The Cleveland Foundation is awarding more than 14 million dollars to groups as diverse as the University of Akron's Innovation Fund, and to a Land Reutilization Plan for Cuyahoga County. The largest single grant, of $3 million, goes to to help with start-up costs of the Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology.
The region's other Philanthropic Giant, the Gund Foundation, made public nearly $6 million in grants, with the headliner being an increase from three, to FOUR million dollars for the Fund For Our Economic Future, the 60 group collaboration which seeks to improve Northeast Ohio's economic climate.
Fund President Brad Whitehead called the grant " a wonderful vote of confidence" that will benefit the entire region, and it came - he says - with no strings attached.
BRAD WHITEHEAD: "The Gund Foundation didn't put conditions on the money, they've been a strong voice for true collaboration so they have been active participants at the table but are great believers in collaborative decision making. The great benefit of the increase here is that they are signaling to the community that philanthropy is here and ready to do its' part to create a more vibrant economic future, and hopefully that provides a signal to many people that
we are making prgoress, we need to stay with what is working and in fact redouble our efforts."
