The George Gund Foundation awards $7,045,543 at its summer meeting
Grantmaking
The George Gund Foundation announced more than $7 million in grants made at its July board meeting to organizations ranging from the grassroots-focused In Our Backyards to the venerable Cleveland Institute of Music.
In Our Backyards works in five cities to support small, neighborhood-based projects that improve local quality of life and positively impact the environment. It received a three-year grant of $195,000 for its Cleveland office. The Institute of Music received $150,000 over three years for its Musical Pathway Fellowship which cultivates minority talent for music conservatories and orchestras.
Building upon its multi-million dollar investment in new schools, the Foundation awarded a total of $1.1 million for continued support of new Cleveland Metropolitan School District high schools, including the new West Side High School, aimed at attracting students from the Detroit Shoreway, Ohio City, West Boulevard, Edgewater, and Cudell neighborhoods. The new building will house a refreshed Garrett Morgan High School and a new school currently under development.
The Foundation made two grants that address local infant mortality and the health of new mothers. First Year Cleveland, through its fiscal sponsor, the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, received $250,000 to support its core infrastructure. First Year Cleveland coordinates the action of over 400 organizations, programs, projects and policy advocacy efforts that are attacking infant mortality rates. The University Hospital Health Systems’ Rainbow Center for Women and Children located in the Midtown Corridor, received a two-year grant of $300,000 to support its participation in a national study to test the efficacy of a promising model of perinatal counseling, “Reach Out, Stay Strong, Essentials for New Moms.” Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the number one complication of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting up to 1 in 7 pregnant and postpartum women nationally.
Other grants of interest include:
- $50,000 to EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute to open a bakery which will be housed between its Life Center (which provides affordable apartments and amenities for all students) and its butcher shop. EDWINS offers a free, 6-month program for formerly incarcerated people that provides career pathways in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
- $300,000 over two years to support the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition. The Conservancy was founded in 1986 to breathe new life into abandoned rail corridors by converting them for public use. When complete, the 1,600-mile regional trail system will span five states and over 50 counties. Clevelanders will be able to ride their bikes on off-road trails ultimately linking Cleveland to Pittsburgh, Erie, Buffalo and Washington, DC.
- $25,000 to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress to create a roadmap for the City of Cleveland to equitably transition to 100 percent renewable energy.
- $100,000 over two years to support the Arts Intern program at Studio in a School Association. The program provides opportunities for local college undergraduates to learn about nonprofit arts professions through internships in museums and cultural institutions. The program seeks candidates with demonstrated financial need and encourages applicants from diverse cultural backgrounds. The program was initiated in New York City and has expanded to Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Memphis and Providence.
- $70,000 to ideastream to study the feasibility of creating an Ohio Radio and Digital News Collaborative that includes the anchor public radio stations in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. A statewide news collaborative would allow ideastream to help lead an emerging national trend among public media organizations to share and coordinate resources to expand their mission of fact-based, contextual and balanced reporting.
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 over $751 million.
Further details on the Summer 2019 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
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The George Gund Foundation awards $7,271,790 at winter meeting
Grantmaking
The George Gund Foundation awarded $7,271,790 at its winter meeting to organizations ranging from a new theater festival to long-established groups such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland.
The inaugural Borderlight Festival of Theatre Cleveland, is a 4-day international and local performing arts festival premiering in August based in downtown venues and at Cleveland’s neighborhood theatres. It will feature renowned performers from abroad and world premiere collaborations between Cleveland-based theatre artists and international artists. It was awarded a $100,000 grant.
The Boys & Girls Clubs will receive $50,000 to support the development of a digital arts suite at East Technical High School as part of the community’s celebration of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July. The Cleveland Indians are also supporting the creation of the suite along with other projects in Cleveland to leave a legacy of the summer event.
Other grants of interest include:
- Birthing Beautiful Communities (BBC) will receive an $80,000 grant. BBC is a village of birth workers or doulas who primarily provide social support to pregnant women at highest risk for infant mortality during the perinatal period. The pre-term birth rate among black women in Ohio is 45 percent higher that all women statewide and the black infant mortality rate in Cuyahoga County is more than triple that of white infants. BBC addresses and improves the systemic and community structures that lead to poor birth outcomes through culture, education, advocacy, support and engagement. Its free neighborhood-based services include childbirth and parenting education with workshops and classes on breastfeeding, stress relief, bonding with baby, co-parenting and healthy eating.
