Posted on December 21, 2010

Cleveland Foundation Awards $12.9 Million in Fourth-Quarter Grants

The Cleveland Foundation has announced fourth-quarter grants totaling $12.9 million to nonprofits in the Greater Cleveland area working in a broad range of areas.

Grantees include the Enterprise Cleveland Group (formerly ShoreBank Enterprise Group, Cleveland), which was awarded $400,000 in support of Green City Growers, the newest of the worker-owned Evergreen Cooperatives; ParkWorks, which received $250,000 to strengthen a strategic partnership with Neighborhood Progress, Inc. as well as its ongoing efforts to develop parks and green spaces in downtown Cleveland; Community Re-Entry, which was awarded $400,000 for its Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance Outreach Project; and the Gordon Square Arts District, which received $250,000 for Phase II renovations to the Cleveland Public Theatre.

The foundation also awarded grants totaling $970,000 to three lead partners of MyCom, a youth development initiative that serves children from kindergarten through college. The grants include $550,000 to Starting Point for out-of-school-time activities, $270,000 to the Cuyahoga County Family and Children First Council to oversee day-to-day operations and management of MyCom, and $150,000 to Youth Opportunities Unlimited to provide summer employment opportunities to youth in MyCom neighborhoods.

In addition, the foundation awarded a special $150,000 grant to the Economic Growth Foundation to support transition activities for the incoming Cuyahoga County Council and County Executive Ed FitzGerald. The grant will fund an executive search for candidates to fill key positions, as well as an "integrity audit" to uncover all unethical practices within county government. "The change to a new form of county government is dramatic," said Robert Eckardt, senior vice president for programs and evaluation at the Cleveland Foundation. "We believe that getting the right people into the right positions is critical for the success of this new structure, and we're pleased to be able to help."

For a complete list of the foundation's fourth-quarter grants, visit the Cleveland Foundation Web site.