This quarter, Community West Foundation is proud to announce a total of $1,472,500 in grant distributions to nonprofit organizations serving Cleveland, Western Cuyahoga, and Lorain Counties. While the Foundation’s Board of Directors approved $1,127,000 in grants through its core funding, an additional $345,500 was distributed through the Community Impact Fund: a powerful testament to what happens when individual generosity meets shared purpose.
The Community Impact Fund is more than just a funding mechanism, it’s an invitation. Designed to allow donors to give alongside Community West’s mission, the Fund ensures that every dollar given goes directly to grantees. That transparency and impact attracted new donors this quarter, resulting in a meaningful show of support for the nonprofit community.
Together, these gifts extended the reach of Community West Foundation’s mission, creating real and immediate change for organizations that serve those in need. The continued growth of the Community Impact Fund means more lives can be touched with compassion, dignity, and hope. This quarter’s grants focus on mission areas that include housing and homeless services, as well as programs that support incarcerated individuals and those reentering society.
“The Community Impact Fund continues to show the power of collective generosity,” said Marty Uhle, President & CEO of Community West Foundation. “We are especially encouraged to see new donors stepping forward to support nonprofits doing essential work in our community. Every gift, no matter the size, becomes part of something much bigger.”
Organizations receiving grants include:
Cuyahoga County:
• A Place 4 Me – programming for homeless youth, young adults experiencing housing instability, and those aging out of the foster care system
• Americans Making Immigrants Safe (AMIS) – provides housing, food and other basic needs services to immigrants
• Chair-ity, Inc. – provides furniture and home goods to youth aging out of the foster care system
• CHN Housing Partners – provides affordable housing, financial mobility education, and housing-related services to low-income individuals and families
• Cleveland Mediation Center – works to prevent homelessness by diverting individuals seeking shelter to alternate housing options, mediating landlord/tenant conflict, and connecting them with resources
• Community Service Alliance – provides shelter and other services to men experiencing homelessness, re-entering society or facing addiction
• EDEN, Inc. (Emerald Development & Economic Network) – provides permanent supporting housing for extremely low-income individuals, especially those challenged by mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and physical disabilities
• EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute – offers formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the culinary and hospitality industry while providing a support network necessary for long-term success
• Family Promise of Greater Cleveland – provides shelter, basic needs, and supportive services for homeless families
• Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity – helps individuals transition from homelessness to home ownership
• I’m In Ministry – collects, refurbishes, and distributes donated items like bedding, furniture, clothing, and food to those in need
• Joseph and Mary’s Home – offers medical respite for adults experiencing homelessness
• Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – provides shelter and housing services, workforce development programs and coalition building
• Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) – provides a street outreach program serving the shelter-resistant
• Reach Success, Inc. – provides comprehensive strategies to bridge the gap between incarceration and community reintegration
• St. Herman’s/FOCUS North America Cleveland – provides shelter and social services for unhoused men
• St. Paul’s Community Outreach – helps sheltered and unsheltered residents and families experiencing food and housing insecurity in Greater Cleveland
• The Centers – H.O.P.E. Center – home for extremely troubled youth with wraparound services, specifically for behavioral health services
• The City Mission – Laura’s Home – shelter for women and their children who are unhoused or in crisis
• The Salvation Army – Zelma George Emergency Family Shelter – a family housing program which also provides additional supportive services
• True Freedom Ministries – provides a variety of programs for those who are incarcerated, individuals re-entering society unhoused individuals, and those challenged by addiction
• Urban Hope – provides meals and services to unhoused community members in the near west area
• Ursuline Piazza – provides housing and services for people who living with HIV/AIDS
• Village Project – provides nourishing meals and support to families dealing with cancer
• We Care We Share Ministries – My House — provides housing for unhoused youth and those who have aged out of foster care
• YWCA Greater Cleveland – Norma Herr Women’s Shelter – low-barrier shelter to women in need and Cogswell Hall – permanent supportive housing for adults
• Zelie’s Home – provides wraparound physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional support for pregnant and parenting women up to one year after a child is born
Lorain County:
• Beyond the Walls Church – helps those who are homeless or living in poverty through food distribution and other services
• Blessing House – provides emergency housing to children whose families are in crisis
• El Centro de Servicios Sociales – provides a wide range of services to the community, primarily focusing on improving the socio-economic status of the Latino community
• Humility of Mary Housing – operates a supportive housing program for chronically unhoused single parents
• Neighborhood Alliance – Haven Center – provides shelter and crisis services to men, women and children in need; largest home-delivery meal service for seniors in Lorain County
• The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland – provides free legal advice and assistance to clients in Greater Cleveland and Lorain County
• St. Elizabeth Center (Catholic Charities) – provides emergency shelter and assistance to men experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness
• United Way of Greater Lorain County — United Community Assistance Network (UCAN) – stabilizes households threatened with eviction/utility disconnection due to a financial crisis