The promise of enduring, progressive change grows from roots—the kind that deepen over the years, anchoring vision to purpose and memory to motion. For more than 70 years, the Gund Foundation has drawn its strength from that kind of rootedness: in family, yes, but also in place, in people, and in principle. This heritage isn’t something we preserve at a distance, it evolves with each passing year, as fresh voices expand our vision and our resistance.

As the first member of our family’s third generation to serve on the Gund Foundation board, I now welcome the fourth. Watching my daughter, Sadie, and my cousin, Lucy, step into stewardship reminds me that legacy is not about holding tight, but about handing forward—with trust, with hope, and with fire.

At the same time, we are deepening our promise to Cleveland—the city that has raised and shaped our family and continues to call us to act with urgency and love. To that end, we have expanded the number and influence of Clevelanders on our board. Now nearly half of the members live and work in the community. We also now welcome grantee partner leadership among the members. This is not only good governance, it’s a powerful kind of strategic alignment. Because real change requires proximity, our Cleveland Trustees ground our vision in lived experience while all together we continue to dream boldly. This work requires voices that know the streets, the schools, the systems—and are brave enough to reimagine them.

We write this in a time of rising fear, rising violence, and rising uncertainty—not abstract forces, but daily, lived realities that touch every one of our grantees and the communities they live in and serve. Whether in parks or polling places, classrooms or courtrooms, the stakes of this moment are unavoidably clear.  And yet, so is our commitment. We stand with our community partners, with our city, and now with a new generation, for a better Cleveland, a better country, and a better world.

This is a year of bridges: between generations, between despair and determination, between what we have inherited and what we dare to create. The Gund Foundation moves forward with justice in our hearts, joy in our practice, and the long work ahead held firmly in our hands. Now with more voices, more vision, and even deeper roots.

Catherine Gund | Board Chair

Julia Carey named Grants Administrator

Julia Carey joined the Foundation in April as the grants administrator. She supports prospective grantees and is responsible for the Foundation’s grantmaking system and processes, including grant correspondence, payments, reports, and files.

Mikayla Coleman named 2025–27 Fellow

Mikayla Coleman joined the Foundation in June as the newest George Gund Foundation Fellow. In this two-year role, Mikayla will support all program areas in the grant review process, program strategy, and community engagement.

Five New Members appointed to Board of Trustees

The Foundation welcomes Kim Foreman, Lindsey Gund, Lucy Gund, Sadie Rain Hope-Gund, and Melaak Rashid to its Board of Trustees. The new Trustees join three Cleveland Trustees and five family Trustees.