The Community West Foundation board of directors approved $1.052 million in second-quarter grant funding to support nonprofit organizations working to provide housing and homelessness assistance, as well as support incarcerated and reintegrating individuals, according to a news release.
All of the recipients live in Cleveland County, western Cuyahoga County and Lorain County.
An additional $196,000 was distributed through the Community Impact Fund, bringing the total to $1,248,000, according to the release.
According to a press release, the Community Impact Fund will allow donors to invest in ways that align with Community West's mission and ensure that 100% of donations are distributed directly to grant recipients on a quarterly basis.
“Most of our grant funding goes toward general operating support,” Community West Foundation President and CEO Marty Uhle said in the announcement. “We are confident that our grant recipients' deep understanding of the needs of their communities will enable them to use the grant funds effectively to fulfill their missions.”
Representatives from each nonprofit organization attended an open house recently to receive their grant checks, it was announced.
This quarterly event serves as an important touch point to foster collaboration among agencies working in similar mission areas.
The grant will provide significant benefits to the local community, according to the announcement.
One notable project is being led by True Freedom Ministries, an organization that offers a variety of programs for people in prison, experiencing homelessness and addiction, according to the release.
True Freedom Ministries in Cleveland is working with Grafton Correctional Institution to renovate dormitories on the prison grounds to house program participants.
Other Cuyahoga County nonprofits receiving grant funding include:
• Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity — Helping people transition from homelessness to homeownership.
• Pathways Enrichment Center — Provides vital food assistance to Lorain County residents.
• We Care We Share Ministries – My House — Provides housing for homeless youth and seniors
Getting out of the foster care system
• Westlake United Methodist Church – Westside Food Ministries – Works to alleviate hunger in Cleveland and the western suburbs through doorstep food delivery and in-person food pantries for low-income and homebound people.
Lorain County
• Blessing House — Provides housing for children from at-risk families
• Good Nights of Lorain County — Builds beds and provides them with bedding for children in need in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties.
• Humble Mary Housing — Operates a supportive housing program for chronically unhoused single parents
• Neighborhood Alliance – Haven Center – Provides shelter and emergency services to men, women and children in need. Lorain County's largest home-delivered meals service for seniors.
• New Community — Provides trauma treatment services to men and women recently released from prison.
• United Way of Greater Lorain County — United Community Assistance Network, which works to stabilize families at risk of eviction or utility cutoffs due to the financial crisis.
For more information, contact Community West Foundation at 440-360-7370 or visit communitywestfoundation.org.
