Giving Circle Has Ties To Lakewood
Walking around Lakewood, it’s hard to miss the transformation that is underway. Structures and spaces are emerging that are intended to appeal to our intellectual, physical, and social needs. In many ways, political differences of the past have engaged a community that has not allowed itself to recede into apathy. We are a proactive group of people dedicated to creating the community we want to live in. This spirit, in fact, is the driving force behind a recently formed collaborative philanthropic effort called the Cleveland Colectivo.
The Colectivo is a giving circle, and though it is called the “Cleveland” Colectivo, its members reside in communities both in and outside of Cleveland, including Lakewood. Giving circles are collaborative philanthropic endeavors where individuals pool their money and time to positively impact efforts in the community that reflect the collective values of the giving circle. For example, a group of people may organize themselves in a way that provides financial support to individuals or organizations working towards educational reform, environmental efforts, the arts, or any number of social issues or problems.
Members of giving circles come together for several reasons: to proactively address issues or problems in their communities; to provide support beyond traditional funding mechanisms (i.e. foundations, government); to embody their belief in the ingenuity of people, who may otherwise not have access to funding opportunities, to come up with solutions in their communities. According to Wikipedia, there are approximately 400 giving circles in the United States that, between 2000 and 2005, leveraged over $32 million. Once again, Northeast Ohio finds itself on the cutting edge of community engagement, and residents of Lakewood are helping to steer the ship.
“The Cleveland Colectivo is a group of people committed to effecting positive change in Cleveland,” said Walter Wright, Lakewood resident and one of the founding members of the group. “We believe that philanthropy is something that anyone can participate in – not just Peter Lewis or Bill Gates. We want to celebrate the grassroots projects happening in Cleveland and help them to grow. These grants are meant to be catalytic in nature; and in some cases, they’re given to groups that might not qualify for traditional funding.”
In addition to Wright, Lakewoodites Andrea Vagas, Tracey Kastelic, Judith Wright, Jason Weiner and Kristine Williams are all members of the Cleveland Colectivo. These Lakewood residents are attracted to working with dedicated individuals who are interested in positively impacting their communities, an opportunity readily provided by membership in the Colectivo. "After first learning about the Cleveland Colectivo I was hooked. It gives me a way to make a real and immediate impact in Cleveland while partnering with some of the very interesting, visionary and dedicated people living here,” says Kastelic.
At just one and a half years old, the Cleveland Colectivo has focused primarily on developing itself as an organization, creating a giving circle model with no formal executive director, board of trustees or overhead. Decisions are reached by consensus at monthly meetings and membership is open. Grants are awarded annually. The mission statement reads, “Clevelanders coming together to strengthen our community through collective investments that identify and nurture innovative projects.”
Members contributing at least $100 per quarter are “voting” members whose votes count towards the final grant making decisions. Members who do not financially contribute are considered non-voting members and differ only in that they can not vote in the final grant making decision. Regardless of whether you are voting or non-voting, all members of the Cleveland Colectivo are encouraged to attend meetings, develop the organization, participate in the grant selection process and engage in dialogue around important issues in neighborhoods around Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs. Meetings are held at various locations around Northeast Ohio on the third Wednesday of each month.
In April, 2006, the Cleveland Colectivo awarded its first grants, totaling $7,250, to four groups, selected in part because of their visionary efforts to link residents and stakeholders to improve communities through the arts, local retail, grassroots organizing, or environmental stewardship. The Building Bridges Mural Program was awarded $3,000 for artist Katherine Chilcote’s effort to create a youth internship program in partnership with Doug Horner at St. Paul’s Community Church. The Westside Refugee Family Center was awarded $2,500 to implement a six-month pilot “Mommy and Me” program for refugee families on Cleveland’s near west side. City Wheels was awarded $1,000 for grant-writing assistance to support this innovative car sharing service designed to provide an alternative to car ownership. And the Tremont Urban Learning Garden was awarded $750 for a project in which Lucky's Coffee Shop/Sweet Mosaic Bakery will work with neighborhood youth to build a garden in a vacant lot adjacent to the coffee shop and use the locally-grown produce in goods sold at the bakery.
The review and evaluation of the first year’s activities are currently underway. Plans for year two include recruiting and retaining new members, professional development around neighborhood-based grant making, and developing more awareness around our region’s ethnic and cultural diversity. A request for proposals is scheduled for release in September, 2006 for giving in April, 2007.
