Cleveland Black Futures Fund Announces Nearly $2 Million In Grants To 49 Organizations!

FEATURED PHOTO: INDIA PIERCE LEE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAM, THE CLEVELAND FOUNDATION

FreshWaterCleveland.com, Posted July 7th 2021

The Cleveland Foundation and its partners yesterday, June 28, announced $1.89 million to 49 organizations in the initial round of grantmaking from the Cleveland Black Futures Fund.

The Fund has amassed more than $4.3 million since its inception in late 2020 to support the capacity of Cleveland-based nonprofit organizations that are both Black-led and Black-serving.

The Diaper Bank of Greater ClevelandThe 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.

The foundation received more than 220 submissions during the initial application period—more than 40% of which represented first-time applicants to the foundation. A seven-person committee comprised of community leaders and foundation representatives worked to select the recipients.

“The outstanding application response to the fund was not entirely unexpected because we knew the need is there, but now we know how great the need is in service of this work,” Cleveland Foundation program director for arts & culture and racial equity initiatives Courtenay Barton said in a statement. “As our community continues to give generously to this fund, we will be able to support a wide array of organizations that are doing the hard work on the ground each and every day.”

It was also announced yesterday that KeyBank made a $250,000 contribution to the fund, joining initial partners Facebook, George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, The HealthComp Foundation, Saint Luke’s Foundation and the Treu-Mart Fund.

Click here to donate to the Cleveland Black Futures Fund.

The 49 grant recipients are:

• 99 Treasures Arts & Culture (25,000): Providing youth out-of-school time arts programming in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood.
• American Association of Clergy and Employers ($25,000): Operationalizes the Paradox Prize winning proposal of mobilizing church vans to provide access to transportation to work.
• Birthing Beautiful Communities ($50,000): A leader in the work of birthing justice and maternal health services.
• Black Lives Matter Cleveland ($25,000): An important organizer and advocate for racial justice.
• Black Lives Matter Lake County ($25,000): Focuses on youth development and advocacy in Lake County.
• Black Space Productions ($25,000): Creates opportunities for socializing, creative expression, relationship building, and learning for Black queer, trans, and intersex individuals living in Cleveland. Cleveland has been called the epicenter of America’s Black trans murder epidemic.
• The Block Club Community Development Corporation ($25,000): Community organizing group piloting solar energy and other initiatives in the Hough neighborhood.
• Brandnew Community Inc. ($25,000): Longstanding community youth organization recently received 501c3 status to further youth development through mentorship and community service.
• Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. ($50,000): Executive coaching for community development staff in Central, Kinsman, Buckeye-Shaker Square, and Buckeye-Woodhill.
• The Cleveland Observer ($25,000):  A strong need exists to strengthen local journalism and information sharing in the Black community, in the absence of in depth, fair coverage in mainstream media outlets.
• Cleveland VOTES ($50,000): Nonpartisan democracy building and mobilization leader
• CollectivExpress Inc. ($25,000): Leading socially engaged youth, the public, and community art projects.
• Community Suds Inc. ($25,000): Providing free hygiene resources to the homeless with a focus in East Cleveland.
• Cory Glenville Community Center ($25,000): In support of the social outreach and community services provided by the organization started by this historic church.
• The Diaper Bank of Greater ClevelandThe Diaper Bank of Greater Cleveland (25,000): Delivering diapers to community organizations and individuals, a critical need not covered by Medicaid.
• East Mount Zion Baptist Church (25,000): To help planning efforts in order to continue to grow the organization which has already attracted attention for increasing their services to the community.
• Environmental Health Watch, Inc. ($100,000): A leader in environmental justice and the Lead Safe Coalition.
• Fab Foundation ($50,000): For the start-up of a digital fabrication space in Glenville.
• Food Depot to Health ($25,000): To help grow a long-standing project in urban homesteading and food justice .
• Gardening in the District Nonprofit Organization ($25,000): Help to sustain environmental justice organization that has already developed six lots in Glenville and one lot  in Hough.
• Hands-On Health ($25,000): Mobile health services organization founded by Black twin sister doctors of pharmacy.
• Jordan Community Resource Center ($75,000): A longstanding leader in providing services for women in crisis, seeking support for real estate and organizational planning.
• Journey On Yonder (JOY) ($25,000): Dedicated to creating safe space for healthy and fun experiences in nature for people of color.
• Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center ($100,000): One of the few service providers dedicated to the LGBTQ community, but it has endured drastic loss of revenue during the COVID-19 crisis even as service delivery becomes more critical.
• Little Africa Food Collaborative ($25,000): Advancing community health and wellness through food justice.
• Men and Women of Central($25,000): A longstanding community-based organizing group, complementing 2020 grant from Sisters of Charity Foundation in board development and strategic planning.
• Metropolitan Cleveland Alliance of Black School Educators ($25,000): Working to increase the number of Black educators, especially Black male educators, working in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
• Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program of Cleveland, Inc. ($25,000): Providing education and advocacy for the Black community about organ transplants.
• Union Miles Development CorporationMotivated and Empowered Inc. ($50,000): Youth development organization focused on supporting Black girls.
• Museum of Creative Human Art ($25,000): New art-presenting and youth development organization dedicated to transforming the art world by ensuring equity, diversity, and the inclusion of underserved artists.
• My Brother My Sister Global Inc. ($50,000): Provides a safe space and support system for youth, promoting community, love, and culture through hip hop, art, and multimedia technology.
• NAACP Cleveland Branch (($50,000): To support the new leadership of the local NAACP chapter.
• Northeast Ohio Alliance for Hope (NOAH) ($50,000): Community development organization serving East Cleveland.
• Peel Dem Layers Back ($25,000): Leading in hip hop and mental health, recently obtained 501c3 status and seeking support for planning and staffing
• Pregnant with Possibilities Resource Center ($50,000): A key partner for maternal health services.
• Promise of Democracy Foundation ($25,000): Civic engagement organization run by a nationally recognized thought leader, also played an important role in the Census advocacy work
• Recess Cleveland ($50,000): A leader in safe play and recreation for Cleveland youth.
• The Rid-All Foundation ($50,000): Important leader in urban agriculture and environmental justice.
• RollinBuckeyez Foundation ($25,000): Health, wellness, and social connection through roller skating.
• See You At The Top (SYATT) ($50,000): Environmental justice and youth development organization that has already taken a group of Cleveland youth to Costa Rica to meet the first Black woman vice president of that country.
• Shooting Without Bullets ($50,000): A strong and innovative partner in socially-engaged art.
• Somali Bantu Community Cooperation of Cleveland ($50,000): To assist in restoring 501c3 status.
• Time for A Change Community Diaper Bank ($25,000): Diaper support is a huge need, as they are not covered by Medicaid.
• Union Miles Development Corporation ($25,000): Capacity building for the community development corporation serving Union Miles.
• Urban City Codes ($40,000): Providing coding training to Black youth.
• A Vision of Change, Inc. ($100,000): An instrumental community health partner.
• We Think 4 A Change ($25,000): One of the few Black-led local HIV/AIDS. organizations. Cuyahoga County has been named a Phase I site for the recent federal “Ending the HIV Epidemic” initiative.
• William E. Sanders Family Life Center Inc. ($25,000): A very strong participant in the Greater Cleveland Interfaith Alliance seeking board development in order to improve family services.
• Writers in Residence ($50,000): Leading youth development through literary arts in juvenile incarceration facilities.