Foundation Honors Memory of George Gund III

The George Gund Foundation made several grants at its winter meeting honoring the memory of George Gund III, a longtime Foundation trustee and son of the Foundation’s founder, who passed away in January. 

Grants were awarded to the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) and the Cleveland Cinematheque, all organizations Mr. Gund served as a trustee and cared about deeply. 

A $3 million grant was made to the Cleveland Orchestra, where Mr. Gund served for many years as a non-resident trustee, for its Sound for the Centennial Campaign. It will be used to create the George Gund III Fund for Artistic Excellence. 

Film was a passion of Mr. Gund’s, and he played a key role in the founding of both CIFF and the Cinematheque, a year-round film program housed at the Cleveland Institute of Art. He continued to serve as a CIFF trustee and was honored by the organization with its Legacy Award at the 2012 festival. 

The Foundation made grants totaling $305,000 to the Cleveland International Film Festival to support the opening night of this year’s festival in memory of Mr. Gund and to endow an annual George Gund III  Memorial Central and Eastern European Film Competition. The Cleveland Institute of Art received a $100,000 award to endow the Cinematheque.