The Cleveland Community Police Commission is accepting new grant applications as it continues to clear a backlog of awards going back to 2023.
Awarding grants to community groups working in violence prevention, restorative justice or mediation is one of the commission’s duties. The city charter mandates that the commission receive 0.5% of the amount budgeted for the Cleveland Division of Police to fund the grants. That came to almost $1.4 million this year.
But the process got off to a rocky start. Public comment periods at commission meetings have frequently included pleas from people whose organizations had been waiting years for promised funds.
As of a year ago, the commission committee that handles the grants had mostly ironed out the process. But at the time the commissioned lacked staff to complete the work, including an executive director, the only person who could sign off on payments.
The commission hired Shalenah Williams as executive director in January. Williams hired an office manager who started tackling the grants logjam (and soon was promoted to full-time grants coordinator). Williams recently told City Council’s Safety Committee that 80% of 2023 awards had been paid out and more than 70% of 2024 awards.
Suggested Reading
New grant applications due soon
The new grant application is open through Nov. 30. The commission expects to complete the process in March. Groups applying must be based in Cleveland and be a nonprofit with what’s called 501(c)(3) status or a fiscal agent (another nonprofit willing to handle the money).
There are two categories for grants. The commission will award up to 15 grants to organizations with an annual budget under $1 million, a record of service to a neighborhood and limited foundation or government support.
Another five grants will go to organizations serving populations named in the city charter, including immigrants and refugees, the LGBTQ+ community and people affected by police or gun violence.
The commission can award grants of up to $50,000 on its own authority. Larger grants are possible but will take longer.
More information and an online application are available on the commission’s web site.
Past recipients include the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, Spread the Love Foundation and Shelter the People Cleveland. Those names appear on a list of 2024 grantees that was provided by a city council staffer. The commission has not responded to Signal Cleveland’s requests for a complete list.
Suggested Reading
New tool lets Clevelanders search police discipline cases
The discipline cases show the outcomes of misconduct investigations and citizen complaints over a period of about a decade.
