Announcements

The George Gund Foundation’s 2025 Photography Commission, Bridges, features fine arts photographer Kristine Potter as she turns her lens on Cleveland’s bridges—structures that reveal both the weight of civic ambition and the quiet persistence of new life around them.

The next deadline to submit a grant proposal is March 15, 2026. Details about our grantmaking priorities and application process can be found on our website.

The George Gund Foundation’s 2025 Photography Commission, Bridges, features fine arts photographer Kristine Potter as she turns her lens on Cleveland’s bridges—structures that reveal both the weight of civic ambition and the quiet persistence of new life around them. The images sometimes stand as monuments and other times recede into the landscape. Potter notes, “The eras they represent are visible in their forms, in their wear, in the way the city now moves around them.”

The photographer’s association of time and bridges are echoed by Catherine Gund, chair of the Foundation. In her letter, she welcomes the fourth generation of Gund family members to the Board of Trustees and highlights the expansion of Cleveland community board members. Against the backdrop of tumultuous times, she identifies the strength of bridges “between generations, between despair and determination, between what we have inherited and what we dare to create.”

Foundation president, Tony Richardson, reflects on the importance of bridges as connectors in his own life and at the Foundation—metaphorically and literally. Bridges cannot stand without infrastructure, support, and care. The Foundation’s partners are no different. In the face of deep funding cuts to vital public services and programs, the Foundation increased its 2025 grantmaking payout. We remain constant and true to our values. We remain a bridge in our beloved community.

Mikayla Coleman is the 2025–2027 George Gund Foundation fellow working across program areas. Mikayla previously served as the community involvement coordinator at Metro West Community Development Organization, where she supported resident-led initiatives, coordinated neighborhood events, and deepened partnerships with local groups. She also worked as a teaching artist and administrative contractor with the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, where she mentored teens through the ArtWorks program, provided marketing and planning support for youth-led events, and assisted with interviewing, alumni tracking, and organizational communications.

Mikayla holds a Master of Arts in Creative Business Leadership from the Savannah College of Art & Design and a Bachelor of Science in Public Management and Policy from Cleveland State University. She is also a graduate of the Neighborhood Leadership Development Program, where she focused on equity-centered community leadership.

The George Gund Foundation fellows program, started in 2004, provides an opportunity for civic-minded professionals to work in philanthropy at a foundation that proudly plays an active role throughout Greater Cleveland and in organizations, initiatives, and policy deliberations that impact our community. Each fellow, selected from a nationwide pool of applicants, works at the Foundation for two years.

The George Gund Foundation fellowship provides an opportunity for promising professionals to work inside the Foundation, a philanthropic organization that plays a vital role in supporting the civic life of Greater Cleveland and in various state and national policy deliberations that affect our community. The fellowship is a two-year, full-time commitment beginning in summer 2025, requiring residence in Greater Cleveland during the term of engagement.

The fellowship experience will be tailored to the Foundation’s needs and, to some extent, to the fellow’s interests. The fellow will engage in a wide range of substantive assignments across program areas, which include climate and environmental justice, creative culture and arts, public education, thriving families and social justice, and vibrant neighborhoods and inclusive economy. Across those program areas is an underlying commitment to addressing climate change and environmental degradation; entrenched and accelerating inequality, especially racial inequity; and weakened democracy.

The Foundation has engaged Cheryl C. Perez and her team to lead the search process. The position profile with relevant details can be found by clicking here. The George Gund Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and pursues equity in all of its work, including hiring. Please share this information with potential applicants and encourage their consideration of it.

After nearly 34 years in our present location, The George Gund Foundation will be moving our office to the Skylight Office Tower. Our new address as of February 15th will be:

For visitors, the offices are easily accessible via public transportation to Public Square. Metered street parking is also available, and we will have some visitor parking spaces in Tower City.

The George Gund Foundation is seeking a full-time Grants Administrator to join its team. The selected candidate will be responsible for the Foundation’s grantmaking system and processes, including analysis of and communications about the Foundation’s grantmaking.

