Invest in Children Initiative Awarded $1 Million by Gund Foundation

The George Gund Foundation today annouced major grants including $5 million for the Cleveland Museum of Art's
renovation and expansion project, a very exciting $1 million to Cuyahoga County's Invest in Children (IIC) initiative, and nearly $4 million more for 79 other programs that reflect the Foundation's continuing commitment to the urban
core of the region. This near-$10 million in funding brings their 2004 grant-giving total to nearly $30 million. "Invest in Children" is dedicated to Effective Parents and Families, Safe and Healthy Children, Children
Prepared for School and A Community Committed to Children... exactly what REI Director Ed Morrison and other community leaders recommend for insuring our long term economic development - read more and see links to that program and other related news and information below. Thank you Gund Foundation!

The Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners [1]Â is collaborating with almost two dozen community, corporate and private foundations on a five-year, $70 million-plus Invest in Children (IIC) [2]initiative that will focus on creating quality early childhood development programs and services.

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“What
sets this apart from early childhood initiatives in other communities,
is that IIC is designed to create a comprehensive early childhood
system for Cuyahoga County,
not just a collection of individual programs or services,� said Marcia
Egbert, senior program officer at the Foundation. “The plan is to
create a high quality system that will promote children’s physical and
mental health from birth to six, provide every parent that wants it
access to a good preschool program for their children, and build
community support for investment in young children.�

The George Gund Foundation made major
grants at its December meeting for programs that reflect the Foundation's continuing commitment to the urban
core of the region.

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"This quarter's grants reflect the
Foundation's continued commitment to improving life in the urban center of our
region by funding innovative efforts to address economic development, human
services, education, quality of life and environmental concerns," said David
Abbott, Foundation executive director. "The health of Cleveland and other urban centers is vital to
the health of our entire region. We hope
many of these grants help more people understand that fact."

Trustees approved 81 grants totaling
$9,776,410Â at the last quarterly meeting of 2004. Total grantmaking for the year was
$27,831,547 to a wide range of organizations and projects in human services [3], education [4], economic development and community revitalization [5], environment [6] and the arts [7].

To read the complete press release, click here [8].