Spotlight On

April 1, 2008


Organization Name: Zonta Club of Cleveland
Year Founded: 1921
Contact: Sarojini Rao, President
Address: 3286 Bradford Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
Phone: (216) 371-3742
URL: www.zontacleveland.org
E-mail: president@zontacleveland.org


Mission
The mission of the Zonta Club of Cleveland is to improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women through service and advocacy.

Background:
One year after Zonta International was established in 1919, a group of women met to organize the Cleveland club. The Zonta Club of Cleveland was chartered in November 1921, and is number 14 of 1,229 clubs with 34,000 members in 71 countries. It is an organization of business and profession women committed to improving the status of women through community and international service. As part of Zonta International, a worldwide service organization, the Cleveland club works locally and globally to provide service to other organizations devoted to issues of health, education and prevention of domestic violence.

Zonta members volunteer their time, talent and money to service projects as well as to scholarship and other award programs aimed at furthering education, leadership and youth development.

Current programs:
Local problems include:

• Aiding domestic violence shelters
• Breast cancer awareness activities
• Diabetes prevention and care
• Scholarships
• Women in History/Women of Achievement awards
• Book awards to high school girls
• Mentoring high school girls
• Assisting local food programs
• Women’s re-entry programs

International programs include:

• Amelia Earhart Fellowship for graduate education in science and engineering
• Jane Klausman Awards for business pursuits
• Young Women in Public Affairs program
• Developing strategies to eradicate violence against women and children

Zonta International has consultative status with the United Nations for service programs.

Funding Needs:
The Zonta Club of Cleveland Foundation administers funds raised for scholarships and service projects. It awards scholarships to three college girls annually and provides funds for such projects as:

• The Sister to Sister Project for high school girls
• The women’s re-Entry program after incarceration
• Domestic violence prevention shelters
• Achievement awards for high school girls
• Zonta International Foundation

Every month, the "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in the Midwest, with special emphasis on Northeast Ohio. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to dmh@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.