CLEVELAND (May 30, 2019) – Neighborhood
Connections announces $299,162 in grants to support 113 projects in Cleveland
and East Cleveland. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the local public funder for
arts and culture, will co-fund 16 of the resident-led arts and culture projects
through a partnership with Neighborhood Connections. Cleveland Climate Action
Fund will co-fund an additional 12 projects.
A few examples of the grants
include:
- Car
Seat Library in Ohio City received $537 to purchase car seats so mothers who do not
have cars can leave the hospital after their baby is born. The group will lend mothers in their neighborhood a car seat so they
can both leave the hospital after their baby is born while also providing rides
to new mothers and babies.
- West Park
Public Art* in
Kamm’s Corners is using a $1,996 grant to
create a mural on the Puritas Bridge and I-71. The goal of this project is to
bring neighbors together to put a “stamp” of community, create public art, and
to promote a safe, healthy neighborhood that welcomes all people.
- Food Strong+ in East Cleveland will use a $2,720 grant to promote
urban agriculture and foster an appreciation for growing foods among a new
generation of environmental stewards through creating a food garden, cooking
classes and demonstrations, field trips and nutritional education.
- Neighbors 2
Neighbors in Lee Harvard received a
$3,900 grant to work with girls and women mentors from the community to
increase awareness of healthy relationships, increase understanding of public
policy related to women’s health and domestic violence, and to advocate for
change in these areas.
*Co-funded by
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
+Co-funded by Cleveland Climate Action Fund
“These small grants are fueling
big change across the city,” said Tom O’Brien, program director of Neighborhood
Connections. “The funded projects show that people are working together,
sharing power and creating extraordinary neighborhoods right where they live.”
Since 2003, Neighborhood
Connections has awarded 2,548 grants totaling more than $8.19 million.
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
invested $75,000 in Neighborhood Connections in 2019 to support additional
community-based arts and culture activities organized by and for Cuyahoga
County residents. Through this partnership
with Neighborhood Connections, CAC has invested more than $530,000 to co-fund 332
resident-led arts and culture projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland since
2013.
“Through
our longtime partnership with Neighborhood Connections, more Cleveland and East
Cleveland residents can lead change in their communities using arts and culture,”
said Jill Paulsen, interim CEO and executive director of Cuyahoga Arts &
Culture. “Our investment is helping to shift power to residents and support the
artists who live and the creativity that exists in every neighborhood.
Cleveland
Climate Action Fund is funding additional projects that support residents
taking climate action and raising awareness of the issue of climate change at a
grassroots level. In this round of funding, 12 projects were funded through the
CCAF for a total of $33,722.
Neighborhood Connections
offers Neighbor Up Action Grants from $500 to $5,000 to groups of residents in
Cleveland and East Cleveland who organize projects to improve the quality of
life in their neighborhoods. The next deadline to apply for a grant is Friday, August
9, 2019.
View a complete list of grants.
About Neighborhood Connections
Neighborhood Connections is a
nationally recognized community-building program established in 2003. Its
mission is to fuel the power of neighbors to create, together, an extraordinary
world right where they live. Its small grants program is the largest in the
country and is guided by a volunteer grantmaking committee made up of Cleveland
and East Cleveland residents serving three-year terms. The committee reviews
and approves all grants. For more information, visit NeighborUpCLE.org.
About Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
Cuyahoga Arts & Culture
(CAC) is one of the largest local public funders for arts and culture in the nation,
helping hundreds of organizations in Cuyahoga County connect millions of people
to cultural experiences each year. Since 2006, CAC has invested more than $182
million in more than 400 organizations both large and small, making our
community a more vibrant place to live, work and play. For more information,
visit cacgrants.org.
About Cleveland Climate Action Fund
The Cleveland Climate Action
Fund (CCAF) was founded as the first community-based, open-access carbon
reduction fund in the United States. Since then, the Fund has invested more
than $100,000 in projects throughout Cleveland that both improve resident’s
lives while mitigating carbon emissions. The Cleveland Climate Action Fund
promotes and funds local carbon mitigation projects that foster economic
development, social well-being, and environmental stewardship in our local
communities. For more information, visit www.clevelandclimateaction.org.
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