- For the past several years, the Foundation has supported the work that the Cleveland Police Department (CPD), Strategies for Youth and the Schubert Center for Child Development at Case Western Reserve University to develop model policies or protocols regarding youth interactions with the police that could be adopted by the CPD. Strategies for Youth will receive a $50,000 grant to support programs that will seek to reduce the use of force against and the number of arrests of people by police in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County and improving communications and overall relations between police and youth, particularly youth of color.
- $100,000 to support Youth Opportunities Unlimited, founded to connect Cleveland’s high school youth to their first paid summer jobs. The program partners with local high schools, employers, and nonprofits to provide year-round, in-school and after-school programs that help hundreds of teens and young adults prepare for the workforce.
- $3,600,000 over three years to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, to support its goal of positively impacting the community by providing financial support, training and capacity building efforts to community development corporations, supporting and performing placemaking activities to improve residential, commercial and greenspace properties, and delivering economic opportunity programming to ensure city residents can thrive where they live.
- $200,000 over two years to support the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the largest and oldest citizens’ environmental organization dedicated to the protection of the Great Lakes. It strives to conserve and restore the world’s largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife. The Alliance ensures that the Great Lakes Compact, a comprehensive international effort to conserve water resources in the Great Lakes Basin, is a strong and effective tool for enforcing water conservation and resource impact prevention.
- $100,000 to Ohio City Incorporated to help support the final phases of the Irishtown Bend Park planning and design initiative. Irishtown Bend is a 17-acre site that connects Ohio City to the Flats, downtown, and Lake Erie. The property is poised to undergo significant hillside restabilization in advance of the creation of a park that will include the final section of the Lake Link Trail – a cascading system of walkways, trails and park amenities leading down the hillside.
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 over $740 million.
Further details on the Winter 2019 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
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The George Gund Foundation awards its final grants of 2018
Grantmaking
The George Gund Foundation awarded $14.2 million in grants at its final meeting of 2018 to continue its support of collaborative efforts such as the Fund for Our Economic Future and to spur the growth of organizations like the Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland.
The Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration among local funders working to improve the economic competitiveness of Northeast Ohio, received renewed support of $4 million over three years. Earlier this year, the Fund issued Two Tomorrows, a proposed set of regional priorities focusing on job creation, preparation and access with particular attention directed at systemic racial inequities and the barriers to opportunity that they create.
The Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland has been a leading nonprofit organization that empowers Northeast Ohio’s LGBTQ community through advocacy, education, collaboration and celebration. It is building a new facility in the Gordon Square Arts District, which will serve as a visible and tangible symbol of hope, pride and equity for members of the LGBTQ community. The Foundation has provided a $300,000 challenge grant, to help the building achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver construction certification.
Other grants of interest include:
- $45,500 to Twelve Literary Arts for the inaugural year of the Baldwin House Urban Writing Residency, providing a creative and welcoming space for adult poets and writers of color to begin new projects or to bring current projects to completion.
- $75,000 to College Now Greater Cleveland, Inc. for a variety of higher education supports for Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) graduates who are residents of Cleveland. These programs include scholarships, school-based college access advising and financial aid counseling, and retention and mentoring services that keep scholarship recipients on track to graduation.
- $30,000 to the City Club of Ohio for “Igniting the Future,” a year-long forum series that will celebrate Cleveland’s historic role in the creation of the modern environmental movement and explore current environmental issues, such as the restoration of the Great Lakes.
- $150,000 to the Ohio Justice and Policy Center for operating support to pursue deeper, more lasting reforms that will help make Ohio’s criminal justice system smarter, smaller, and much more equitable and just.
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 over $733 million.
Further details on the 2018 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
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The George Gund Foundation Awards $9,294,250 at its summer meeting
The George Gund Foundation expressed its continued commitment to state and local voter advocacy initiatives by awarding several grants at its summer 2018 meeting to help increase participation by historically underrepresented populations. The grants aim to support strategies to increase racial and economic fairness in voter registration and voting and to help all citizens realize that their best interests require a vibrant, healthy political system.
“Democracy is in trouble,” said David Abbott, the foundation’s executive director. “Foreign interference in our elections, vital institutions like a free press under incessant attack, voter turnout pathetically low and cynicism running wild—these are just some of the challenges that our cherished system faces. We are joining with many others in the efforts to restore confidence and participation. The only solutions to democracy’s problems are through democracy itself.”
Among the grants awarded were:
- $200,000 to The Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a coalition of more than 20 groups working to organize Ohioans to push for social, racial and economic justice through voter registration, promoting criminal justice reform, student organizing and leadership development and training.
