Children’s Defense Fund Ohio – $21,000 for backbone support for the Ohio Legislative Children’s Caucus in 2025-26
Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood – $64,000 for the continued implementation of the plan to expand and strengthen availability of infant and early childhood mental health services in Cuyahoga County in 2025-26
Diaper Bank of Greater Cleveland – $30,000 for diaper access advocacy in 2025-26
East End Neighborhood House – $35,000 for professional development on the Standards of Quality for Family Support and Strengthening in 2026
Enterprise Community Partners – $100,000 for tax preparation outreach and assistance for families with young children in 2025-26
Family Connections of Northeast Ohio – $35,000 for family playrooms in FY26
Health Policy Institute of Ohio – $100,000 for research to promote evidence-informed policies to improve the health and well-being of Ohio’s young children and families in 2026-27 (over 2 years)
Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland – $200,000 over two years, for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 2025 and 2026
PRE4CLE – $75,000 for operating support in FY26
PRE4CLE – $100,000 for early learning facility renovation in 2026
The MetroHealth Foundation, Inc. – $93,942 to expand the Nurse-Family Partnership program in 2025-26
Responsive Grants
Housing, Health, and Skill Building
Center for Employment Opportunities – $15,000 for employment services for formerly incarcerated parents in FY26
CHN Housing Partners – $20,000 for the Lease Purchase program for families in 2026
Cleveland Mediation Center – $20,000 to divert homeless families to safe, alternative housing in 2026
Emerald Development & Economic Network (EDEN) Inc. – $35,000 to provide homeless/eviction prevention services for families in 2025
Family Promise of Greater Cleveland – $50,000 to help unhoused families address economic stability in 2025
Greater Cleveland Food Bank – $40,000 for benefits enrollment assistance in FY26
Journey Center for Safety and Healing – $25,000 for housing services for families impacted by domestic violence in FY26
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland – $50,000 for eviction prevention and housing law services in 2025
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – $50,000 to support unhoused families in 2026
Medwish Medworks – $25,000 for navigation services in FY26
New Bridge Cleveland – $20,000 for adult workforce training in FY26
Providence House – $30,000 for family preservation services in FY26
Seeds of Literacy – $35,000 for adult basic education for parents in FY26
Smart Development, Inc. – $30,000 for the Community First program in 2025
Spanish American Committee for a Better Community – $25,000 for the Families First program in 2025
The Salvation Army – $30,000 for programming at the Zelma George Emergency Family Shelter in FY26
Towards Employment – $20,000 for the Career Pathway program in 2025
United Way of Greater Cleveland – $50,000 for United Way 211 in FY26
University Settlement, Inc – $35,000 for family stability support after exiting the shelter system in FY26
Social and Emotional Well-Being
America SCORES Cleveland – $25,000 for programming for CMSD students in FY26
America SCORES Cleveland – $50,000 for the Cleveland Sports-Based Youth Development Collaborative to develop a Youth Sports Equity Agenda in Cleveland in 2026
Arts Impact – $15,000 for arts integrated residencies in the CMSD in 2025-26
Beat the Streets Cleveland – $20,000 for after-school and summer programming in 2025
Beech Brook – $25,000 for Family Center parenting programming in FY26
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cleveland – $25,000 for community-based mentoring in FY26
Catholic Charities Corporation – $40,000 for after school and summer programming for youth at two family centers in 2026
Cleveland Play House – $15,000 for theater based residencies in Cleveland schools in 2025-26
Developing Connections Northeast Ohio – $12,000 for social-emotional residency programming in CMSD schools in 2025-26
Fairhill Partners – $20,000 to support kinship caregivers and children in 2026
Footpath Foundation – $10,000 for programming for CMSD 5th grade students in 2025-26
Fostering Hope Ohio – $10,000 to provide summer programming for youth in foster care in FY25
Hope Ignites of Northeastern Ohio – $25,000 for programming to prepare low-income students for college and career success in FY26
Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center – $10,000 for social-emotional and leadership programming for young Latina women in 2025
Near West Theatre – $15,000 to provide theater arts residency programming in Cleveland schools in 2025-26
Open Doors Academy – $30,000 for out-of-school time programming for K-8 students in FY26
Re:Source Cleveland – $20,000 for the youth mentoring program in 2025
Other
Candid – $5,500 for operating support to provide capacity building resources to nonprofits in 2025
The Center for Community Solutions – $50,000 for nonprofit sector advocacy support in 2025-26
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.
