1996 Annual Report

This Foundation joined with a host of other community institutions in 1996 to celebrate Cleveland’s bicentennial. From fireworks over the Cuyahoga to neighborhood street fairs to the gala opening of the Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland’s citizens celebrated Cleveland’s past, present and future.

We made almost 400 grants totaling more than $18.8 million during the city’s bicentennial year, many of them geared to strengthening the civic and social infrastructure of this community and improving the quality of life of its residents.

Our economic development and community revitalization program continued its emphasis on job creation and workforce readiness with grants to the Glenville Development Corporation and WECO Fund for microenterprise efforts and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning for local workforce education and training.

The Foundation also maintained its interest in improving educational opportunities for Cleveland Public Schools children with grants for professional development to the Cleveland Education Fund and for a health and human services coordinator in the school system. We also contributed to several national school improvement policy-oriented efforts.

In human services grantmaking, we helped organizations prepare for coming changes in governmental programs through assistance with strategic planning, mergers and program realignment. Grants to Children’s Services to facilitate a merger with Child Guidance Center and support for management restructuring at Beech Brook represent this aspect of our grantmaking.

Collaborative programming and efforts to reach new audiences were emphasized in the arts. The Foundation’s largest arts grant was $1 million to Playhouse Square Foundation for renovation of the landmark Allen Theatre, which will house long-running shows, producing income to offset rent for Playhouse  Square’s resident companies.

We continued to encourage environmental leadership development with grants to the Institute for Conservation Leadership and for a Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute.

Although staff and trustees spend much of their time focusing on  the major issues and concerns facing the community, we also are aware that often it is the smaller, less dramatic spaces, events and activities that add meaning and quality to our lives. This awareness is reflected in our annual photo essay, which this year focuses on urban gardens.

The Foundation for many years has made grants falling under the general rubric of  “urban design and amenities.” Our support for the Cleveland Botanical Garden’s school gardening program, exterior restoration of Public Square’s historical Old Stone Church, a water sculpture by noted artist Maya Lin for the Cleveland Public Library’s reading garden and the planting of trees for the bicentennial by Clean-Land, Ohio may be reflected in different program areas, but they all fall into this general category.

We are aware of the pleasures that a colorful garden by the freeway ramp or a piece of outdoor sculpture in an unexpected place bring to our urban existence, and the fine photographs by Gregory Conniff in this year’s report beautifully illustrate that.

As you can see by looking through this report, 1996 was a busy year for the Foundation, with grants ranging from just a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million. The trustees and staff are proud of our association with the work of our grantees and look forward to reporting to you next year regarding their progress and ours.

David Bergholz, Executive Director