CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers Community Foundation (CCF) and Cleveland Monsters Community Foundation (CMF) recently announced the distribution of nearly $500,000 in grants to 18 local non-profits that support at-risk youth and community programming in Northeast Ohio.
In October 2024, the foundations pledged to award 30 grants to local youth-supporting organizations across Northeast Ohio to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Monsters. The 2025 Winter Grantee class had 12 nonprofits receive a $30,000 grant in celebration of the arena’s anniversary.
Since its inception, Cavaliers Community Foundation has invested over $26 million in organizations dedicated to youth development. These organizations are deeply committed to enhancing the lives of young people and families in the region focusing on education, food security, and wellness. Nonprofits like the ones granted are integral in the holistic development of youth in Northeast Ohio.
The Cavaliers Community Foundation Winter 2025 Grantees include: 1,000 Ties, A Special Wish Foundation of Northeast Ohio, Adaptive Sports Ohio, America’s VetDogs, Birthing Beautiful Communities, Cleveland Peacemakers, Inc., Family Promise of Greater Cleveland, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, New Bridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology, Special Olympics Ohio, The Centers, Vision to Learn, WomenSafe, Inc. and Youth Opportunities Unlimited.
“The Cavaliers Community Foundation is proud to support our community partners with financial resources, ensuring they have the tools necessary to help Northeast Ohio youth succeed,” said Pam Frasco, Executive Director of the Cavaliers Community Foundation. “We are committed to creating a lasting legacy of positive change by generating a ripple effect throughout our community.”
The Monsters Community Foundation Winter 2025 Grantees include: ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland, America’s VetDogs, Elyria Ice Hockey Club, LifeAct and United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Cleveland, Inc.
“The Monsters Community Foundation’s mission is to invest in organizations that directly support the health and well-being of at-risk populations in Northeast Ohio while also providing access to hockey in our community,” said Ben Adams, Cleveland Monsters Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “Each of the grantees awarded in this cycle support this in unique and direct ways, and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with them in the work of building a better community for our young people.”
Grants are awarded bi-annually, following review by the Cavaliers and Monsters Community Foundation Board. The Cavaliers and Monsters will begin the Spring 2025 cycle in late winter. Those interested in being considered for a grant should submit a letter of intent by March 1, 2025. For more information on the Cavaliers Community Foundation, contact CCfoundation@cavs.com or find the application here.
For consideration by the Monsters Community Foundation, contact monsterscommunity@clevelandmonsters.com or find the application here.
Cavaliers and Monsters Community Foundation Winter 2025 Grant Recipients
1,000 Ties
1,000 Ties empowers youth and their families in high-poverty communities by teaching essential life skills that foster lifelong success. Through mentorship from community role models, young men ages 8-19 build the confidence to interview, network and break cycles of generational poverty. By involving and empowering the family members who support these young men, 1,000 Ties creates a foundation for sustainable growth and shared achievement—beginning with the simple, impactful gesture of tying a tie.
A Special Wish Foundation, Northeast Ohio
A Special Wish Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children between birth and 20 years of age who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.
ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland
The ACE Mentor Program helps to prepare high school students for careers in architecture, engineering and construction. Through mentoring by industry professionals, the mission to engage and enlighten high school students is achieved and supports their continued advancement in the industry. The organization provides mentoring to students using various strategies to ensure they are engaged and succeed in ACE programs (architecture, engineering and construction).
Adaptive Sports Ohio
Adaptive Sports Ohio removes barriers to ensure that individuals with physical disabilities have a chance to play and utilize sport to elevate ability and empower futures. Founded in 2009, Adaptive Sports Ohio is now the largest organization offering adaptive sports opportunities within the state of Ohio.
America’s VetDogs
VetDogs trains and places service dogs for those with physical disabilities; guide dogs for individuals who are blind or have low vision; service dogs to help mitigate the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder; and facility dogs as part of the rehabilitation process in military and VA hospitals.
Birthing Beautiful Communities
Birthing Beautiful Communities’ (BBC) mission is to address and improve the systemic and community structures that lead to poor birth outcomes through Culture, Education, Advocacy, Support and Engagement. BBC is Northeast Ohio’s only community-based doula program working to improve the quality of life for expectant Black mothers, babies and families.
