Cleveland Foundation

The Cleveland Foundation is the community foundation serving Greater Cleveland, including Cuyahoga, Lake and Geauga counties. It is comprised of more than 800 funds representing individuals, families, organizations and corporations. Its mission is to enhance the lives of all residents of Greater Cleveland, now and for generations to come, by building community endowment, addressing needs through grantmaking and providing leadership on key community issues.

The Foundation's assets total more than $1.6 billion and as the region's largest grantmaking organization, more than $83 million were distributed annually to nonprofit organizations, mainly in Greater Cleveland. Grants are made through various funding approaches, which include: Greater Cleveland's Vital Issues, Community Responsive Grants, and Donor Engaged Grantmaking.

Grantmaking: The Cleveland Foundation makes most of its grants to tax-exempt (private agencies classified as 501(c)(3) organizations) public charities as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. Some grants are also made to government agencies. Grant to organizations fall within two categories:

1. Proactive: About two-thirds of grantmaking dollars are awarded proactively in areas judged most vital to Greater Cleveland's future. Grants in these areas are generally made to their long-term partners with the goal of creating significant, widespread impact.
2. Responsive: The rest of The Cleveland Foundation grants are made in response to direct requests from the community. In general, responsive grants are made (but not restricted to) the areas of Arts and Culture, Civic Affairs, Economic Development, Education, Environment, Health and Social Services.