Neighborhood Connections approved $273,778 in grants to support 81 projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland on December 9, 2025. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), the local public funder for arts and culture, co-funded 16 of those resident-led arts and culture projects through an ongoing partnership with Neighborhood Connections.

Arts and culture projects receiving CAC co-funding include Big in the Arts Outreach, which received $3,250 to run workshops for young people in the Lee Harvard neighborhood to learn about filmmaking and playwriting; The Returning Artists Guild, Cleveland, based in St. Clair Superior, which received $3,250 for a community conversation, panel discussion, and artist showcase based on the ramifications of incarceration; and Universal Love ENT, in the Union Miles neighborhood, which received $4,000 to offer youth art activities promoting creativity, social connections, and self-expression.

CAC granted $60,500 to Neighborhood Connections in 2025 to support community-based arts and culture activities. “These groups continue to demonstrate the importance of equitable grantmaking to organizations and projects of all sizes,” said Jill M. Paulsen, executive director of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Tom O’Brien, Director of Neighborhood Connections, said the funded groups are “creating spaces for community members to come together to build trust, support one another, learn from each other, and act together on issues they care about.” Since 2003, Neighborhood Connections has invested more than $18 million in resident-led projects in Cleveland and East Cleveland.

Source: https://www.cacgrants.org/news/neighborhood-connections-announces-273-778-in-funding-for-81-projects-in-cleveland-and-east-cleveland-neighborhoods/