Cleveland Peacemakers, Inc.
Cleveland Peacemakers Inc. (CPI) aims to save lives and create safer communities by working with young people at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence. CPI is a Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program that utilizes a public health approach to prevent and interrupt the cycle of retaliatory and conflict-based gun violence in the City of Cleveland and neighboring areas.
Elyria Ice Hockey Club
The Elyria Panthers Youth Hockey organization is dedicated to creating a lifelong love of hockey for players ages 3 and up. Since 1960, they’ve fostered a fun, supportive environment where young athletes develop skills, sportsmanship and teamwork, forging friendships that last a lifetime. The progressive programs cater to all skill levels and the “Learn to Skate and Play” program introduces 100+ beginners to hockey annually.
Family Promise of Greater Cleveland
Family Promise’s main purpose is to help the unhoused families it receives from Coordinated Intake to quickly find housing and a source of income; and to put them on the pathway to long-term stability. Its core services include Temporary Housing/Case Management, Employment Services and Community Stabilization Services.
LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland
The LGBT Community Center is a community-led and equity-focused one-stop hub and sanctuary providing an array of services. The Center works to meet individual needs around health, food security, education and well-being while implementing systemic solutions. They aim to support Cleveland’s LGBTQ+ community through advocacy, support, education and celebration.
LifeAct
LifeAct’s mission is to prevent young suicide through two main initiatives, the Suicide Prevention (SP) and Stress Management (SM) classroom programs. The 2-session SP program teaches Grades 6-12 students that at-risk behaviors are often the result of treatable medical conditions, how to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health issues and where to find help for themselves, friends or family members. Students who ask a LifeAct instructor for assistance are connected to school-based resources (counselor, psychologist, staff designee) to determine the best course of action.
New Bridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology
Since 2010, New Bridge has touched the lives of more than 4,000 youth and adults throughout Greater Cleveland using a combination of workforce skills training and job placement services for adults, professional development and classroom training for youth and adults and social-emotional learning and personal development programming for youth to create equal access to opportunity.
Special Olympics Ohio
Special Olympics Ohio provides a lifetime of opportunities to athletes of all ages, at no cost to them, through the transformative power of sport. Special Olympics Ohio encompasses the power and joy of sport for athletes to connect with and contribute to their communities – all while improving their physical fitness, leadership skills and sense of wellbeing.
The Centers
The Centers/Cleveland Christian Home provides residential treatment for youth who are facing severe emotional and behavioral disturbances, and short-term housing for youth awaiting a placement in foster care. The Centers provides services for approximately 20,000 people annually in four primary areas: Integrated Health and Wellness, Head Start Early Learning & Family Support, Workforce Development and Youth Residential Services.
United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Cleveland, Inc.
UCP of Greater Cleveland serves over 1,500 children and adults every year. While the agency initially served only children with cerebral palsy, we are now a network of support for people with a wide spectrum of disabilities including but not limited to, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, genetic disorders, intellectual disability, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, among others.
Vision to Learn
Vision To Learn provides vision screenings, eye exams and glasses to children in low-income communities, at no cost, at their schools and community organizations with mobile vision clinics.
WomenSafe, Inc.
WomenSafe looks to provide emergency shelter and support services to survivors of domestic violence throughout Northeast Ohio. WomenSafe’s trauma-informed programming fosters healing and self-sufficiency, with an overarching goal to end the cycle of violence within families. WomenSafe offers the following free, confidential services: 24-hour Crisis Hotline, Emergency Shelter, Art Therapy, Counseling, Empowered Parenting Program, Housing and Employment Coordination, Court Advocacy, In-Kind Donations, Aftercare and Domestic Violence Education.
Youth Opportunities Unlimited
Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) was founded in December 1982 as a nonprofit to provide Cleveland teens with their first paid summer job. To meet the growing and evolving needs of the community, namely high youth unemployment rates and employer-identified skills gaps in young workers, Y.O.U. has evolved and expanded. For over 40 years, Y.O.U. has provided a range of education and workforce programs to young people ages 14-24 in Northeast Ohio who live in economically distressed communities.