Month: December 2020

Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund announces latest round of grants

/ juliankhan / Leave a comment
Partners award more than $220,000 in fourth cycle of Phase II grantmaking

CLEVELAND (Dec. 22, 2020) – The Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund coalition announced today the most recent round of biweekly grants to support the nonprofit community. In total, $220,779 was awarded to nine organizations and groups serving Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties. Since the start of Phase II in mid-November, partners have granted nearly $1.8 million.

The latest round of grant recipients includes:

  • The City Club of Cleveland ($25,000): To support the City Club’s food distribution partnership with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries, an effort that is producing 10,000 meals every week for Greater Cleveland’s homeless population
  • Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center ($25,000): To provide basic needs such as food, clothing, utility and housing assistance, as well as loaner laptops and personalized technical support for deaf clients, those with speech disorders, and their families in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties
  • Harvard Community Services Center ($35,000): To continue to serve homebound adults and families across the Lee-Harvard, Miles and Seville neighborhoods through the mobile delivery of care packages containing food and basic hygiene items
  • HOLA Ohio ($25,000): To facilitate access to medical care and unemployment assistance for the Latino and immigrant populations in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties, while also providing PPE and funds for help with basic needs including housing, bills, groceries and medicines
  • LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland ($21,779): To continue to provide food assistance, transportation, social-emotional support via tele/virtual community group meetings and programming, virtual wellness options, street outreach, and legal referrals and advocacy for the LGBTQ population in Greater Cleveland
  • Pregnant with Possibilities Resource Center ($49,000): To provide support and transportation assistance to help expectant and new mothers in Cuyahoga County access Making Opportunities Matter (M.O.M.) counseling and diaper distributions
  • Senior Transportation Connection (STC) ($15,000): To continue essential transportation operations that prioritize medical, dialysis and food access trips, while also purchasing enhanced PPE for older adults in Cuyahoga County with mobility needs and limited social supports
  • Slavic Village Development ($20,000): To provide funds for emergency housing repairs, emergency rental/mortgage assistance, food insecurities and transportation needs, PPE and health-related cleaning supplies funds to those facing housing instability or homelessness in the Broadway/Slavic Village neighborhoods
  • Ursuline Piazza ($5,000): To provide food assistance for HIV-positive residents in Cuyahoga County to help avoid food insecurity during the holiday season

Contributions to the second phase of the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund total nearly $3.5 million, including support from new funding partner Evelyn B. Newell. Funding partners urge other foundations, corporate entities, individuals and organizations to contribute to the Fund. Donations of any amount are welcomed, and all contributions are tax deductible.

Based upon the charitable structure of the Rapid Response Fund, the second phase is currently accepting grant applications from eligible organizations serving Cuyahoga, Lake and/or Geauga counties. The Fund is designed primarily to support human service nonprofits with operational budgets of less than $20 million. The Fund partners encourage collaborative proposals that involve multiple organizations within similar sectors or neighborhoods working on shared issues, with a focus on basic needs, family supports, PPE, testing and contact tracing.

Grants during Phase II of the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund are awarded every two weeks and will continue for one year. Awards range in size from $5,000 to $100,000, with a maximum grant amount of $100,000 for any nonprofit organization throughout the current cycle ending Oct. 31, 2021. Organizations that were funded during Phase I (between March-July 2020) are eligible to apply for additional funding. Grants are limited to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, groups fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or other charitable organizations able to receive a tax-deductible contribution.

For more information or to donate, visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Response.

Facebook awards $1 million to Cleveland Black Futures Fund

/ juliankhan / Leave a comment
Now over $4 million, the Fund plans to open applications early next year for
Black-led and Black-serving social change organizations engaged in anti-racism work in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (Dec. 11, 2020) – Catalyzed by a $1 million grant from Facebook, the Cleveland Black Futures Fund today announced it has amassed more than $4 million since inception on Sept. 1 to invest in and strengthen Black-led and Black-serving social change organizations.

Today’s announcement is part of Facebook’s commitment to support Black businesses, creators and nonprofits. The Cleveland Foundation was one of 20 community foundations to receive funding as part of the California-based social media corporation’s announcement today. The Cleveland Black Futures Fund has received additional support from George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation ($50,000), The HealthComp Foundation ($60,000), Saint Luke’s Foundation ($150,000) and the Treu-Mart Fund ($100,000), as well as nearly $40,000 in individual donations.