- $125,000 to Ohio Voice, a statewide coalition of nonprofit organizations working to increase the collective influence of its members and the constituencies they serve through strategic, coordinated, nonpartisan civic engagement activities, specifically by engaging and raising the influence of historically marginalized populations.
- $25,150 to Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates, Inc., a volunteer-led voter registration, research and advocacy organization serving the needs of underrepresented citizens and students in the Cleveland area.
The Foundation also awarded $8.94 million in additional grants at the meeting that reflect its deep interests in education, human services, the environment, arts and economic development. These grants included:
- Three grants totaling $890,000 to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to support its ongoing transformation by growing the number of high-quality Cleveland schools.
- $75,000 to Case Western Reserve University to fund research and data collection on properties in Cleveland to help develop strategies for lead hazard control.
- $50,000 to West Creek Conservancy to support the creation of a state designated water trail along the Cuyahoga River, allowing canoes and kayaks easier navigation.
- $144,000 to the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art for the inaugural minority curatorial fellowship to help address the national lack of diversity in the arts field.
- $50,000 to LAND studio to support a planning initiative that will position Shaker Square to best serve the needs of the surrounding community.
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 over $722 million.
Further details on the summer 2018 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
The George Gund Foundation awards $7.4 million at its summer meeting
The George Gund Foundation awarded $1.2 million to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to continue the work of transforming education in the city as part of more than $7.4 million in grants at its July board meeting. These included grants totaling more than $2 million to support nonprofits working to have a stronger advocacy voice on important current issues.
The grant to the school district advances Cleveland’s Plan for Transforming Schools, whose goal is to ensure every child in Cleveland attends a high-quality school and every neighborhood has a multitude of great schools from which families can choose. The current grant will support start-up expenses of 12 high schools opening this year or in the past few years.
Among the policy-related grants were:
- Up to $400,000 to the Center for Community Solutions to advance the Ohio Transformation Fund, which is a collaboration working toward criminal justice reform, particularly the reduction of the number and racial disparity of people incarcerated in Ohio.
- $100,000 to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, which has been targeted for funding cuts by the state and federal governments.
- $80,000 to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress to build advocacy capacity among community development organizations.
Other grants of interest include:
- $240,000 over two years to support Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), the largest nonprofit provider of low-income housing in Cleveland. CHN owns approximately 2,000 housing units, many with long-term leases to tenants who may take ownership after 15 years.
- $50,000 to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress to help update the City of Cleveland’s Climate Action Plan, outlining steps on projects, programs and policies needed to reduce Cleveland’s greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
- $100,000 over two years to support the Medicaid reimbursement strategy of Magnolia Clubhouse, an organization that integrates social, vocational and psychiatric interventions to people diagnosed with severe mental disorders, while engaging them in Clubhouse operations, supported community employment and the pursuit of educational attainment.
- $100,000 to University Circle Incorporated to help restore a portion of the Cozad-Bates house and transform it into an Underground Railroad Interpretive Center outlining how the University Circle neighborhood participated in the pre-Civil War abolitionist movement.
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 over $701 million.
Further details on the summer 2017 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
The George Gund Foundation awards its first grants of 2017
The George Gund Foundation, which has long supported building a robust nonprofit voice in public policy deliberations at all levels of government, targeted significant funding for an array of policy-related organizations at its winter meeting. The grants support organizations and efforts to defend access to essential human needs, ranging from clean energy to health care, now being threatened in the emerging federal policy environment.
Among these grants are:
- $200,000 to the New Venture Fund for the Safety Net Defense Fund, a pooled national philanthropic fund designed to facilitate funders’ rapid deployment and leveraging of resources in defense of the nation’s safety net social programs.
- $250,000 to the Center for Community Solutions for the creation of the Rapid Response Fund which will provide emergency support to organizations on the front lines of local, state and federal policy debates impacting low-income and vulnerable children and families in Greater Cleveland.
- $200,000 over two years to the Center for Law and Social Policy, a national, non-partisan public policy organization focusing on economic security for low-income families.
- $450,000 over three years to the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution for its work analyzing the implications for cities and metropolitan areas of the policies proposed by Congress and the new administration.
- $100,000 over two years to the Equality Ohio Education Fund to provide support to persons and communities facing increased challenges and threats resulting from changes in federal policies.
- $100,000 over two years to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Community Center of Greater Cleveland for increased efforts to empower Northeast Ohio’s LGBTQ community through advocacy, education, collaboration, and celebration.
- $200,000 to the Energy Foundation to create an effective communication effort that tells a unified and comprehensive story about the human and economic value of clean energy and the looming threat of climate change.
