Beech Brook – $200,000 for S.T.E.P.S., an early brain development program, in FY25-26, over two years
Children’s Defense Fund Ohio – $30,000 for backbone support for the Children’s Legislative Caucus in FY25
Collaborate Cleveland – $45,000 for research to inform paid family leave advocacy in 2024-25
Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood – $104,000 to implement a plan to expand and strengthen availability of infant and early childhood mental health services in Cuyahoga County in 2024-26
Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. – $100,000 for tax preparation outreach and assistance for families with young children in 2024-25
Family Connections of Northeast Ohio – $200,000 for the SPARK cohort of 3-year-olds in FY25-FY27, over three years
Family Connections of Northeast Ohio – $35,000 to expand family playroom staffing in FY25
First Year Cleveland – $100,000 for the Healthy Beginnings at Home demonstration project in Cuyahoga County in 2024-27
First Year Cleveland – up to $30,000 for capacity building for community-based organizations addressing maternal/infant health in 2025
Pregnant with Possibilities Resource Center – $25,000 for the Making Opportunities Matter program in 2025
Reach Out and Read, Inc. – $70,000 over two years, for program support and expansion in Cuyahoga County in 2025-26
Starting Point – $62,500 to pilot LENA Start, an early childhood language development program, with foster families in Cuyahoga County in 2025
The Center for Community Solutions – $70,000 for Advocates for Ohio’s Future to convene the Economic Mobility Alliance Ohio to advocate for benefits cliffs reforms in 2024-26
The Centers for Families and Children – $79,500 to pilot Baby University in 2024-25
Responsive Grants
Learning
America SCORES Cleveland – $25,000 for programming for CMSD students in FY25
Art House, Inc. – $10,000 for Urban Bright residencies in Cleveland schools in 2024-25
Arts Impact – $10,000 for arts integrated residencies in CMSD schools in 2024-25
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland – $18,000 for community-based mentoring in FY25
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio – $20,000 for programming to prepare low-income students for college and career succes in FY25
Children’s Museum of Cleveland – $10,000 for the STEM Kids program in 2024-25
Cleveland International Film Festival – $10,000 for CMSD student participation in FilmSlam education programs in the 2024-25 academic year
Cleveland Public Theatre – $10,000 for Cleveland Act Now in 2024-25
College Now Greater Cleveland – $25,000 for college and career access advising services for CMSD students in 2024-25
Cuyahoga County Public Library – $15,000 for Kindergarten Club in 2024
Daily Dose of Reading – $15,000 for the Play and Learn early literacy program in FY25
DANCECleveland – $10,000 to provide arts and literacy programming in CMSD early childhood classrooms in 2024-25
Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio – $10,000 for dance residency programming for CMSD students in 2024-25
Esperanza, Inc. – $15,000 for afterschool support and enrichment for CMSD students in 2024-25
Footpath Foundation – $10,000 for programming for CMSD 5th grade students in 2024-25
Friends of Breakthrough Schools – $25,000 for construction of a gymnasium on the Woodland Hills Campus
Girl Scouts of North East Ohio – $10,000 to provide enrichment programming for low-income girls in Cleveland in 2024-25
Great Lakes Museum of Science Environment and Technology – $20,000 for the CLE4SCI Collaborative for CMSD 6th, 7th and 8th graders in 2024-25
Geat Lakes Theater – $10,000 for the School Residency program for CMSD students in 2024-25
Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth – $13,750 for creative writing residencies in CMSD high schools in 2024-25
Musical Arts Association – $20,000 for Musical Neighborhoods program in CMSD schools in 2024-25
Nature Center at Shaker Lakes – $15,000 for CLE4SCI programming for CMSD preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade students in 2024-25
Near West Theatre – $15,000 to provide theater arts residencies for Cleveland students in 2024-25
Open Doors Academy – $25,000 for out-of-school time educational support and enrichment programming for scholars in Cuyahoga County in FY25
Playhouse Square Foundation – $10,000 for Disney Musicals in Schools programming in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County schools in 2024-25
PRE4CLE – $75,000 for operating support in FY25
Roots of American Music – $10,000 for music residencies in CMSD schools in 2024-25
Scranton Road Ministries Community Development Corp. – $20,000 for the Youth Jobs Partnership program in 2024-25
Seeds of Literacy – $25,000 to provide adult basic education in FY25
Teach For America – $10,000 for program support in 2024-25