“We’re excited to work with the Cleveland Foundation to help bring much needed funding to nonprofits that are serving and supporting the Black community in Greater Cleveland,” said Marcy Scott Lynn, Facebook director of global impact partnerships. “We’re providing funding directly to the Cleveland Foundation to build on its track record of supporting Black-led nonprofits and ensure that people locally are making the decisions about where these dollars are most needed and can have the most impact.”

The overarching goal of the Cleveland Black Futures Fund is to strengthen the ecosystem of Black leaders and Black-serving organizations in Greater Cleveland by providing intentional resources to help grow organizational infrastructure and capacity. Long term, the foundation aims to deepen the field of leaders working to dismantle systemic racism and advance the community towards racial equity.

In recent months, both the COVID-19 pandemic and the historic protests happening nationally and locally have prompted a bolder call to action to address systemic racism and its devastating effects in the Greater Cleveland community. While Cleveland is home to a dynamic network of Black leaders working on solutions to these problems, The Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) has reported that significant inequities exist within the national philanthropic field at a time when outcomes and disparities for Black children, families and neighborhoods in many areas have widened.

The Cleveland Black Futures Fund also announced today the inaugural members of its advisory committee, which will guide the application parameters and grantmaking process. The seven-person group is comprised of community leaders working alongside foundation representatives:

  • Courtenay A. Barton, Program Director for Arts & Culture and Racial Equity Initiatives, Cleveland Foundation
  • Carrie Carpenter, Board Member, Cleveland Foundation
  • The Rev. Dr. Robin Hedgeman, Board Member, Cleveland Foundation
  • Constance Hill-Johnson, Board Member, Cleveland Foundation
  • Treye Johnson, Regional Outreach Manager, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
  • Shanelle Smith Whigham, Vice President, Sustainability & Social Impact, KeyBank
  • Timothy L. Tramble Sr., President & CEO, Saint Luke’s Foundation

“We thank Facebook, and all the foundations and individuals who have contributed to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund,” said Courtenay Barton, Cleveland Foundation program director for arts & culture and racial equity initiatives. “Dismantling systemic racism will require the cooperation of people in various capacities to all be committed to this long-term work. Just as there are visionary leaders on the ground creating new initiatives and responding directly to community needs, there are equally passionate people who can provide the resources necessary to get the work done. The Fund is a vehicle that can connect givers to doers.”

The Cleveland Black Futures Fund builds on the work of the African American Philanthropy Committee of the Cleveland Foundation (AAPC), which has promoted awareness and education about the benefits of wealth and community preservation through philanthropy since 1993. Established in 2010, the AAPC Legacy Fund supports a variety of organizations within the Black community of Greater Cleveland. The Cleveland Black Futures Fund will offer and additional pool of resources to complement the impact of the AAPC and its Legacy Fund.

The creation of the Cleveland Black Futures Fund came on the heels of a June vote by Cleveland City Council in which racism was declared a public health crisis, with the city required under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take action to eliminate disparities causing health issues. Cuyahoga County Council also passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis and announced a Citizens’ Advisory Council on Equity, to which Cleveland Foundation Senior Vice President for Program India Pierce Lee was appointed.

Additional details on the grantmaking process – including the application process and timeline – will be available in January 2021. For more information or to donate to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund, visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Futures.

Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund awards more than $625,000 in third cycle of Phase II grantmaking

/ juliankhan / Leave a comment

Partners have granted in excess of $10 million since Fund inception in March.

CLEVELAND (Dec. 8, 2020) – The Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund announced today its third cycle of biweekly grants as part of its Phase II efforts to support the Greater Cleveland nonprofit community during the ongoing pandemic. In total, $625,684 was awarded to 14 organizations and groups serving Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties, bringing the overall amount to more than $1.5 million in Phase II. This latest cycle represents a milestone of support; since the Fund’s creation in March, the community has now provided more than $10 million to frontline organizations during this unprecedented public health crisis.

