Cleveland Foundation
www.clevelandfoundation.org
216.861.3810
The Cleveland Foundation’s board has approved $16.3 million for fourth quarter grants. Grants cover the range of priority areas for the foundation, including Education Reform, Economic Development, Neighborhood Revitalization, Human Services, and an expansion of the ENCORE Program (aimed at mobilizing older adults for the betterment of the community). The Cleveland Foundation exclusively funds programs in the Greater Cleveland area.
The foundation recognizes Youth Development programs as a critical part of the well being of the greater Cleveland area. The foundation, In conjunction with local government and key community leaders, developed the MYCOM- My Commitment, My Community- initiative in 2006. The program is a network of people and organizations that aims to give youth positive opportunities in their local community. Below are examples of this quarter’s awards under the umbrella of the MYCOM program, as well as grants awarded to address reform in Cleveland’s public education system.
Highlights of 4th Quarter Youth Related Grants:
Youth Development- MYCOM
- $661,000 to Starting Point, Northeast Ohio’s child care and early education resource and referral agency, to manage MyCom’s “out-of-school time” or after school and summer programming, which last year served more than 3,500 youth throughout Cuyahoga County.
- $300,000 to Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) to lead the youth employment programs for MyCom. Last summer, 3,400 youth were paired with local employment opportunities through YOU.
- $80,000 to Voices for Ohio’s Children (VOC), an advocacy organization focusing on advancing public policies at the local, state, and federal levels that positively impact children and young people. VOC is the lead advocacy agency for MyCom.
Public Education Reform
- $600,000 to Teach for America to help fund year three of Cleveland’s program, supporting 200 corps members who are deployed in area schools.
- $350,000 to Esperanza to expand a variety of its academic and family engagement programs, including its workshop-based Family Engagement Program, which seeks to enhance the role of parents in the education of their children.
- $200,000 to Guidestone to support the agency’s successful Stepstone Academy in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood. After its first year, 85-percent of its students, many of whom were underperforming, exceeded one year’s worth of academic growth.
- $100,000 to support the school quality project of the Cleveland Transformation Alliance. The funding will assist with the creation and distribution of a public report card for district and charter schools.
- $100,000 to United Way for the agency’s “wrap-around” strategy for CMSD “investment schools,” low-performing schools targeted for significant intervention. The strategy focuses on providing comprehensive social services and resources to meet the needs of families and students
For a complete list of the Foundation’s quarterly grants, click here.