CLEVELAND (July 12, 2024) – Neighborhood Connections has approved $382,114 in grants to support 121 projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), the local public funder for arts and culture, will co-fund 27 of these resident-led arts and culture projects through a partnership with Neighborhood Connections.

Highlights of the grants include:

• Latin American Historical Society of Cleveland was awarded $3,290 to capture stories of the Latino experience in Cleveland. Largely excluded from the Civil Rights narrative, the group seeks to document oral history of elders within the community for archival at the Cleveland Public Library.
• United in Code was awarded $4,700 to a project dubbed: SEE I The Soul Cinematic Universe. A four-week mixed-media film arts camp for participants primarily from the Central community and other Cleveland areas (ages 13-17), will introduce them to new technologies to create content. The program's production of short films will be produced around the subjects of Mediation, Violence Prevention and Restorative Justice.
  
  
• Hattie’s Helpers received $4,230 to host youth field trips that are focused on nature. Visits include stops at Rid All, Urban Farms, Community Hoop Houses, and more. There will also be a social-emotional learning component to these trips, providing youth training and education in this area.

“These neighborhood groups and their efforts demonstrate what's possible when people work together,” says Neighborhood Connections Director Tom O’Brien. “These initiatives are about everyday people in the community choosing to value possibility and relationships over self-interest and separation. These groups and initiatives all started with a conversation about what people can create together. We celebrate these leaders and their teams. We are honored to support their work.”

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture granted $60,500 to Neighborhood Connections in 2024 to support community-based arts and culture activities organized by and for Cuyahoga County residents.  CAC defines arts and culture broadly to include nature, science, cultural heritage, and history in addition to other art forms. Through this partnership with Neighborhood Connections, CAC has co-funded more than 475 resident-led arts and culture projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland since 2013.

“Neighborhood Connections’ grantmaking continues to underscore the importance of community, and the power of art and culture projects to drive change” said Jill M. Paulsen, executive director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. “CAC is proud to invest public dollars to support Cuyahoga County residents working together in their creative endeavors.”

Neighborhood Connections also distributed three Spark Grants, easy-to-access grants of up to $1,000 to pilot a public initiative or event that emerges from Arts & Culture Network Night or a monthly Creative Meetup. In the first round of Spark Grants, House of Chazzly, Cleveland Sews, and Artistic Fusion Collective each received $1,000. A total of $20,000 is available in 2024.

Since 2003, Neighborhood Connections has invested more than $15 million in resident-led projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland. 

Neighbor Up grants are offered several times each year to groups of residents in Cleveland and East Cleveland and, for projects related to the pandemic, to residents in Cuyahoga, Lake, and Geauga counties, to do projects that improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Groups are encouraged to work with partners and to propose creative solutions to challenges in their community. The next opportunity to apply is currently open, with a deadline of August 12, 2024.

View a list of funded projects here.

About Neighborhood Connections

Neighborhood Connections is a nationally recognized community-building program established in 2003. Its mission is to fuel the power of neighbors to create, together, an extraordinary world right where they live. Our small grants program is one of the largest in the country. For more information, visit NeighborUpCLE.org.

About Cuyahoga Arts & Culture

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) is the region’s largest funder for arts and culture, helping hundreds of organizations in Cuyahoga County connect millions of people to cultural experiences each year. Since 2006, CAC has invested $247 million in 485 organizations, making our community a more vibrant place to live, work and play. CAC is a separate government entity and a political subdivision of the State of Ohio. For more information, visit cacgrants.org.

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