Cleveland Foundation Grants Total $15.3 Million

June 26, 2009 — The board of directors of the Cleveland Foundation today authorized $15.3 million in grants to a variety of nonprofit organizations in Greater Cleveland, with a significant portion designed to help them continue to fulfill their missions during the economic crisis.

“Normally, the foundation spends about one-third of our flexible grant dollars responding to direct requests from nonprofits and two-thirds proactively directing dollars into areas we deem critical to the community,” said Robert Eckardt, senior vice president for programs and evaluation. “But given the difficult economy, this quarter a larger-than-normal percentage of our grantmaking is responsive to requests from the community.”

Among those receiving funding from the foundation this quarter are:

Heath care/social services
A $250,000 grant will help the American Red Cross, Greater Cleveland Chapter cover staffing requirements and support direct disaster relief in Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Lake counties. Like many human service organizations, the Red Cross has dealt with significant cuts in funding in recent months. This Cleveland Foundation grant will give the agency the ability to continue responding to basic human needs in the community.

The board authorized a grant of $150,000 to the Free Medical Clinic of Greater Cleveland in support of its expanded patient access initiative. Through this effort, the clinic seeks to improve its outreach and access to various communities that lack health insurance coverage, and significantly increase the number of patients it serves overall. In 2008, the Free Clinic served 10,000 patients, about 43 percent of whom were employed but did not have insurance coverage.

North Coast Health Ministry will receive a $53,000 grant to implement a behavioral health program to provide mental health counseling to 120 patients a year. This new service will shorten the time primary care providers spend addressing patients’ mental health concerns, allowing them to focus on managing serious chronic conditions.

Neighborhoods and housing
Through a grant of $250,000, the Cuyahoga County Treasurer’s Office will be able to expand its Foreclosure Prevention Program to at-risk homeowners in a number of inner-ring suburbs. The nationally recognized program has prevented more than 4,500 people from losing their homes to foreclosure through financial counseling and other services.