Are you are interested in learning more about this dynamic, engaged group of Northeast Ohioans? Could you or a group you know of use some money to develop positive, sustainable change in Lakewood? If so, visit www.clevelandcolectivo.org or email info@clevelandcolectivo.org.
The Colectivo is a giving circle, and though it is called the “Cleveland” Colectivo, its members reside in communities both in and outside of Cleveland, including Lakewood. Giving circles are collaborative philanthropic endeavors where individuals pool their money and time to positively impact efforts in the community that reflect the collective values of the giving circle. For example, a group of people may organize themselves in a way that provides financial support to individuals or organizations working towards educational reform, environmental efforts, the arts, or any number of social issues or problems.
Members of giving circles come together for several reasons: to proactively address issues or problems in their communities; to provide support beyond traditional funding mechanisms (i.e. foundations, government); to embody their belief in the ingenuity of people, who may otherwise not have access to funding opportunities, to come up with solutions in their communities. According to Wikipedia, there are approximately 400 giving circles in the United States that, between 2000 and 2005, leveraged over $32 million. Once again, Northeast Ohio finds itself on the cutting edge of community engagement, and residents of Lakewood are helping to steer the ship.
“The Cleveland Colectivo is a group of people committed to effecting positive change in Cleveland,” said Walter Wright, Lakewood resident and one of the founding members of the group. “We believe that philanthropy is something that anyone can participate in – not just Peter Lewis or Bill Gates. We want to celebrate the grassroots projects happening in Cleveland and help them to grow. These grants are meant to be catalytic in nature; and in some cases, they’re given to groups that might not qualify for traditional funding.”
In addition to Wright, Lakewoodites Andrea Vagas, Tracey Kastelic, Judith Wright, Jason Weiner and Kristine Williams are all members of the Cleveland Colectivo. These Lakewood residents are attracted to working with dedicated individuals who are interested in positively impacting their communities, an opportunity readily provided by membership in the Colectivo. "After first learning about the Cleveland Colectivo I was hooked. It gives me a way to make a real and immediate impact in Cleveland while partnering with some of the very interesting, visionary and dedicated people living here,” says Kastelic.
At just one and a half years old, the Cleveland Colectivo has focused primarily on developing itself as an organization, creating a giving circle model with no formal executive director, board of trustees or overhead. Decisions are reached by consensus at monthly meetings and membership is open. Grants are awarded annually. The mission statement reads, “Clevelanders coming together to strengthen our community through collective investments that identify and nurture innovative projects.”
Members contributing at least $100 per quarter are “voting” members whose votes count towards the final grant making decisions. Members who do not financially contribute are considered non-voting members and differ only in that they can not vote in the final grant making decision. Regardless of whether you are voting or non-voting, all members of the Cleveland Colectivo are encouraged to attend meetings, develop the organization, participate in the grant selection process and engage in dialogue around important issues in neighborhoods around Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs. Meetings are held at various locations around Northeast Ohio on the third Wednesday of each month.
In April, 2006, the Cleveland Colectivo awarded its first grants, totaling $7,250, to four groups, selected in part because of their visionary efforts to link residents and stakeholders to improve communities through the arts, local retail, grassroots organizing, or environmental stewardship. The Building Bridges Mural Program was awarded $3,000 for artist Katherine Chilcote’s effort to create a youth internship program in partnership with Doug Horner at St. Paul’s Community Church. The Westside Refugee Family Center was awarded $2,500 to implement a six-month pilot “Mommy and Me” program for refugee families on Cleveland’s near west side. City Wheels was awarded $1,000 for grant-writing assistance to support this innovative car sharing service designed to provide an alternative to car ownership. And the Tremont Urban Learning Garden was awarded $750 for a project in which Lucky's Coffee Shop/Sweet Mosaic Bakery will work with neighborhood youth to build a garden in a vacant lot adjacent to the coffee shop and use the locally-grown produce in goods sold at the bakery.
The review and evaluation of the first year’s activities are currently underway. Plans for year two include recruiting and retaining new members, professional development around neighborhood-based grant making, and developing more awareness around our region’s ethnic and cultural diversity. A request for proposals is scheduled for release in September, 2006 for giving in April, 2007.
Are you are interested in learning more about this dynamic, engaged group of Northeast Ohioans? Could you or a group you know of use some money to develop positive, sustainable change in Lakewood? If so, visit www.clevelandcolectivo.org or email info@clevelandcolectivo.org.
Volume 2, Issue 19, Posted 10:10 PM, 08.23.06
