11/16/2016 in Featured Grants

Cleveland Museum of Natural History among grant recipients at Foundation fall meeting

The George Gund Foundation awarded a five-year, $2 million grant to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for its Centennial Campaign at the Foundation’s fall meeting. The museum seeks to transform its University Circle campus to better connect its visitors to science and nature and help them advocate for finding solutions to the emerging environmental and scientific issues of this century. The transformation of the museum will allow it to enhance its world-class scientific research and academic programs and continue to grow its reputation as a key resource on environmental issues, both local and global.

The Foundation approved 77 grants, totaling more than $10.5 million. Other grants include $75,000 to the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation to support “Stokes: Reflecting on 50 years, honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future of Cleveland,” a yearlong commemoration of the legacy of the Mayor Carl B. Stokes and Congressman Louis Stokes.

The Foundation continued its commitment to the transformation of public education with Cleveland with two grants totaling $2.09 million that will support the planning, launch and start-up of 12 new Cleveland Metropolitan School District schools.

Other notable grants include: 

  • $60,000 to the Cleveland office of In Our Backyards, Inc (IOBY), a crowdfunding platform that supports small neighborhood projects that improve the quality of life in neighborhoods and the environment;
  • $56,000 to Karamu House for operating expenses and other support;
  • $50,000 to the Catholic Charities Corporation for the Friend of the Court and Unaccompanied Minors Pro Bono Programs, an initiative to aid in legal representation of children before the Cleveland Immigration Court;
  • $30,000 to Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative to support the Design Diversity Index project, that seeks to improve the small amount of people of color working in design fields; and
  • $110,000 to the Ohio Justice and Policy Center in support of its “Smarter Justice, Fewer Prisoners” initiative.

The George Gund Foundation was established in 1952 as a private, nonprofit institution with the sole purpose of contributing to human well-being and the progress of society.