CLEVELAND (December 17, 2024) – Neighborhood Connections has approved $254,297 in grants to support 66 projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), the local public funder for arts and culture, will co-fund 19 of these resident-led arts and culture projects through a partnership with Neighborhood Connections.

Highlights of the grants include:

• SHED Projects was awarded $3,500 to host a six-week program in celebration of Semana Santa, featuring the internationally acclaimed Familia Linares, renowned folk artists from Mexico City. This event will be a vibrant fusion of art, tradition, and community engagement, deeply rooted in the rich cultural heritage of Cartonería—the traditional Mexican craft of paper sculpture.
• St. Clair Mobile Art Cart was awarded $2,000 to host community spaces for art journaling for both youth and adults in St. Clair Superior, with the goal of getting people to let go of self-judgment and become open to art as therapy.
  
  
• The Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated, North Coast Chapter was awarded $5,000 for a proposed program in North Collinwood's local libraries to teach students and community members about the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and inspire them. The team will also let youth know about job opportunities available to them in aviation.

“We are honored to support these groups and organizations doing amazing work in Cleveland and East Cleveland,” says Neighborhood Connections Director Tom O’Brien. “When a few people come together with good intentions and a plan, great things can happen. These organizations and groups are living examples of this belief.”

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 490 resident-led arts and culture projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland since 2013.

“As always, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture is proud to support this valued partnership with Neighborhood Connections,” said Jill M. Paulsen, executive director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. “These grant recipients continue to demonstrate the impact of public funding for arts and culture and the value of connection, creativity, and community.”

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.

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 more than $257 million in 500 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.