Announcements

David Abbott, president of The George Gund Foundation since 2003, today informed the Board of Trustees that he plans to retire at the end of this year.

“It has been an enormous honor to work at this foundation and, through it, to fight to make Cleveland and our country better,” Abbott said.  “But change is inevitable and it is simply time for me to hand the baton to a new leader.”  Abbott noted that he will be just a few weeks shy of 70 by the end of 2021.

Catherine Gund, chair of the foundation’s board, said, “Dave’s patient and steady moral leadership has made the Gund Foundation a stronger organization whose complex components of progressive philanthropy, thoughtful human partnership, financial investment, and justice-seeking staff and board are all more closely aligned than ever before. He will be leaving the organization at peak capacity for sustainable impact.”

Gund said the foundation would conduct a national search for a new president.

Nancy Mendez, the director of community impact at United Way of Greater Cleveland, has been named to the Board of Trustees of The George Gund Foundation, becoming the third Cleveland Trustee.

Mendez has worked at United Way since 2009.   She is responsible for developing and managing the design, development, testing, implementation and evaluation of community programs and services. She is also responsible for ensuring an effective allocation process and grants management.

“I am honored to serve the community as a Gund Foundation Board member,” Mendez commented.  “The Gund Foundation is working on some of our most critical challenges, including racial equity, education, environmental justice and community building.”

Mendez joins two other Cleveland leaders as board members:  Mark Joseph, professor in community development at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, and Margaret Bernstein, director of advocacy and community initiatives at WKYC-TV.  The seven other Trustees are members of the Gund family.

Before United Way, Mendez was the program director for the Center for Minority Public Health of Case Western Reserve University, which focused on community-based research. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards including Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, Hispanic Alliance, Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center, Dolphin Heart Foundation, LBGT Center of Cleveland, and Cleveland Rape Crisis Center.

Born in the South Bronx and the youngest of seven children, Mendez moved to Cleveland at a young age. At 13, she was awarded A Better Chance award, a four-year scholarship to attend St. Mark’s School outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Mendez went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts from Williams College with a concentration in Latin American socioeconomic history.

Mendez was named a Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan by the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission, Notable LGBTQ Executive by Crain’s Cleveland Business, a Women of Note by Crain’s Cleveland Business, and is a member of the Leadership Cleveland class of 2020.

Mendez is a resident of Cleveland, and as noted in her 2020 Crain’s Women of Note profile, she sees many youngsters like herself in Cleveland—kids with great potential but insufficient access to good education and a lack of expectations. As she noted in that interview, “I think we’re at a point in our society where we’re finally starting to come to terms with the fact that your ZIP code, your ethnicity, your race should not determine who you’re going to become.  We shouldn’t stand for that.”

The George Gund Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation are seeking a facilitator to support The Greater Cleveland Racial Equity & Racial Justice Collaborative, which is forming now. Building on the Movement for Black Lives and in response to the disparities magnified by the COVID-19 crisis, the collaborative seeks to address long-term systemic racism in distinct issue and policy areas in our community. This role will efficiently facilitate a process for the collaborative to define a guiding framework and strategic focus for its design and operation. Interested candidates should read the full request for proposal for more information and are invited to submit a proposal by Dec. 2, 2020. Please direct all inquiries and responses, including proposals, to Dale Anglin, Program Director for Youth, Health and Human Services, at the Cleveland Foundation at: danglin@clevefdn.org (Please cc Emma Kopp, ekopp@clevefdn.org). All correspondence should include Racial Justice Collaborative Facilitation in the subject line of the email.

The George Gund Foundation awarded more than $18 million at its November board meeting reflecting both increased giving in response to the pandemic and increased focus on the most pressing issues. Those issues – climate change, inequality and racial injustice, and weakened democracy – are emphasized in the Foundation’s statement of What We Believe.

Among the grants advancing work on these issues are:

$1.25 million to Growth Opportunity Partners to create a neighborhood solar fund aimed at assisting the creation of small-scale solar energy projects in conjunction with grassroots organizations, starting in Hough.

A series of multi-year grants to build the capacity of Black-led organizations that work to advance racial equity and justice, including $1,250,000 to the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, $450,000 to PolicyBridge, $450,000 to the Cleveland NAACP, and $500,000 to the United Black Fund.

$1,100,000 to Cleveland VOTES for three years of operating support to create a Civic Engagement Fund for long-term efforts promoting equitable democracy building.

