Community Foundation Announces Grants and New Grant Cycles
The Community Foundation of Lorain County Board of Directors announced more than $1M in grant awards to 47 organizations focused on the four program areas: Arts & Culture, Education & Youth Development, Health & Human Services, and Strengthening Lorain County. The Community Foundation also announced they will add a Community Grant Cycle and pivot to its four focus areas.
“The Community Foundation is excited to add grant cycle to our Community Grants,” says Cindy Andrews, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Lorain County. “Adding another grant cycle and having each cycle centered around a focus area will allow our staff, volunteers on our grants committee, and donors to focus on emerging needs in our community and ensure that we meet the needs of our non-profit partners.”
Previously, the Community Foundation has offered two Community Grant Cycles, with applications due in February and July and grant awards announced in June and December. The new cycles will have Health & Human Service organizations apply by February 1 with awards in May, Education & Youth Development organizations apply by April 1 with awards in July, and Arts & Culture and Strengthening Lorain County apply by July 1 with awards in October. The new grant cycles will go into effect on January 1, 2023.
“The new grant cycles give us the opportunity to strategically discuss our program areas, reach out to donors more effectively and help broaden our Grants Committee,” says Maria Grega, Chair of the Grants Committee.
With only 12% of the Community Foundation’s grant-making funds unrestricted, many grants awarded come from Donor Advised Funds. Each fund holder can select which causes will receive their funds. “As we continue to be responsive and model Trust-based Philanthropy practices, we believe we should be transparent and make changes when warranted,” says Andrews. “We understand these changes will seem a little challenging for some, but we want to reassure our partners and community that we will continue to work together to connect people who care about causes that matter.”
The recent grants include Solidarity Urban Farms, which received $30k to continue work combatting food insecurity in Lorain. The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer manages the urban farm, which provides healthy food for the church’s community meals program, healthy activities for neighborhood children and families, free food for neighbors and produce for sale to the community. United Way of Greater Lorain County, Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, Lorain County Urban League, Main Street Lorain and the YWCA are partners with the program. Recently, staff at Solidarity Urban Farms and Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio have been able to include Solidarity Urban Farms produce as eligible for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) and senior coupons, including delivery to families using WIC.
“The generous support from the Community Foundation will support us continuing to operate Solidarity Urban Farm,” says Father Alexander Barton, Executive Director of Solidarity Urban Farms. “This grant will allow us to provide healthy options for the community and a safe place for the youth in our community.” The funds used to fulfill the Solidarity Urban Farms grant are coming from two unrestricted endowment funds held at Community Foundation of Lorain County. Unrestricted funds provide the most flexibility for the Grants Committee to respond to emerging needs. Community Foundation of Lorain County has a Touch the Future Fund that is open for donations.
2022 Grant Cycle Awards
| Arts & Culture | |
| Elyria Arts Council | 38,700 |
| Lorain County Historical Society | 25,000 |
| North Pointe Ballet | 20,000 |
| Oberlin Heritage Center/O.H.I.O. | 20,000 |
| Oberlin-Wellington Rescue Theater Project | 10,000 |
| Southern Lorain County Historical Society | 3,634 |
| Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio | 3,000 |
| Firelands Association for the Visual Arts | 20,000 |
| Oberlin Choristers | 7,000 |
| Education & Youth Development | |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County | 50,000 |
| Camp Imagine | 15,000 |
| Effective Leadership Academy | 25,000 |
| Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio | 15,000 |
| LifeAct | 15,000 |
| National Inventors Hall of Fame | 49,900 |
| OberlinKids | 15,000 |
| Save our Children of Elyria, Inc. | 50,000 |
| Youth Challenge | 22,000 |
| Girls on the Run Northeast Ohio | 5,000 |
| RePlay for Kids | 7,859 |
| Standout Production Group/Scholastic Games | 6,500 |
| Health & Human Services | |
| A Dementia Friendly Life Foundation | 50,000 |
| Blessing House | 75,000 |
| Coalition for the Uninsured of Lorain County | 38,750 |
| El Centro de Services Sociales | 60,000 |
| Flat Rock Homes, Inc | 20,000 |
| Hospice of the Western Reserve, Inc. | 15,000 |
| Humility of Mary Housing | 35,000 |
| Lorain County Health & Dentistry | 50,000 |
| Lorain County Lutheran Presbyterian Cooperative Ministries | 20,000 |
| Lorain County Office on Aging | 42,269 |
| Mercy Foundation of Lorain County | 55,000 |
| NAMI | 13,500 |
| North Ridgeville Community Care | 10,000 |
| Prevent Blindness, Northeast Ohio Chapter | 15,000 |
| Primary Purpose Center, Inc. | 20,000 |
| Road to Hope House, Inc. | 50,000 |
| The Salvation Army Elyria | 40,000 |
| A Kid Again (Northern Ohio Chapter) | 10,000 |
| Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Services, Inc. | 5,000 |
| Strengthening Lorain County | |
| City Fresh | 30,000 |
| Episcopal Church of the Redeemer | 30,000 |
| Friendship Animal Protective League | 20,000 |
| YWCA Elyria | 45,250 |
| Hearts of Patriots | 10,000 |
| Ideastream | 5,000 |
| SCORE Cleveland Chapter 30 | 3,000 |