Grant recipients for this cycle include:

  • Better Health Partnership ($35,000): To support staffing needs for the region’s Federally Qualified Health Centers Collaboration, enabling them to develop and implement COVID-19 testing strategies to bolster testing in locations where risk of infection is high
  • Community Service Alliance ($40,050): To continue to provide safe and supportive housing, job assistance, and life skills training at four locations on Cleveland’s near west side for men transitioning to independence and self-sufficiency from poverty, homelessness and addiction
  • Greater Cleveland Congregations ($50,000): To continue to work in conjunction with UnitedHealthcare to bring COVID-19 testing sites for four weeks to the Slavic Village, Lee-Harvard and Glenville neighborhoods, while also developing a process to follow up with people who test positive for COVID-19 at these testing sites to ensure they can isolate safely without transmitting the virus to others
  • LGBTQ+ Allies Lake County ($48,654): To continue to provide food assistance and expanded virtual options for community group social-emotional support meetings and wellness programming in Lake County
  • Lake County Free Clinic ($15,000): To expand case management services and provide COVID-19 safety kits, while continuing to provide essential medical care to uninsured and under-insured individuals in eastern Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties
  • Lakewood Community Services Center ($50,000): For additional staffing needed to continue its zero-contact food delivery and distribution system for individuals and families in Lakewood, Rocky River and Westlake who are facing food insecurity
  • Little Africa Food Cooperative ($60,000): To continue to deliver the needed equipment, supplies, information and food to seniors, mentally and physically disabled residents and homeless populations on Cleveland’s near east side
  • Neighborhood Connections ($120,000): To continue to provide grants ranging from $500-$5,000 to small nonprofit organizations, faith-based congregations, and grassroots and neighborhood civic groups throughout Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties for a broad range of essential human needs during COVID-19, such as healthy food, safe shelter, and to reduce social isolation. Since receiving its first round of funding on April 10, Neighborhood Connections has awarded nearly $680,000 to more than 200 groups and organizations.
  • Relink.org ($35,000): To conduct outreach events in Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties in order to connect individuals struggling with opioid addiction to resources and services
  • St. Paul’s Community Outreach ($20,000): To continue to provide rent and utility assistance, while also distributing PPE and household cleaning items for at-risk and low-income residents in the Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway neighborhoods on Cleveland’s near west side
  • Spanish American Committee ($18,500): To give food, utility and rental assistance stipends to low-income and elderly Latino populations in Greater Cleveland, while also providing clients with emotional and mental health resources and crisis financial planning assistance
  • West Park United Church of Christ ($36,000): To continue to support the organization’s food pantry and delivery programs for vulnerable populations in Cleveland’s West Park, Kamm’s Corners andPuritas-Longmead neighborhoods
  • Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio (UHCAN) ($15,480): To work with community members to identify the needs and challenges related to testing, treatment and vaccination, and to advocate for better care for low income populations in Cuyahoga County
  • YWCA Greater Cleveland ($82,000): To continue to provide basic needs, food security, and on-site and remote case management at Permanent Supportive Housing for formerly homeless and low-income women at two locations in Cleveland

Contributions to the second phase of the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund have already exceeded $3.3 million, including a gift from new funding partner The Payne Fund. Funding partners urge other foundations, corporate entities, individuals and organizations to contribute to the Fund. Donations of any amount are welcomed, and all contributions are tax deductible.

Based upon the charitable structure of the Rapid Response Fund, the second phase is currently accepting grant applications from eligible organizations serving Cuyahoga, Lake and/or Geauga counties. The Fund is designed primarily to support human service nonprofits with operational budgets of less than $20 million. The Fund partners encourage collaborative proposals that involve multiple organizations within similar sectors or neighborhoods working on shared issues, with a focus on basic needs, family supports, PPE, testing and contact tracing.

Grants during Phase II of the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund are awarded every two weeks and will continue for one year. Awards range in size from $5,000 to $100,000, with a maximum grant amount of $100,000 for any nonprofit organization throughout the current cycle ending Oct. 31, 2021. Organizations that were funded during Phase 1 (between March-July 2020) are eligible to apply for additional funding. Grants are limited to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, groups fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or other charitable organizations able to receive a tax-deductible contribution.

For more information or to donate, visit ClevelandFoundation.org/Response.