$3.5M in grants to nonprofits announced

Marcia Ballinger appointed newest trustee for The Nord Foundation

The Nord Family Foundation announced the list of nonprofit organizations in the fields of arts and culture, civic affairs, education, and health and social services that have been awarded grants this cycle, according to a news release from the group.

At the June 25 Board of Trustees meeting, grants approved totaled $3,383,825 to be disbursed in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties; Columbia, S.C.; Metro Denver; Boston; Penn Yan, N.Y., and other areas of interest.

Sixty-five other actions totaling $175,643 also were ratified at the meeting bringing the total grants authorized in this round to $3,559,468, the release said.

The Nord Family Foundation has announced Marcia Ballinger, president of Lorain County Community College, as its newest community trustee.

Ballinger has more than 25 years in community college leadership roles that have advanced student success, workforce and economic development, strategic planning and institutional advancement, the release said.

Over her 25-year career with LCCC, Ballinger has developed a culture of innovation, risk-taking and entrepreneurship, according to the release.

“Since the creation of the foundation in 1988, community trustees have been vital to the perspective and success of the Nord Family Foundation,” said Eric C. Nord, president of the Nord Family Foundation, in the release. “We are thrilled that Dr. Ballinger is joining the current community trustees Margarita Quinones of Lorain County and Kevin Johnson of Cuyahoga County to serve on the Nord Family Foundation Board of Trustees.

“We are eager and excited to engage in our work together in Lorain County.”

The Nord Family Foundation is a successor to the charitable trust originally established by Walter G. Nord in 1952.

The predecessor organization contributed more than $12 million to a variety of charitable causes between 1953 and 1988, primarily in Lorain County.

The Nord Family Foundation has contributed more than $150 million to nonprofit organizations in northern Ohio and selected geographic areas of family interest.

The following grants were approved:

Arts and Culture

• Great Lakes Theater Festival Inc. Cleveland for continued support of theater education programming in Lorain County — $20,000

• Northern Ohio Youth Orchestra Inc. for continued general operating support — $40,000

• Oberlin Choristers for continued general operating support — $40,000

• Oberlin College for needbased scholarships for Oberlin Community Music School students — $25,000

• The MAD Factory Oberlin for continued general operating support — $50,000

Civic Affairs

• Center for Food Innovation @ Oberlin for Food Innovation Boot Camps — $15,000

• Kendal Northern Ohio, Oberlin, for capital project to renovate a former school building to create a community space — $25,000

• Lorain County Community College Foundation for Lorain County Community Development Corp. to support the development and implementation of a countywide strategic economic plan — $50,000

• Lorain Municipal Court for continued support of the Lorain Municipal Recovery Court — $104,700

• New Agrarian Center, Oberlin, to purchase of an all-electric delivery truck — $26,000

• Foundation Oakland, Calif., for support of Resilia’s capacitybuilding efforts and technical assistance for Lorain County nonprofits — $63,775

• The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland for continued support of legal assistance for indigent Lorain County residents — $160,000

• The MAD Factory Oberlin for capital improvements to Lorain theatre space, MAD Factory on Broadway — $62,000

Education

• Educational Service Center of Lorain County for educator retention in Lorain County — $160,000

• Oberlin Early Childhood Center for continued general operating support — $60,000

• The Cleveland Clinic Foundation for Youth Strategies Signature Initiatives in Lorain County toward student stipends — $50,000

Health and Social Services

• CHN Housing Partners for Lorain County expansion — $50,000

• Clearview Local Schools for Community Wellness Center staff and programming support — $100,000

• Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center for continued support of expanding outreach services for the deaf and hard of hearing community in Lorain County — $35,000

• Lorain County Office on Aging Inc. for continued general operating support — $70,000

• Lorain County Public Health for continued support of the Prescription Assistance Program — $38,750

• Lorain County Urban League Inc. for continued general operating support — $75,000

• Lorain Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program Inc. for continued general operating support — $50,000

• New Agrarian Center Oberlin for continued support of City Fresh program for low-income Lorain County residents — $50,000

• Oberlin Community Services Council for continued general operating support — $80,000

• Providence House Inc. Cleveland for continued support of crisis services for children and their families from Lorain County — $45,000

• Salvation Army — Northeast Ohio Division Cleveland for continued general operating support in Lorain County — $90,000

• Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, Lorain, for continued support of increasing food resources to the Lorain County partners for hunger relief — $225,000

• The Road To Hope Inc., Elyria, for continued general operating support — $90,000

• Youth Challenge Westlake for continued support for adapted programs for children with disabilities from Lorain County — $15,000