The Foundation has engaged Cheryl C. Perez and her team to lead the search process. The position profile with relevant details can be found by clicking here. The George Gund Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and pursues equity in all of its work, including hiring. Please share this information with potential applicants and encourage their consideration of it.

The 2024 election cycle has reaffirmed The George Gund Foundation’s commitment to addressing climate change and environmental degradation, entrenched and accelerating inequality—especially racial inequity, and weakened democracy. With a focus on public policy and advocacy, as well as direct support to programs and operations, the Foundation’s grantmaking seeks to address fairness and justice in our local community and beyond.

Against this backdrop, The George Gund Foundation awarded $14.7 million at its last meeting of the year, led by significant investments in current and graduating students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), the Foundation’s primary focus of its public education program area. Our investments are more than matched by the citizens of Cleveland, who supported Issue 49, an operating levy increase and bond extension authorization with a resounding majority vote on November 5.

The Foundation awarded a $2.75 million grant for Cleveland State University’s previously-established Living Learning Community, which provides CMSD Say Yes scholarship recipients a residential experience that integrates intensive academic support, leadership training, mentorship, graduation coaching, comprehensive wraparound services, and experiential learning. Two $75,000 grants were awarded to College Now Greater Cleveland for higher education partnerships and student support services, including targeted outreach to CMSD high schools to increase higher education enrollment.

The Foundation awarded $350,000 over two years for the CMSD’s integrated health expansion through the Educational Services Center of Cuyahoga County. A total of six school health clinics are, or will be, open by the 2025–26 school year, including three elementary schools (Anton Grdina, Mound, and Clara Westropp) and three high schools (Glenville, John F. Kennedy, and John Marshall). Other investments in CMSD students include grant awards for robotics teams, chess programs, and arts and cultural experiences through numerous grantees that provide programming in our public schools.

In addition to these awards, the Foundation’s grants reflect priorities outlined in the Foundation’s What We Believe statement as well as priorities across program areas. Grants include the following:

• • $260,000 over two years to EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, which offers tuition-free workforce training in the culinary and hospitality industries for returning citizens, as well as a support network necessary for their long-term success. That support includes free or reduced-rate housing for nearly 80 students, alumni, and their families; and childcare for infants and young children six days per week.

• • $250,000 over two years to Enlightened Solutions, a research and advocacy organization dedicated to organizing and empowering Black women in Cleveland. Enlightened Solutions advances systems-change efforts including research, advocacy, organizational development, and community engagement that center the lived experiences of a diverse group of Black women in our region.

• • $400,000 over two years to Magnolia Clubhouse, an organization dedicated to the treatment and rehabilitation of persons diagnosed with a severe mental disorder(s). Magnolia Clubhouse is embarking on a $6 million expansion of its University Circle campus that will connect its two primary buildings, convert an existing carriage house into a medical clinic, expand its current programming and training space, and increase the number of persons served annually by 50 percent.

• • $140,000 over two years to Praxis Integrated Fiber Workshop, which builds the local and international community of fiber artists and makers through classes, workshops, residencies, and replicable social projects that teach the art form and demonstrate how fiber arts can be used to build healthy, resilient, and inclusive communities.

• • $250,000 over two years to Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit policy research institute working to create a more vibrant, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive Ohio. Policy Matters’ work crosses such diverse topics as the state budget, tax and revenue, work and wages, health, safety and justice, sustainability and climate, and education and opportunity.

• • $100,000 to the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights Foundation, whose physician members seek to protect and defend the right to appropriate medical care and treatment in their obstetrics and gynecological medical practices across the state.

• • $200,000 over two years to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio for its array of reproductive care services including comprehensive contraception options, STI identification and treatment, HIV testing, abortion care, breast and cervical cancer screenings, gender affirming care, and medically accurate sexual and reproductive health education.

• • $3.6 million over three years to the Cleveland Public Market Corporation for the West Side Market’s transformation project, which will include facilities improvements and enhancements, new public gathering spaces, and outreach efforts to attract a mix of visitors and vendors that more closely reflects the diversity that exists within the City of Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio.

Further details on the Foundation’s November 2024 grants can be found at gundfoundation.org.

