment,” which includes initiatives for electric public transportation, access to parks and recreational spaces and advocacy for residents whose health is compromised by industrial pollution. The environmental program also works toward building a clean energy economy, an effort which overlaps with the foundation’s neighborhood revitalization effort, which works to develop sustainable residential, commercial and recreational spaces.
The foundation’s youth development program runs programs for children from birth through college. It’s funded projects range from public-private collaborations for high quality early childhood education and services to out-of-school learning opportunities, mentoring high-risk youth and helping young adults find jobs.
In addition to its stated initiatives, the Cleveland Foundation runs in-house leadership development, internship and social impact investing programs. It runs committee-advised and affiliated private funds that serve the greater Cleveland area. It also participates in the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, which was established “to complement the work of public health officials and expand local capacity to address all aspects of the outbreak as efficiently as possible.”
Grants range between about $5,000 and $500,000. Grantmaking focuses on the Cleveland region, which includes Cuyahoga, Lake, and Geauga counties in Ohio. Past local grantees include the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, West Side Community House and the Cleveland Municipal School District Transformation Alliance. Learn more about this funder’s local giving by examining its recent tax records or grants archive.
This foundation accepts unsolicited online grant inquiries from nonprofits in the Cleveland area. These inquiries may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a rolling basis. The foundation then invites select applicants to submit full proposals. Direct general questions to the staff at 216.861-3810 or via online form.
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