Member Spotlight on The George Gund Foundation

For the month of May, GIA’s photo banner features work supported by The George Gund Foundation. The private foundation was established in 1952 by George Gund to provide intelligent underwriting of creative solutions to the issues and for the institutions that were important to him. Areas of focus include the arts, economic development and community revitalization, education, environment, and human services. Since its inception, the foundation has made grants totaling more than $694 million and has board involvement from second and third generation family members.

The arts and culture community in Cleveland and beyond is in the midst of interesting times. Locally, the decade-long emphasis on the quality of life at the core of the city has helped to highlight the importance of the arts on cultivating a vibrant community. There has also been considerable movement by arts organizations to serve the city residents in innovative ways – in their neighborhoods, schools, parks, and other places that they spend their time. This reflects national trends.

Some of the most exciting initiatives of The George Gund Foundation include its work with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to create an overarching strategy for their arts education program. In the past year, the foundation has developed a vision statement, conducted a schools inventory survey, and engaged a consultant to compile and analyze some of the successful arts education programs throughout the nation.

Coleman shares, “There is much more work to accomplish, however the end product of an equitable, empowering arts program that positively impacts and delights students, teachers, and community arts educators is a worthy goal.”

The George Gund Foundation has been a funding partner of Grantmakers in the Arts since 1998.

Learn more about the organization and what they fund.

You can also visit the photo gallery on our Photo Credits page.