Total Commitments 2016

22,799,387

2016 Commitments Summary

Arts

$2,511,400 | 62 grants

The Foundation remained committed to strengthening a robust and diverse arts community, as it is essential for the civic engagement and enhancement of the quality of life of Cleveland’s residents. Its grants to organizations, both large and small, ensured audiences were reached in the heart of the city and within its neighborhoods and schools, both in traditional and innovative performance and exhibition venues that offered opportunities for expression by local artists. Arts grantmaking totaled $2,511,400.

Economic Development & Community Revitalization

$4,876,000 | 25 grants

The Foundation awarded $4 million to the Fund for Our Economic Future, renewing our commitment to work with dozens of other philanthropies to foster economic growth and opportunity throughout Northeast Ohio. We also maintained our longtime interest in the revitalization of Cleveland’s neighborhoods with a land assembly grant for the Opportunity Corridor as well as support for groups such as Cleveland Housing Network, Enterprise Community Partners and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. Economic development and community revitalization grantmaking totaled $4,876,000.

Education

$4,294,000 | 21 grants

The Foundation continued its investments in the Cleveland Plan, whose goals are to ensure every child in Cleveland attends a high-quality school—district or charter—and every neighborhood has great schools from which families can choose. Grants included start-up support for new high schools in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), including Lincoln-West School of Global Studies, Lincoln-West School of Science and Health, and new schools at Rhodes and John Adams high schools as part of the Foundation’s matching grant for the Carnegie Corporation’s Opportunity by Design initiative. The Foundation also supported Breakthrough Charter Schools and Stonebrook Montessori, which partner with the CMSD. Beyond school support, the Foundation made grants to the Cleveland Transformation Alliance, which oversees the Cleveland Plan; College Now, for its work with Cleveland students; PRE4CLE, in its efforts to provide high-quality preschool for Cleveland children; and Teach for America, for its work to attract teachers to Cleveland. The Foundation also made a grant to support the newly launched Excellence in Teaching Award for CMSD teachers. Total education grantmaking was $4,294,000.

Environment

$4,744,080 | 39 grants

The Foundation’s grantmaking reflected its long-standing commitment to preserving Northeast Ohio’s distinctive ecosystem, supporting efforts to help Cleveland become a model of urban sustainability and addressing climate change. In addition, grants were provided for policy analysis and advocacy efforts aimed at increasing the percentages of renewable energy and energy efficiency in our state, promoting a robust local foods infrastructure and encouraging smart growth. Environment grantmaking totaled $4,744,080.

Human Services

$3,738,307 | 62 grants

In 2016, the Foundation continued to invest in innovative, timely public policy efforts resulting from the ever-changing government landscape in Cuyahoga County, Columbus and Washington, D.C.  Major initiatives, led by capable community partners, were advanced around early childhood development and juvenile justice reform.   Partnering for Family Success, the first county-based Pay for Success social innovation financing project in the country completed its second full year of implementation.  A newer partnership with national and local funding partners—the Ohio Transformation Fund—tackled initial strategies towards reducing mass incarceration and racial disparities in Ohio’s criminal justice system. Support continued for health care reforms. Grant funding continued to emphasize identifying, testing and scaling evidence-based policies and programs. Human services grantmaking totaled $3,738,307.

Special Commitments

$2,385,600 | 12 grants

The Foundation maintained its commitment to fund research on the causes, nature and prevention of inherited retinal degenerative diseases. We also continued support for a wide range of organizations working to strengthen the nonprofit and philanthropic fields. Special commitments grantmaking totaled $2,385,600.

Total commitments since inception of the Foundation in 1952

$712,918,352

Please visit our grants search engine to look up all grants since 2003.