Other grants of interest include:

• $1,000,000 to establish the Billie Osborne Fears Early Childhood Fellowship and the Billie Osborne Fears Scholarship at the Cleveland Foundation to honor the life and groundbreaking career of the founder and CEO of Starting Point, northeast Ohio’s resource and referral organization for the child care and early childhood development system. The Fellowship will provide a year-long professional development opportunity for a woman of color in the early childhood field. The Scholarship will support Cuyahoga County families experiencing financial hardship in order to ensure their children can continue to receive high-quality child care and early development opportunities.
• $1,000,000 to Birthing Beautiful Communities to open a comprehensive birthing center in the Hough neighborhood to decrease the unacceptably high rates of maternal morbidity and infant mortality among Black women and babies in Cleveland by providing quality care that leads to healthy maternal and infant birth outcomes.
• $100,000 each to six neighborhood-focused arts organizations: Art House, Broadway School of Music & the Arts, Foluke Cultural Arts Center, Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center, Rainey Institute and Waterloo Arts. The grants are for operational support, capacity building, and to create areas of collaboration for the organizations that provide critical arts and cultural avenues in economically challenged Cleveland neighborhoods.
• $350,000 over two years to the Cleveland Transformation Alliance for operating support. The Alliance ensures every child in Cleveland attends a high-quality school and every neighborhood has a multitude of great schools from which families can choose.
• $100,000 to the United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland for the creation of the first phase of an east side African American cultural trail to highlight and document important landmarks of the African American experience in Cleveland.
• $300,000 to HOLA to provide general operating support to secure the safety, address the basic needs, and support the empowerment of immigrant and refugee individuals and families in northeast Ohio. The grant invests in the organization’s leadership and capacity building for this essential provider.
• $100,000 over two years to Solar United Neighbors, a national organization working to make solar energy available to all Americans. Solar United Neighbors advances state policy that supports the quick adoption of solar energy and organizes community solar co-ops, including a first in Cuyahoga County in 2017.

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 climate and environmental justice, creative culture and arts, public education, thriving families and social justice, and vibrant neighborhoods and inclusive economy. Foundation commitments to date have totaled almost $793 million.

Further details on the November 2020 grants can be found at gundfoundation.org.

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 2021, requiring residence in Northeast Ohio during the term of engagement.  The Foundation staff is working remotely during the pandemic but it is hoped and expected that the office will have reopened by the beginning of the Fellowship.  The Fellowship experience will be tailored to the Foundation’s needs and, to some extent, to the Fellow’s interests and will include a wide range of substantive assignments including analyzing grant proposals, organizing and conducting site visits and research related to the Foundation’s grantmaking interests.

To be considered for the Fellowship, each candidate must submit a cover letter, a short essay discussing why the Fellowship opportunity is appealing, a detailed resume and two letters of recommendation.  Please also indicate how you learned of the position.  These materials should be combined into one PDF document for submission and are due no later than 5 p.m. EST on January 8, 2021.  The Fellow will be selected in the spring of 2021.  Application materials should be emailed to hr@gundfdn.org.  Letters of recommendation may be submitted as part of the application or sent separately via email or regular mail.

The Foundation views the Fellowship as a valuable early career opportunity and the selection process will be highly competitive. The successful candidate for this Fellowship will have demonstrated a desire to work in public service or the nonprofit sector.  Excellent critical thinking and writing skills as well as sufficient computer competency to carry out assigned work are essential.  While a graduate degree and/or several years work experience are typical of Gund Fellows, the Foundation also welcomes applications from untraditional candidates who possess the skills outlined above but whose life experiences have taken them down different paths.

Each George Gund Foundation Fellow will receive a stipend of $47,500 per year, plus a full benefits package including health, dental, disability and life insurance, 403(b) contributions and work-related travel expenses.  Housing, transportation and other living arrangements are the responsibility of the Fellow.  The George Gund Foundation, established in 1952, is the largest private foundation in Ohio.  The Foundation makes annual grants totaling approximately $25 million.  Program officers professionally handle grantmaking in public education, vibrant neighborhood and inclusive economy, thriving families and social justice, creative culture and arts, climate and environmental justice, and democracy building.

The George Gund Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, hiring without discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability or any other protected characteristic established by law.  The Foundation has a deep commitment to racial equity and inclusion and seeks a highly diverse pool from which to select the strongest candidate for this position.  African-Americans and other underrepresented minorities who match this Fellowship profile are strongly encouraged to apply.

On September 18, 2020 Catherine Gund, Chair, The George Gund Foundation, spoke at the City Club of Cleveland regarding the Foundation’s release of What We Believe.  Click here to watch that interview.

The Cleveland International Film Festival’s CIFF Streams presents the Cleveland premiere of the film Aggie later this month. Aggie is a documentary that explores the nexus of art, race, and justice through the story of art collector and philanthropist Agnes “Aggie” Gund’s life. In 2017, she sold her beloved Roy Lichtenstein “Masterpiece” painting for $165 million to start the Art for Justice Fund to fight mass incarceration. Emmy-nominated director and The George Gund Foundation Board Chair Catherine Gund focuses on her mother’s journey to give viewers an understanding of the power of art to transform consciousness and inspire social change. Aggie Gund is internationally recognized for her robust and prescient support of artists—particularly women and people of color—and her unwavering commitment to social justice issues.

