OVERVIEW: The George Gund Foundation supports the arts, economic development, community revitalization, education, the environment and human services in the Greater Cleveland area of Ohio.
IP TAKE: The George Gund Foundation seeks to let “organizations know they have a place where they have a voice.” This locally focused funder works broadly in the Cleveland area and runs an open, online application system and considers new submissions three times a year. This transparent funder gives grantseekers access to financial statements, recent 990s, as well as a current grantee perception report. Reach out at 216.241.3114 or info@gundfdn.org with general inquiries, or contact foundation staff directly with specific questions.
PROFILE: Established in 1952, the George Gund Foundation is a private foundation based in Cleveland, Ohio. George Gund had a successful career in banking and real estate and was the president of the Cleveland Trust Company. He directed grantmaking to institutions that were important to him until his death in 1966. His foundation aims to contribute “to human well-being and the progress of society.” It funds local efforts for the arts, economic development, community revitalization, education, the environment, and human services.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The George Gund Foundation’s Culture + Arts grants support local art groups in Cleveland, especially curriculum-related partnerships with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Gund balances its support between long-standing arts institutions and newer arts organizations that can reach diverse audiences.
Previous art grantees include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland Public Theatre, Piano Cleveland, Foluke Cultural Arts Center, Karamu House, Julia De Burgos Cultural Arts Center, and Cleveland Festival of Art and Technology.
Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the funder’s grants archive.
Grants for Community Development
Gund’s Vibrant Neighborhoods focus area makes economic development and community revitalization grants that support urban planning, parks and public space improvements, equal opportunities in housing and the workplace and the redevelopment of Cleveland’s downtown, residential neighborhoods and first-ring suburbs.
Community improvement grantees include New Village Corporation, Union Miles Development Corporation, Smart Development, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation, Slavic Village Development, and Fund for Our Economic Future of Northeast Ohio.
Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the funder’s grants archive.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
Public Education grants focus on teacher and administrator development, disadvantaged students’ transition to higher education and statewide policy and advocacy efforts. Grant recipients in this area include College Now Greater Cleveland, Cleveland State University, Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Innovation Ohio Education Fund, The Cleveland Music School Settlement, and United Black Fund of Greater Cleveland.
Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the funder’s grants archive.
Grants for Environment
Gund’s Climate Justice grants address climate change policy, as well as clean energy, transportation, water, and air. Grants also support sustainable land use, green spaces, and environmental justice. Previous recipients of grants include Ohio Environmental Council, Bike Cleveland, Clean Fuels Ohio, Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center, Environmental Health Watch, Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund, and Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.
Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the funder’s grants archive.
Grants for Racial Justice
In the area of Social Justice, the foundation supports organizations working in the fields of reproductive health services, basic needs, access to health insurance, and post-prison support for historically marginalized people.
Gund contributed $14.4 million toward relief and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic in Ohio, particularly in Cleveland. Other grantees include Health Policy Institute of Ohio, Ohio Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Abortion Forward Alliance, Lake County Free Clinic, Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, St Vincent Charity Medical Center, The Ohio Organizing Collaborative, and Black Lives Matter Cleveland.
Learn more about this funder’s local giving in the funder’s grants archive.
Other Grant Opportunities
The foundation makes capital grants, but only to nonprofits whose new or renovated facilities are eligible for U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
It also offers program-related investments, such as loans, equity investments, linked deposits and loan guarantees. Program-related investments are expected to be repaid.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between about $10,000 and $300,000. The foundation has made over $40 million in grants in recent years and held more than $506 million in assets.
Grantmaking focuses on Northeast Ohio and the Greater Cleveland area.
This foundation accepts unsolicited grant applications from nonprofits through its online grant application system.
The foundation trustees meet three times per year to consider proposals, and deadlines are on the 15th of November, March, and July.
In their proposals, applicants must be prepared to discuss the relationship between their work and climate change, inequality and racial equity, and threats to democracy.
Direct general questions to the staff at info@gundfdn.org or 216-241-6560.
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