Grants for Health, Education and Social Services

Grants for Health, Education and Social Services is sponsored by Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland. The Foundation awards grant funding to organizations within its service area whose programs and services demonstrate a commitment to the needs of the poor and underserved in the areas of health, education, and social services, primarily serving Cleveland's Central neighborhood.

Cleveland Ohio Foundation | Sisters of Charity Health System Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland is a community-based funder committed to addressing the needs of the poor and underserved by addressing the social drivers of health. These include the areas of health, education and social services. The Foundation primarily serves Cleveland's Central neighborhood.

Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland In the spirit of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, the Foundation works to address the social drivers of health in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood. Since 1996, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland has distributed more than $75 million to over 750 grantees.

In that time, the Foundation has partnered with residents, nonprofits and community leaders to change the trajectory of poverty in Cleveland and beyond. Its endowment includes the first health care conversion foundation and first foundation formed by a congregation of Catholic sisters in the United States.

Grantmaking returns in 2026 Grantmaking was paused at the end of 2024 as leadership transitions happened at the Foundation and the Sisters of Charity Health System. This pause provided the opportunity to determine the best way to serve the community moving forward. Its home neighborhood - Cleveland's Central neighborhood - emerged as the most critical area of need to focus its resources.

All funding inquiries should start with a letter of inquiry (LOI). To remain responsive to community needs that align with the Foundation’s mission, it accepts LOI forms for grants on a rolling basis. Visit socfcleveland.

org to access the online grant portal. Cleveland’s Central neighborhood and its nearly 12,000 residents face any number of inherent challenges, including generational trauma, poverty and violence. Addressing the most pressing needs of residents is a priority for the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland.

By focusing on Cleveland’s Central neighborhood and its most critical needs, the Foundation can more effectively impact the key areas that address social drivers of health, whether that’s access to quality education and health care or economic stability or family engagement. As a faith-based organization, the Foundation extends the values of Jesus Christ through the mission of the Sisters of Charity of St.

Augustine and also works to sustain the ministries of women religious. The Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland was endowed in 1996 from the proceeds of a partnership involving St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.

Previously, the sisters used the proceeds of the sale of Saint Ann Hospital in 1973 to endow the Saint Ann Foundation, the first health care conversion foundation in the United States. In 2006, the two foundations merged and blended their missions. Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland