CLEVELAND - The Cleveland Foundation Board of Directors Tuesday announced $27.5 million in grants approved in the third quarter of 2020. Supporting residents in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties, the foundation and its donors have invested more than $85.5 million in the community year-to-date.
“The coming months are sure to bring new developments and evolving challenges as we work with partners to respond to the immediate needs brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing our work to advance long-term projects for the benefit of Greater Cleveland,” said India Pierce Lee, Cleveland Foundation senior vice president for program. “However, I am confident in the foundation’s ability to do both as we continue to work alongside our donors and our nonprofit partners during a difficult – yet transformative – year for our community.”
In addition to the grants listed below, the board of directors also authorized significant funds to help launch the Cleveland Black Futures Fund, Friends of the Bail Project – Cleveland, the second phase of the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund, Greater Cleveland Digital Equity Fund and the Lead Safe Cleveland Home Fund over the past three months.
Highlights of grants approved in the third quarter of 2020 by the foundation’s board of directors include:
Economic & Workforce Development
- Evergreen Cooperative Corporation ($50,000) – To help Green City Growers launch an organically-certified cut-herb division that should add 12-15 jobs when maximum capacity is reached, while also adding diversity to the business model.
Education
- College Now Greater Cleveland ($360,000) – To continue phasing in Say Yes Cleveland wraparound student support services and out-of-school-time programming to an additional 23 Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) schools and three Breakthrough Schools, bringing the total to 42 schools. These services include a full-time family support specialist at each location, coordination of out-of-school-time options and expanded use of the student information system.
- Economic Growth Foundation/Greater Cleveland Partnership ($490,000) – To support three complementary initiatives aimed at building a more diverse talent pipeline to address current and future information technology (IT) talent supply shortages: 1) RITE – to continue to mobilize employers to influence IT talent development by optimizing regional efforts through collaboration; 2) Health IT in Cleveland (HIT in the CLE) – to continue to grow a robust and diverse pipeline of entry level talent within the software development and data science fields, with a particular focus on Black and Latinx representation; and 3) Technology Education and Literacy in the Schools (TEALS) – to continue its partnership with Microsoft to pair trained local computer science professionals from across the tech industry with classroom teachers with Cleveland to team-teach computer science in Cleveland and first-ring suburban high schools.
Environment
- Alliance for the Great Lakes ($190,000) – Two-year funding to develop and deploy a resident engagement toolkit to be shared with frontline organizations to educate and empower residents on water affordability issues, work with utilities and public officials to advocate for more state and federal water infrastructure funding, support a more equitable water rate setting process and partner with Ohio Environmental Council, Black Environmental Leaders and other stakeholders to develop a state-wide environmental justice policy agenda.
Leadership Development
- Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio($250,000)–To continue to expand PRE4CLE availability for CMSD families, with the goal of 5,600 seats for the 2020-21 school year – which would effectively double the number of participants in high-quality preschool since the program’s inception in 2013. The grant will also allow PRE4CLE to continue to evolve and respond to COVID-19’s impact on early learning with resources and technical assistance.
Neighborhood Revitalization
- Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center ($10,000) – To pilot virtual collaborations between Julia de Burgos and North Pointe Ballet in order to connect these arts experiences to a wider audience that may not have normally been reached during the pandemic, while also providing a roadmap to utilize technology for more immersive and choreographed performances in the future.
Youth, Health & Social Services
- The Center for Community Solutions ($200,000) – Two-year support for the AIDS Funders Collaborative for the continued work of investing in HIV programs centered on specific neighborhoods and networks, mobilizing increased funding for the local HIV response and being a central organization for collaborative grantmaking, education and community engagement among HIV funders and leaders. This also includes community-driven interventions via a new “Catalyst Grants Program,” that will provide opportunities for grassroots organizations to receive funding for community organizing, advocacy and outreach programs designed to serve people living with HIV/AIDS.
- Salvation Army Greater Cleveland ($125,000) – To increase staff capacity at The Hue Jackson Survivors of Human Trafficking Residence, which stabilizes survivors of human trafficking by providing basic needs and targeted wraparound services, ensuring a smooth transition into safe housing.
- Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland ($15,000) – To complete a comprehensive site selection process to identify an appropriate facility for development as a drop-in center for young people (ages 15-24) experiencing homelessness, which will provide a critical access and navigation point to link this extremely vulnerable population to a variety of resources in a safe and welcoming environment.