George Gund

The George Gund Foundation made a $2 million grant at its November meeting to the Trust for Public Land for Connecting Cleveland, a coordinated effort to increase the number of trails and greenways in Cleveland’s Flats neighborhood and reconnect downtown and nearby neighborhoods with the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie.

The $30 million Connecting Cleveland campaign, a public-private partnership involving more than a dozen organizations, includes projects such as the Lake Link Trail & Greenway, an extension of the Towpath Trail; the Wendy Park Bridge Connector and several trailhead parks and Cuyahoga River water taxi stations.

Trustees also made an $800,000 grant to the Gordon Square Arts District for construction of a new facility for Near West Theatre, scheduled to open in the fall of 2014, and for renovations to Cleveland Public Theatre that will make its facilities handicapped accessible, provide additional rehearsal space and upgrade facility infrastructure. This brings total Foundation grantmaking to $2.5 million for the arts-related development project which, in addition to increased arts activity, has resulted in significant residential and commercial development in the neighborhood.

The grants were among 64 totaling $8,712,060 approved at the Foundation’s November meeting. Total grantmaking for the year was 24,591,995.  The Foundation also continued its support for research on the causes, nature and prevention of inherited retinal degenerative diseases with a $2 million grant to the Foundation Fighting Blindness.

Other grants of interest included:

• $400,000 over two years to the YMCA of Cleveland to convert a portion of the Galleria shopping mall into a fitness facility.

• $175,000 to the Cleveland Development Foundation for the Cleveland Transformation Alliance, a public-private partnership responsible for ensuring accountability of all public schools in the city.

• $350,000 to LAND studio for operating and project support.

• $100,000 to the Berea Children’s Home for Stepstone Academy, a charter school in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood.

• $166,486 over two years to the Ohio State University to link local farmers and school lunch programs.

• $55,000 to Zygote Press for operating support and the opening of an annex in the Waterloo neighborhood.

• $75,000 to Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio for efforts related to implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Ohio.

• $20,000 to the St. Clair-Superior Development Corporation to launch Asian-style Night Markets.

The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 by George Gund, former chairman of the Cleveland Trust Company.  The Foundation funds programs that enhance our understanding of the physical and social environment in which we live and increase our ability to cope with its changing requirements.  Grants are made three times a year in the areas of education, human services, economic and community development, environment and arts.  Foundation commitments to date have totaled more than $630 million.

Projects to develop a nonprofit community food processing center, support Cleveland’s Plan for Transforming Schools and assist with health care reform implementation received grants at the George Gund Foundation’s summer Trustee meeting.

SAW Inc., the nonprofit arm of the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities plans to open the 12,500 square foot center, which will employ its clients as well as provide services to everyone from local farmers to individual entrepreneurs, in 2014. The Foundation made a grant of up to $400,000 over two years for the purchase of food processing equipment to bottle, can, flash freeze and package products in the facility at West 117^th and Berea Road in Cleveland.

Foundation Trustees approved three grants totaling more than $1.6 million that will support efforts to provide excellent schools for all Cleveland children. The largest grant, $917,000, will fund redesign of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s (CMSD) central office to better support the Cleveland Plan, continued support for CMSD’s new and innovative schools and design and planning support for additional new schools.

Breakthrough Charter Schools, which operates Citizens’ Academy, The Intergenerational School and EPrep/Village Prep schools, received a $300,000 grant to support its operations and its plans to open additional schools in Cleveland. Teach For America (TFA) will use a $390,000 grant to expand its program in Greater Cleveland, including placement of 20 TFA teachers in CMSD schools.

The Foundation made grants to three organizations that are focused on the uninsured and underinsured and will provide assistance in understanding and implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and advocate for Medicaid expansion in Ohio. These grants included $200,000 over two years to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio for research, ACA implementation monitoring, health care trend analysis and communication with policymakers; $100,000 over two years to Community Catalyst, Inc. for technical assistance on ACA implementation; and $30,000 to Enterprise Community Partners to integrate primary health care into its Housing First model that works with the chronically homeless.

These grants were among 89 totaling $5,526,550 approved July 11 at the Foundation’s second meeting of 2013.

Other grants of interest included:

• $25,000 to United Way of Greater Cincinnati for the Ohio Partnership to Build Stronger Families which focuses on home visits to identify physical and development issues in young children and provide early intervention services

• $100,000 to University Circle Incorporated for 21^st Century University Circle, a planning process that will examine critical issues and opportunities facing University Circle

• $30,000 to the Eleanor B. Rainey Memorial Institute for the El Sistema@Rainey music program

• $350,000 to The Energy Foundation for its work in coordinating efforts in Ohio around energy and climate change policy

• $200,000 over two years to the Environmental Law & Policy Center of the Midwest for the Ohio Clean Energy Initiative

The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 by George Gund, former chairman of the Cleveland Trust Company.  The Foundation funds programs that enhance our understanding of the physical and social environment in which we live and increase our ability to cope with its changing requirements.  Grants are made three times a year in the areas of education, human services, economic and community development, environment and arts.  Foundation commitments to date have totaled more than $622 million.

The George Gund Foundation’s 2012 online, interactive annual report, with its photo-essay highlighting a priority issue for the Foundation, is available on the Foundation’s website.

Photographer Jeff Whetstone perceptively follows the Cuyahoga River along both its rural and urban paths, highlighting the significance of this invaluable resource to our community.

In his annual letter, Foundation Executive Director David Abbott discusses the importance of water not only to our region but to the entire world as well as the need for  everyone to become better stewards of this valuable natural resource. Geoffrey Gund, Foundation president, offers a tribute to the late George Gund III who served as a Foundation Trustee for 32 years until his death in early 2013.

The report also includes guidelines and procedures for applying for grants, a financial statement and a list of grants made during 2012.