The Foundation board of trustees awarded 66 grants, totaling $5,229,050. Other grants of interest include:
- $150,000 over three years to Cleveland Institute of Music for its minority artist fellowship pilot program, created to cultivate a larger local minority student talent pool and prepare them for entrance into top national conservatories and orchestras.
- $75,000 to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress for “Growing Equity in Northeast Ohio: 2017 Year of Awareness Building.” The program seeks to broaden and deepen the discussions of race and inequality in Cleveland.
- $100,000 to the Group Plan Commission for event programming and operations support at Public Square.
- $54,000 to Strategies for Youth to help finalize and implement formal youth protocols guiding interactions between the Cleveland Police and area youth.
- $59,000 to the ACLU of Ohio to support a detailed review of Cuyahoga County bail policies and to support bail reform.
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 almost $694 million.
Further details on the winter 2017 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
The George Gund Foundation Awards its 2016 Summer Grants
The George Gund Foundation announced a total of $4,886,750 in grants determined at its July board meeting. The grants ranged from support of the Collective Arts Network’s production of the CAN Journal to support of locally-oriented retail business training by the Hispanic Business Association.
Several grants support access to high quality reproductive health through both direct services and public policy advocacy. Grants to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, the Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence and the Family Planning Association of Northeast Ohio, Inc. offer services to women seeking access to reproductive health care, victims of sexual assault and vulnerable teens.
The Foundation made a $100,000 grant award to launch the Excellence in Teaching Award, developed in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, the Cleveland Teachers Union, and the Cleveland Foundation. This award, intended to be annual, recognizes and rewards CMSD teachers who demonstrate creativity and innovation, who make learning engaging for students and who set a standard of excellence.
Other grants of interest include:
- $150,000 to the Cleveland Water Alliance to host an event called “AquaHacking 2017: United for Lake Erie” that will focus on water quality issues, including the toxic algal bloom that annually afflicts the western basin of the lake.
- $60,000 to the Museum of Contemporary Art to build organizational capacity to support the work of the newly-hired lead curatorial staff in positioning the museum globally in light of its 50th anniversary in 2018.
- $100,000 to Montessori Development Partnerships in continued support of the launch of Stonebrook Montessori charter school in Glenville. The school is sponsored by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and is the only public Montessori school on the city’s east side.
- $145,000 to the Juvenile Justice Coalition Inc. and the Council for a Strong America to provide continued investment in juvenile justice reform.
- $60,000 to the Greater Cleveland Media Development Corporation to encourage and support the burgeoning film industry in Cleveland and advocate for state support of the industry through increased tax credits.
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 $700 million.
Further details on the Summer 2016 grant awardees can be found at www.gundfoundation.org.
Foundation Awards $7 Million at Winter Meeting
The George Gund Foundation approved grants totaling $7,083,637 at its February meeting, including continuing support for Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and $1 million to help match Cuyahoga County's major expansion of funding for high quality preschool.
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Inc. (CNP) has played a crucial role in supporting the health of Cleveland’s neighborhoods for almost three decades. It was a leader in developing innovative strategies to fight the urban ravages of the mortgage foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession. The Foundation awarded CNP $3,600,000 over the next three years to incorporate more people-oriented strategies into the rehabilitation of Cleveland’s neighborhoods.
The Foundation committed $1 million over two years to the campaign for private donations to match $10 million from Cuyahoga County for expansion of its Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program. “The social and economic evidence of early childhood education’s impact is overwhelming,” said Marcia Egbert, the Foundation’s senior program officer for human services. “The County’s expanded program will increase the number of high-quality seats and will make them more affordable for children with the greatest need.”
Other grants of note included:
- $25,000 to the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes to host a series of public events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the efforts to successfully fight the construction of the Clark Lee Freeway, which would have cut through the Shaker Lakes and Cleveland's east side
- $95,000, over two years, to GroundWorks DanceTheater for operating support and completion of work identified in its strategic plan to artistically and administratively move the organization foward
- $175,000 for operating support and capacity building to the Cleveland Transformation Alliance, which oversees the implementation of the Cleveland Plan, our community's education reform plan
- $40,000 to the Healthy Fathering Collaborative for the Baby Elmo Project, which provides parenting education for previously incarcerated teen fathers to develop and strengthen relationships with their young children
- $100,000 to Oberlin College for the Oberlin Food Hub. The Hub will aggregate produce from multiple smaller Northeastern Ohio farms and then distribute the food to institutional buyers, such as grocery store chains
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 almost $696 million.
