Transformative Visions
Contributions That Strengthened the Foundation’s Capacities
Harry Coulby FundsMuch-Needed Support for Core GrantmakingA $3 million bequest from Harry Coulby (see video), received in 1931, may have prevented the Cleveland Foundation’s demise during the Great Depression. There is no question that it gave the foundation the means to aggressively promote...Read More in Timeline 
Anisfield-Wolf Book AwardsFocusing Attention on Social Justice and Cultural DiversityThose who knew Edith Anisfield Wolf (see video), the beloved only child of John and Daniela Anisfield, called her reserved and self-effacing. Yet this unassuming native Clevelander, born in 1889, left a unique mark on the world...Read More in Timeline 
A. E. Convers FundEndowment Monies with Infinite FlexibilityAlbert E. Convers was the chairman of Dow Chemical Company and one of the company’s largest shareholders at the time of his death in 1935. The Massachusetts native had formed a lasting attachment to Cleveland, however, during...Read More in Timeline 
Sherwick FundPhilanthropy’s Pioneering Supporting OrganizationJohn Sherwin Sr. and his wife, Frances Wick Sherwin, came from long family traditions of philanthropy and community service. John’s cousin, Belle Sherwin, was a member of the young Cleveland Foundation’s first governing committee. The Wicks were...Read More in Timeline 
L. Dale Dorney FundSeeding a Community Foundation for Hancock CountyBusinessman Leland Dale Dorney (see video), a native and longtime resident of Findlay, Ohio, turned over his life savings to the Cleveland Foundation upon his death in 1976. The disposition, as well as the size, of Dorney’s...Read More in Timeline 
Treu-Mart FundPhilanthropy’s First Collaboratively Managed Endowment MoniesSince its establishment in 1980, the Treu-Mart Fund of the Cleveland Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland has strived to focus its grantmaking on underserved populations or new areas of need. “We believe we can...Read More in Timeline 
F. James and Rita Rechin FundPacesetting Partnership with Living DonorsThe F. James and Rita Rechin Fund was the first donor-advised fund established at the Cleveland Foundation. “Our fund is modest in the worldly scheme of things,” said Jim Rechin, a retired TRW Inc. group vice president,...Read More in Timeline 
Lake-Geauga FundGrantmaking Expanded to Adjacent CountiesThe year 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the start of grantmaking by the Lake-Geauga Fund, an initiative, supported by the Cleveland Foundation, to meet the often unique needs of communities to the east of Cuyahoga County....Read More in Timeline 
Frank H. and Nancy L. Porter FundForesighted Gift of Discretionary MoniesNancy Beth Lyon gave up her plans to earn a master’s degree in social work in 1943 when she married Frank H. Porter, whom she had known since their Cleveland Heights High School days. But she never...Read More in Timeline The Cleveland Foundation is grateful to every individual who has helped build its endowment of $2,132,806,744. The collective generosity of Greater Clevelanders has made it possible for the foundation to serve present and future generations in its first 100 years by nurturing programs and initiatives that have creatively addressed community needs.
While every donor is important, some have made farsighted bequests or pioneered philanthropic relationships that have strengthened the institutional fiber of the Cleveland Foundation itself. A number of these visionary contributors, who have enhanced the foundation’s capacity to respond, facilitate, convene and lead, are highlighted here.