Neighborhood Connections announced this week that it has approved $382,114 in grants to support 121 projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC) will co-fund 27 of the resident-led arts and culture projects.

Highlights of the grants include:

• Latin American Historical Society of Cleveland: $3,290 to capture stories of the Latino experience in Cleveland. Largely excluded from the Civil Rights narrative, the group plans to document the oral histories of community elders, which will be archived at the Cleveland Public Library.
• United in Code: $4,700 for its project, “SEE I The Soul Cinematic Universe”­—a four-week mixed-media film arts camp for 20 participants, ages 13 to 17, from Central and other communities. The program will expose the teens to new technologies to create content with short films produced around mediation, violence prevention, and restorative justice. 
• Hattie’s Helpers: $4,230 to host youth field trips focused on nature. Visits include stops at Rid-All Green Partnership, local urban farms, community hoop houses, and more. There will also be a social-emotional learning component to the field trips to add a youth training and education component.

Baseball Heritage Museum

CAC 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, history, and other art forms. Through the 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,” says Jill M. Paulsen, CAC executive director. “CAC is proud to invest public dollars to support Cuyahoga County residents working together on 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.

Esperanza ThreadsThe remaining 24 projects co-funded by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and Neighborhood Connections and include:

• Bike Cleveland was awarded $3,290 for a traffic calming and mural project at the intersection of E. 55th Street and Payne Avenue in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood.
• Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation was awarded $3,055 for its annual Community Night in the Gardens, featuring Glenville's Got Talent. The event brings Glenville residents to the gardens every year to showcase their talents and create space for neighbors to get to know each other better and educate themselves on the wonderful natural resource that they have in their own backyard.
• Comics at the Corner was awarded $2,820 for its fifth Annual Trunk or Treat and other community events, at which the group will hand out candy and comic books to youth on Halloween in the Buckeye neighborhood.
• Comité Mexicano de Cleveland was awarded $4,230 for its Dia del Nino/Day of the Child Celebration in Clark Fulton. The day will be filled with food, music, fun activities, and gifts for children who have emigrated to the United States.
• Esperanza Threads received $2,350 for its Pieces of Peace project in the Detroit Shoreway, which allows sewing students and participants to express themselves authentically, encourage a growing community, and put their new skills to use.
• Extended Family was awarded $3,290 to offer an overnight camp experience to 40 youth ages seven to 12 in Mount Pleasant this fall. Extended Family Adventure Camp will offer enrichment thought outdoor activities, arts and crafts, and mindfulness while exploring nature and cultural history.
• Galilean Theological Center  in Cudell was awarded $3,384 to host a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. The community block party will feature live music, food, games, and more, with the goal of connecting neighbors.
• Genesis Community Connection in Mt. Pleasant received $2,585 to host a Friday Night Movie Night throughout the summer in the New Sardis Church parking lot. The events will provide a safe, fun place for neighbors to connect and build trust while having fun. They
• Cleveland Global Girls With Attitude (G.W.A) was awarded $3,290 to run a summer camp for young girls in East Cleveland. Currently working with the Police Athletic League, G.W.A. is looking to further expand youth programming focused on visual arts and mentorship.
• High Art Fridays, in partnership with the Invigorate Gallery, received $2,820 for its The Sustainable Art of Plastics project. The groups will a create temporary public art installation made out of diverted plastic from the Cleveland Clinic on the exterior of a two-story building in Hough. The project is meant to bring awareness about climate change, environmental justice, and the permanence of plastic.  
• Karaoke & Conversations in Central-Kinsman hosts a monthly gathering of residents and stakeholders to talk about tough topics and then have fun singing the night away with karaoke. The organization was awarded $4,700 to continue this effort.
• Kentucky Gardens in Ohio City received $4,053 to host monthly concerts with its Music in the Garden series of live music and opportunities for neighbors to get to know one another.
• Living Sacrifice Ministries was awarded $2,256 to begin Project Love. The group will visit senior facilities in the Hough community to provide music concerts and connection for traditionally isolated members of the community.
• The Old Brooklyn Arts Committee received $1,880 to have mural artist Mike Sobeck create a community mural on Broadview Road. The community will vote on the mural to be painted.
• Mustard Seed Works in Central received $2,350 to host an urban beekeeping conference, “Bee Connected,” for students, agricultural educators, farmers, and gardeners. The two-day immersive education experience aims to keep the core network of beekeepers connected to the larger community of urban beekeepers in Cleveland.
• NexGen Preserve 63 in the Stockyards neighborhood received $4,230 to bring neighbors together with Cozy Space Movie Nights. Members creating a space to host the movies, as well as a quiet outdoor space for reading, playing games, and gathering.
• The Old Brooklyn Summer Art & Performance Series received $2,350 to hold three free arts events this summer in conjunction with the Old Brooklyn Farmers Market. The series will include a comedy show, a community drag show, and a mask-creating workshop followed by a gallery event in Old Brooklyn.
• Ohio Selfie World Foundation in Old Brooklyn was awarded $3,290 to host Summer Arts & Community Festival—a summer arts festival to bring the community together to get to know one another. The events will support local visual and musical artists, local vendors, and local chefs and food companies.
• Palestinian American Heritage Society (PAHS) received $3,290 for a Cleveland Palestinian Film Series in and around in the Detroit Shoreway that will highlight various films that are open, critical, and reflective of the culture, experience, and vision of the Palestinian diaspora, Palestine, and the filmmakers, who are often Palestinian.
• Red Lead Club, a multi-disciplinary creative space for adults in the St. Clair Superior neighborhood, received $2,350 to host meetup events in galleries and artistic spaces throughout Cleveland and expand its reach to other galleries or exhibition spaces on the West side, give artists more opportunity to learn and grow in more spaces, and purchase art supplies and training materials, and host more meetings and training sessions.
• Riff Mechanics in Buckeye was awarded $4,700 to host three, monthly family friendly three-hour pop-up concerts in its Splice Cream Spliced Team Dream Concert series in front of the Trumpet Man at Art & Soul Park. The series will showcase diverse artists who represent the neighborhood and surrounding communities.
• Someplace Special in Broadway-Slavic Village was awarded $2,820 for empowerment and projects that will bring women in shelters to tutoring and arts and crafts workshops.
• Teaching Young Women in Society Truth was awarded $3,290 to conduct weekly arts workshops to provide a positive outlet and help empower young women in East Cleveland between the ages of 12 and 21. The workshops will offer piano and voice lessons, drawing and painting, photography, and studio time.
• Woodland Cemetery Foundation was awarded $4,700 for its Engaging through Nature project. The project will install new flower beds, native plants, and bee hives in the cemetery to be used for education and engagement in the Central neighborhood.