Aggie will be available to stream for four days, beginning on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 11:00 am ET through 11:00 pm ET on Sunday, September 27, 2020.  Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at https://www.clevelandfilm.org/films/2020/aggie.

Ticket purchasers will also receive a link to the live conversation with Aggie director Catherine Gund and Aggie Gund, moderated by Jennifer Coleman, Program Director for Creative Culture and Arts at The George Gund Foundation, taking place on Sunday, September 27^th at 2:00 pm ET.

Film Website: https://aggiefilm.com/

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/451147603

Into a world beset with turmoil, babies continue to be born. The George Gund Foundation’s 2019 annual report portrays the work of Birthing Beautiful Communities, a remarkable organization that works to reduce infant mortality among Black women. The work of BBC inspired the annual letter of David Abbott, the Foundation’s president, to reflect on the world those infants will inherit. Catherine Gund, in her first letter as Chair, celebrates the impact of women throughout the history of the Foundation and calls for collective action to build a more just world.

The photographs of Birthing Beautiful Communities are the work of Deana Lawson, an acclaimed artist based in Brooklyn, NY, whose photography has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the country.

The George Gund Foundation awarded more than $14.4 million in grants at its summer board meeting to organizations addressing the most pressing issues in Cleveland and Ohio, many exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation committed to increase its giving to help meet the unique challenges and opportunities of 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic while also focusing on racial justice, climate change and democracy building. These three issues are called out in What We Believe, a declaration that can be found on the Foundation’s website.

Several grants were in support of collaborative funds created expressly to address these issues. “At this moment in history, action to advance racial justice, to fight climate change and to repel threats to democracy is the most important work we can undertake,” said David Abbott, the Foundation’s president. These grants include:

$1 million to support technology needs for Cleveland Metropolitan School District students and Say Yes scholars whose lack of digital access makes distance learning difficult or impossible during the COVID-19 outbreak and hinders their learning at all times. This grant is aligned with the Greater Cleveland Digital Equity Coalition, an initiative with the goal of increasing Cleveland’s digital divide.

$1.5 million to support statewide democracy building efforts.  The funding will help accelerate ongoing efforts to ensure a fair and accurate count for the census as well as significant voter education, voter outreach work, and voter protection work targeting historically marginalized populations in advance of the November election.

$2.1 million to support Energy Foundation, with $1 million to create a new fund to embed racial justice in Ohio climate and clean energy work and $1.1 million over two years to support statewide collaborative work on climate and energy initiatives that will help dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state.

Additional grants of note include:

• $1.25 million for the launch and continued startup of new and innovative CMSD high schools including the new Garrett Morgan School of Engineering and Innovation and the Garrett Morgan School of Leadership & Innovation.

• A three-year grant of $300,000 to Esperanza to build its capacity and outreach in the community.

• A two-year grant of $320,000 to The Center for Community Solutions and a three-year grant of $240,000 to the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio for their public policy analysis and advocacy efforts, with a particular emphasis on the impact of COVID-19 and future recovery efforts at both the state and local levels.

• A $57,000 grant to Greater Cleveland Congregations for its work advancing the creation of Cuyahoga County mental health crisis diversion centers to provide crisis services as alternatives to arrest and booking into the criminal justice system.

• A $75,000 grant to the Urban League to support a coordinated effort of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and the Fund for Our Economic Future aimed at advocating for equitable policy solutions to support community rebuilding efforts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

• $500,000 over two years to ideastream to support community issues programming, including the launch this fall of its Statewide News Collaborative with anchor public radio stations in Columbus and Cincinnati.

The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 by George Gund, former chairman of the Cleveland Trust Company. Grants are made three times a year in the areas of public education, thriving families and social justice, vibrant neighborhoods and inclusive economy, climate and environmental justice, and creative culture and arts. Foundation commitments to date have totaled over $775 million.

Jessica May, a former research analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and a graduate student at Case Western Reserve University, has been selected as the 2020-2022 George Gund Foundation Fellow.

May is pursuing dual Master’s degrees in Social Administration and in Nonprofit Organizations from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at CWRU.  A California native, May received her B.A. in economics from Occidental College in Los Angeles.  She joined the Federal Reserve in 2016 where she assisted with long-term research in fields such as the economics of education and urban economics.

While in graduate school she has worked at The Centers for Families and Children and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress.  She also is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.  May resides in Cleveland Heights and will begin her work at the Foundation in early July.

The George Gund Foundation Fellows program, started in 2004, provides an opportunity for promising young professionals to work inside the Foundation, an organization that plays an active role in supporting the civic life of Greater Cleveland and in various national policy deliberations that impact our community. Each Fellow, selected from a nationwide pool of applicants, works at the Foundation for two years.