The George Gund Foundation, established in 1952, is rooted in Cleveland, the community that was the home of its founder and that remains the Foundation’s home. The Foundation’s commitment to Cleveland derives not just from our history but also from our belief that Cleveland can continue to develop original responses to issues that can benefit people everywhere. Our focus on Cleveland offers an important point of leverage to affect issues that go well beyond the city’s boundaries and includes its roles as a place for innovation, an example, and a leader in Ohio, a politically important state that can wield outsized influence nationally and, therefore, globally.
The George Gund Foundation is the largest private foundation in Ohio. In 2022, the Foundation made grants totaling approximately $41 million. Program directors handle grantmaking in public education, vibrant neighborhoods and inclusive economy, thriving families and social justice, creative culture and arts, and climate and environmental justice. Across those program areas is an underlying commitment to addressing climate change and environmental degradation; entrenched and accelerating inequality, especially racial inequity; and weakened democracy.