During 2020, The Community Foundation and our donors invested nearly $2.6 million dollars in our community for charitable causes. The Community Foundation issued grants of over $2.31 million dollars to various non-profits; $244,250 for projects in our community like Freedom Park and Taylor Springs Park; our scholarships funded $13,000 of higher education expenses for our scholarship recipients; and we supported long-term COVID recovery with a total investment of $126,500.
Of particular interest in 2020 was The Foundation’s involvement in developing more affordable housing options in our community through Habitat for Humanity and City Fields. The lack of affordable housing in our community was highlighted in a study by United for ALICE, and is a significant issue for a sizable portion of our community. In response to that need, The Community Foundation made substantial investments in this area.
The Community Foundation and our donors provided the funding sufficient to cover the cost of a new Habitat for Humanity house in our community. The Rodriguez family was the recipient of the home. You can learn more about the build and the family here. In addition to funding the Rodriguez home, your Community Foundation also provided volunteers that worked on this home, and others in the community through the involvement of our board of directors and Emerging Leaders Council.
In addition to working with Habitat for Humanity, The Foundation established a fund to provide support for the revitalization of the Blythe Oldfield neighborhood. The City Fields Revitalization Fund was recently created at the Community Foundation as a renewable source of funding for new home builds or renovation of existing properties. Currently focused on the Blythe Oldfield neighborhood, City Fields is a 501(c)3 community development corporation (CDC) dedicated to revitalizing long-overlooked areas of Cleveland. As a CDC, City Fields can develop affordable housing to grow homeownership in the target area. As homes are purchased, rehabilitated, and sold, the proceeds of the sales will be used to purchase other homes. City Fields’ goal is to renovate and/or build 50 homes in Blythe Oldfield. You can learn more about this fund here.