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History – $15,000 for the CLE4SCI program for 2nd graders in the CMSD in 2024-25
Urban Community School – $25,000 to construct an athletic center in 2024-25
Urban Squash Cleveland – $5,000 for the youth development program in FY25
Young Entrepreneur Institute – $10,000 to support entrepreneurship education in the CMSD in 2024-25
Youth Opportunities Unlimited – $20,000 to support the Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates program in 2024-25
Safety Net
Benjamin Rose Institute – $15,000 for the Meals on Wheels program in 2024
Birthing Beautiful Communities – $75,000 to construct a Birth Center in 2024-25
Canopy – $30,000 for behavioral health screening, assessment and treatment in FY25
Catholic Charities Corporation – $25,000 for the 2024 annual appeal
Center for Employment Opportunities Cleveland – $15,000 for employment services for formerly incarcerated individuals in FY25
CHN Housing Partners – $15,000 for the Lease Purchase homeownership program in 2024
Cleveland Sight Center – $15,000 for services for seniors who are blind or visually impaired in 2025
Fairhill Partners – $20,000 for case management support for kinship caregivers and children in 2024
Family Promise of Greater Cleveland – $25,000 to help unhoused families address economic stability in 2024
Greater Cleveland Food Bank – $40,000 for operating support in FY25
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland – $50,000 for housing law services and advocacy in 2024
LifeAct – $10,000 for suicide prevention and stress management programs for Cleveland students in 2024-25
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – $20,000 to provide guardianship for adults in 2024
Medworks – $22,500 to provide navigation and health care services in 2024
Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition – $25,000 for program support in 2025
Providence House, Inc. – $30,000 for family preservation services in FY25
Smart Development, Inc. – $30,000 for the Community First program in 2024
The Center for Community Solutions – $15,000 for research and advocacy to improve maternal and infant health and strengthen the safety net in 2025
The Centers for Families and Children – $450,000 for the capital campaign to renovate
Cleveland Christian Home to serve as the Cuyahoga County Child Wellness Campus and Welcome Center
The Salvation Army – $30,000 for programming at the Zelma George Emergency Family Shelter in FY24
Towards Employment – $20,000 for career pathway programming in 2024
United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cleveland – $10,000 for the OakLeaf program for adults and students with disabilities in 2025
United Way of Greater Cleveland – $50,000 for United Way 211
University Settlement – $20,000 for family stability support after exiting the shelter system in FY25
West Side Catholic Center – $30,000 for housing stability services for homeless families in 2024
Other
Candid – $5,500 for program support in 2024
Diaper Bank of Greater Cleveland – $5,000 for a planning grant
Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland – $10,000 for the Food Rescue program in 2025
Our Revised Grantmaking Strategy
In 2024, the Bruening Foundation’s Distribution Committee and staff completed a planning process to refine the Foundation’s grantmaking strategy. The process included a literature review to seek information about the current wants and needs of nonprofits, agrantee survey, interviews with stakeholders, and conversations with community leaders. The purpose was to collect diverse, external perspectives about needs in the community that are aligned with the interest areas of the Foundation and to determine what possibilities exist for the Foundation to have a greater impact through its grantmaking.
The new responsive grantmaking focus, to be known as Thriving Families, is designed to complement our proactive Strong Start grantmaking strategy and aims to help families in Cuyahoga County out of poverty. Because kids need strong and supportive families to thrive, the Bruening Foundation seeks to invest in parents and caregivers who raise them. “Family” will be broadly defined as we understand that the construct of a family varies greatly. There will be two funding priorities within Thriving Families: 1) Housing, Health and Skill Building and 2) Social and Emotional Well-Being.
While some of the programming the Foundation has supported in the past may no longer fit with our new focus area, we value every grantee relationship and are grateful for the opportunity we have had to support so many important services in the community. We look forward to making a continued impact throughout Cuyahoga County with our new priorities. Please reach out to staff at Foundation Management Services with any questions.
