We’ve awarded over $12 million in grants the past 5 years.
Proactive Grants
Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County – $150,000 over 2 years, for Child Parent Psychotherapy training for early childhood mental health providers
Beech Brook – $128,073 for the S.T.E.P.S. program
Better Health Partnership – $44,000 to expand a nutrition pilot for expectant/new moms
Birthing Beautiful Communities – $50,000 for the Perinatal Support program in 2022
Case Western Reserve University – $45,000 for data and evaluation to support a lead-safe Cleveland in 2022
Children’s Defense Fund Ohio – $20,000 for the Reaching the Finish Line Project
Family Connections of Northeast Ohio – $180,000 over 3 years, to pilot a SPARK cohort of 3-year-olds
Reach Out and Read Greater Cleveland – $80,000 over two years, for program support
The Center for Community Solutions – $10,000 to build a local sustainability plan for the Safe Babies Court Team
Village of Healing – $50,000 for start-up support for the CenteringPregnancy program in 2022-2023
Responsive Grants
Learning
After-School All-Stars Cleveland – $6,500 for caregiver engagement programming at Family Nights in spring 2022
America SCORES Cleveland – $25,000 for literacy and fitness youth development programming
Art House, Inc. – $10,000 for arts programming in Cleveland schools
Art Of Me – $15,000 for the What Is Power and Community? program in Cleveland schools in 2022
Arts Impact – $10,000 to provide arts-integrated residencies for CMSD students
Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio – $10,000 for Academic Success programming at BGCNEO clubs in Cleveland during the 2021-22 school year
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeastern Ohio – $25,000 for college and career success programming in FY22
City Year, Inc. – $25,000 for programming in 7 Cleveland schools in FY22
Cleveland International Film Festival – $10,000 for FilmSlam Streams
Cleveland Play House – $15,000 for theater residencies in 13 Cleveland schools in FY22
Cleveland Public Theatre – $10,000 for Cleveland Act Now after-school/summer programming
Cleveland Transformation Alliance – $20,000 for school quality navigators
College Now Greater Cleveland – $25,000 for college access advising for CMSD high school students
Cuyahoga County Public Library – $32,000 to pilot the Preschool Club in two branches
DanceCleveland – $10,000 for literacy and movement programming for PreK-K CMSD students
Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio – $12,000 for dance residency programming in CMSD schools during the 2021-22 school year
East Cleveland Neighborhood Center, Inc. – $12,000 to operate a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools literacy-based summer enrichment program
Esperanza, Inc. – $10,000 for the Hispanic Youth Leadership Program for CMSD students during the 2021-22 school year
Facing History and Ourselves, Inc. – $20,000 for the Northeast Ohio Schools Network
Family Connections of Northeast Ohio – $10,000 for Family-School Connection, a kindergarten family reading readiness program
Fostering Hope Ohio – $10,000 to provide programming for youth in foster care at Applewood and Bellefaire during the summer of 2022
Friends of the Intergenerational Schools – $15,000 for the Intergenerational Learning Partner program
Great Lakes Museum of Science Environment and Technology – $25,000 for the CLE4SCI Collaborative for CMSD 6th, 7th and 8th graders
Great Lakes Theater – $10,000 for the School Residency program for CMSD students
Hathaway Brown School – $15,000 for the Aspire program
Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth – $10,000 for creative writing residencies for Cleveland high school students
Math Corps – $10,000 for summer camp programming for CMSD middle school and high school students
Minds Matter of Cleveland – $10,000 for college preparatory programming for low-income high school students
Musical Arts Association – $20,000 for Musical Neighborhoods, an early childhood learning and teaching training program
Nature Center at Shaker Lakes – $15,000 for CLE4SCI programming for preschoolers, kindergarteners and first graders
NewBridge Cleveland Center For Arts And Technology – $10,000 for CLE|LEAD, an arts-based youth leadership and social and emotional learning program for CMSD students in FY22
Playhouse Square Foundation – $10,000 for Disney Musicals in Schools programming in CMSD schools during the 2021-22 school year
Positive Education Program – $25,000 to provide early childhood consultation in public school districts
PRE4CLE – $75,000 to increase preschool enrollment and conduct program evaluation
Rainey Institute – $10,000 for early childhood arts enrichment programming in FY22
Roots of American Music – $10,000 for music residencies in CMSD schools
Saint Martin de Porres High School – $20,000 for summer programming for recovery and catch-up learning
Scranton Road Ministries Community Development Corp. – $15,000 for the Youth Jobs Partnership program
Seeds of Literacy – $35,000 for adult basic literacy programming in FY22
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History – $15,000 for the CLE4SCI Collaborative for CMSD 2nd graders for FY22
The MetroHealth Foundation – $18,500 for the Boot Camp for New Dads
West Side Community House – $15,000 to provide wraparound support for mandatory parenting class participants for 2022
Youth Opportunities Unlimited – $25,000 for the Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates program for the 2021-22 school year
Safety Net
Benjamin Rose Institute – $10,000 for the Rose Centers for Aging Well home-delivered meals program
Catholic Charities Corporation – $50,000 for the 2021 annual appeal
Center for Employment Opportunities Cleveland – $10,000 for employment training for formerly incarcerated individuals in FY22
CHN Housing Partners – $15,000 for the Lease Purchase Homeownership program
Cleveland Rape Crisis Center – $40,000 to provide services to child victims of sexual trauma
Cleveland Sight Center – $15,000 for services for blind or visually impaired, low-income seniors
Cuyahoga Community College Foundation – $20,000 for the Access Centers in 2022
Family Promise of Greater Cleveland – $25,000 to help homeless families achieve stability for 2022
Greater Cleveland Food Bank – $1,000,000 over 3 years, to build a new food distribution center and repurpose the existing facility to expand capacity
HELP Foundation – $150,000 to construct a greenhouse to expand vocational programming for adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities
Journey Center for Safety and Healing – $15,000 to provide services for child abuse and domestic violence survivors for FY22
Legal Aid Society of Cleveland – $60,000 for housing law services
LifeAct – $10,000 for suicide prevention programming for middle and high school students in the 2021-22 school year
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – $20,000 to provide guardianship services to vulnerable adults
Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – $85,000 for the Homeless Youth Drop-In Center to be completed in 2022
May Dugan Center – $20,000 for the Education Resource Center
May Dugan Center – $150,000 for building renovation and expansion
MedWish International – $10,000 for workforce training programming for those with disabilities
Medworks – $15,000 to provide health care services in 2022
Passages Connecting Fathers and Sons, Inc. – $10,000 for workforce development/family resiliency programming in 2022
Smart Development, Inc. – $30,000 for the Community First program
Spanish American Committee for a Better Community – $20,000 for the Families First Program
The Salvation Army – $30,000 for programming at the Zelma George Emergency Family Shelter for FY22
Towards Employment – $20,000 for the Career Pathways program for 2022
United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Cleveland – $10,000 for the OakLeaf program for adults with disabilities for 2022
University Settlement – $20,000 for the Transition-In-Place Housing program
West Side Catholic Center – $30,000 for housing stability services for homeless families
Other
Candid Midwest – $5,000 for program support
Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland – $50,000 for operating support
Mental Health & Addiction Advocacy Coalition – $25,000 for program support in 2022
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.