In 1952, The George Gund Foundation was established by George Gund, former chair 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 climate and environmental justice, creative culture and arts, democracy building, public education, thriving families and social justice, and vibrant neighborhoods and inclusive economy. To date, Foundation commitments have totaled over $945 million.

The George Gund Foundation awarded $12.5 million at its June meeting, including numerous grants to nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations to advance a vigorous, inclusive, and functioning democracy, as well as grants to safeguard reproductive rights and access to reproductive health care.

Among the Foundation’s democracy building awards were grants to Cleveland VOTES, a nonpartisan democracy-building entity that works to strengthen the power of historically marginalized populations in Greater Cleveland through a wide array of nonpartisan civic engagement activities; Faith in Public Life, a national, nonpartisan multifaith and multiracial coalition of influential faith leaders promoting a healthy and equitable democracy via nonpartisan voter education, outreach, and mobilization actions; the Fair Election Center, a national, nonpartisan voting rights and election reform organization that uses litigation and advocacy to remove barriers to voting—particularly among underrepresented and marginalized communities; and the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, a nonpartisan statewide organization that empowers Ohio’s Black community through research, policy advocacy, and community engagement to drive equitable opportunities and systemic change.

Following the landmark passage of Ohio Issue 1 last November, which embedded reproductive rights in the Ohio Constitution, the Foundation made several awards to support the full spectrum of reproductive choice, including grants to Adoption Network Cleveland, American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, Preterm, and Signature Health, among others. These entities and many others across the state are working together to ensure access to the full continuum of reproductive health care in Ohio.

In addition to these awards, the Foundation’s grants reflect priorities outlined in the Foundation’s What We Believe statement as well as priorities across program areas. Grants include the following:

• • $300,000 over two years for operating support to Citizens Utility Board of Ohio, a nonpartisan consumer watchdog that advocates for residential and small business utility customers. CUB-OH is working with Cleveland Public Power to help it meet its goals to provide more clean energy to its customers and reduce customers energy costs.

• • $200,000 over two years to the Economic and Community Development Institute for operating support for its Northern Ohio office. ECDI offers wrap-around business development services such as access to affordable capital, business/finance training, technical assistance, networking and mentor opportunities, and multiple incubator and accelerator programs throughout the state. ECDI’s target market includes those who face systemic barriers in business development, including people of color, women, people from low- and moderate-income households, rural communities, veterans, immigrants, and refugees.

• • $400,000 to College Now Greater Cleveland for college access advising services, scholarships, and retention services for Cleveland Metropolitan School District students, as well as student loan counseling and operating support. College Now is a major partner to the CMSD and to Say Yes Cleveland.

• • $150,000 over two years for the Cleveland Orchestra’s arts administration internship program, whose goal is to increase the diversity of the Orchestra’s administrative staff, create new and mutually beneficial relationships with area colleges and universities, and nurture opportunities through building a pipeline for talented arts administrative professionals of color as both community and industry arts leaders.

• • $400,000 over three years for operating support for Rid-All, an urban agriculture and environmental stewardship enterprise operating in Cleveland’s Lower Kinsman neighborhood since 2010. On its 18-acre site, Rid-All produces fresh fruits, vegetables, and compost soil; farm-raises tilapia fish; operates a healthy food restaurant; and trains youth and adults in urban agriculture. Rid-All’s mission is to educate urban residents on the benefits of healthy eating and environmental stewardship, and to inspire lifestyle changes that lead to improved health outcomes and vibrant communities.

• • $450,000 over three years to West Creek Conservancy for operating support. Over the past decade, WCC has done extensive work in the City of Cleveland, including taking a major role in the Irishtown Bend Park project adjacent to West 25^th Street in the Ohio City neighborhood.

Further details on the Foundation’s June 2024 grants can be found at gundfoundation.org.

In 1952, The George Gund Foundation was established by George Gund, former chair 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 climate and environmental justice, creative culture and arts, democracy building, public education, thriving families and social justice, and vibrant neighborhoods and inclusive economy. To date, Foundation commitments have totaled over $931 million.