Foundation Grants $17.7 Million at Final Meeting of 2015
The George Gund Foundation approved funding for a diverse array of organizations primarily serving Cleveland at its November meeting. The initiatives receiving grants range from continued support of a national teacher corps presence in Cleveland schools to a local program linking urban consumers with Northeast Ohio farmers.
The Fund for Our Economic Future received a three-year $4,000,000 grant to continue its efforts to grow the region’s ecosystem of entrepreneurship and to leverage philanthropic investments in regional economic growth and opportunity with those of the business community.
The Western Reserve Historical Society received a two-year $250,000 grant to create the “Cleveland Starts Here” permanent exhibit, which will feature local history at the Cleveland History Center in University Circle.
Bard College received a $150,000 grant to open a second early college high school as part of the Foundation’s commitment to innovative schools in Cleveland. The initial attendance for the first school, opened in 2014, has been extremely high. The school offers a tuition-free, credit-bearing college course of study in the liberal arts and sciences.
Trustees approved 96 grants to organizations working in human services, education, arts, environment and economic and community development at the Foundation’s final meeting of 2015, totaling $17,738,500.
Other grants of note included:
- $5,000,000, over five years, to the Foundation Fighting Blindness for the creation of My Retina Tracker, a secure digital database that will accelerate identifying participants for clinical trials of potential treatments of macular degenerative diseases
- $250,000 to Lake View Cemetery Foundation for the first phase of renovations to the historic James A. Garfield monument
- $210,000, over two years, to Bike Cleveland for operating support and project funding to develop a citywide bike sharing program
- $50,000 to the Young Women's Christian Association of Cleveland for the "A Place 4 Me" initiative to end homelessness and provide support for youth who have aged out of the foster-care system
- $25,000 to the local non-partisan think tank PolicyBridge for operating support in order to "create and sustain a high quality discourse that addresses public policy issues"
- $65,000 to College Now Greater Cleveland Inc. to continue the work of the Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland
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 almost $689 million.
The George Gund Foundation Awards $7 Million at Summer Meeting
Grantmaking
The George Gund Foundation has joined an alliance of national and Ohio-based funding partners and approved a $200,000 grant to launch the Ohio Transformation Fund, an initiative focused on changing inequities in the justice system that now result in nearly one in six Ohio adults having some form of criminal record.
“There is growing interest and urgency inside government and across Cleveland and other Ohio communities to seek changes in these policies, especially in light of recent tragic events,” said Senior Program Officer Marcia Egbert.
She said this initiative is an extension of work the Foundation has supported for more than a decade in juvenile justice reform targeted at reducing the number of youth in detention institutions, closing the worst facilities, supporting high-quality community alternatives and shifting state funding to reflect a more community-focused juvenile justice system.
At its summer meeting, Foundation Trustees also approved several grants for continued juvenile justice work including $150,000 over two years to the Northern Kentucky Children’s Law Center, up to $80,000 for the Juvenile Justice Coalition Inc. and up to $85,000 over two years to Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Innovative Practices.
“This is an important moment of opportunity in Cleveland and statewide to challenge long-embedded policies and practices in our justice system,” added Egbert. “We hope these investments will help drive effective, equitable and lasting reforms that simultaneously promote fairness and improve community safety.”
The grants were among 92 made to a wide range of education, environment, arts, human services and economic and community development organizations totaling $7,084,400.
Grants of more than $1.3 million reflected the Foundation’s continuing effort to create a portfolio of new, excellent and innovative schools in Cleveland. These included $780,000 to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District for three new schools at the newly-rebuilt John Marshall High School, the second year of the Cleveland High School for the Digital Arts and a redesigned Cleveland School of the Arts; $300,000 to Friends of Breakthrough Schools for continued planning and expansion of its charter school network; $170,000 to Bard College for Bard High School Early College Cleveland; and $100,000 to Montessori Development Partnerships for the new Stonebrook Montessori School.
Other grants of interest include:
- $580,000 to the Cleveland Play House for operating support and for the Spotlight on Excellence Centennial Campaign
- $200,000 over two years to the Rails to Trails Conservancy for the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition
- $300,000 to the Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County for the PRE4CLE high-quality pre-school initiative
- $180,000 over two years to the Trust for Public Land to support its Cleveland office
- $137,500 to the Cleveland Municipal School District Transformation Alliance
- $20,000 to the St. Clair-Superior Development Corporation for the Upcycle Parts Shop
- $35,000 to the City Club of Cleveland to upgrade the technology used for its forums
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 $672 million.