OVERVIEW: The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation supports arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services in Northeast Ohio.
IP TAKE: The Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation has made a big impact on the city of Cleveland for the better part of a century. It lacks transparency and does not reveal much about its funding goals or details about its interest areas, but it is accessible. There is a three-step process to secure a grant for first-time grantseekers, but local organizations will still find this family foundation accessible and approachable. Reach out at 216.591.9111 to discuss your project before beginning the LOI application.
PROFILE: Established in 1955, the Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation is a private family foundation based in Cleveland, Ohio. Kelvin Smith and his brothers founded the Lubrizol Corporation, a company that makes specialty chemicals. The founding couple was interested in the natural environment, arts and their community, and their foundation aims to “support non-profit organizations that adhere to excellence in their missions, creativity in approach, fiscal responsibility and leadership in their service to the community, which ultimately makes a positive impact for the citizens of Northeast Ohio.” Today, the foundation funds local efforts for arts and culture, economic development, education, environment, health and human services.
Grants for Community Development, Work and Economic Development
The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation is a locally focused with broad funding interests, which it lists as
Arts & Culture
Economic Development
Education
Environment
Health & Human Services
Jobs/Talent/Skills
The foundation does not outline specific goals for its funding initiatives. Instead, it emphasizes the changing needs of the city of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, its geographic priorities. Many recent grants have gone toward the development and improvement of the University Circle area of Cleveland, as well as to arts institutions. This funder provides general operating support, annual funds, project support and capital campaign support. However, it does not support individuals, endowments or political subdivisions.
Past local community improvement and economic development grantees include the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Global Cleveland, Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, and Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The foundation has been pumping money into the Cleveland arts scene recently. The Cleveland Museum of Art received a $25 million gift in 2024 and has seen millions from the foundation over the years. Additionally, the Cleveland Orchestra received a $5 Million gift, also in 2024, to support the Kelvin Smith Family Chair. Other recent grantees include The Musical Arts Association, The Children’s Museum of Cleveland, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Beck Center for the Arts, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Lake View Cemetery Foundation, and Art Therapy Studio.
Grants for Education
The Smith Foundation’s other major funding interest area is education, which runs the gamut from K-12 to higher education to education services organizations. It funded the Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Foundation Grand Ballroom at Case Western Reserve University. Other grantees include Cleveland State University, Hawken School, Open Doors, Urban Community School, Center for Arts-Inspired Learning, Rainey Institute, Laurel School, Hathaway Brown School, and Fairview Park Education Foundation.
Important Grant Details
Grants typically range between about $1,000 and $200,000. The most common amount is $10,000. The foundation held more than $174 million in assets in a recent year. Grantmaking focuses on Northeast Ohio.
This foundation requests that first-time grantseekers contact the foundation staff to discuss a grant idea before submitting any paperwork.
The staff then asks selected grantseekers to submit a letter of inquiry through its online system.
After LOIs are reviewed, the foundation requests full applications from selected organizations.
Organizations that have previously been funded by the Smith Foundation can bypass this initial process and skip right to the application process with an assigned access code.
Letter of inquiry and proposal deadlines are the first of the months of February, July and October.
Direct general questions to the staff at pme@kesmithfoundation.org or 216-591-9111.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
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