15 organizations across northwest Ohio will bring arts directly into neighborhoods 

The Community Foundation is proud to announce the inaugural grant round from its newly established Arts and Culture Area of Interest Fund. In partnership with Stranahan Supporting Organization, the fund is distributing over $567,000 to 15 organizations working to bring creative expression and cultural experiences into the heart of our communities. 

This first-ever funding cycle prioritizes projects that actively engage neighborhood groups and individual residents, recognizing that art and culture are most powerful when they're accessible, participatory and rooted in community connection. Through strategic participation with the Community Foundations’ affiliate foundations, projects will span the entire northwest Ohio region. 

"Arts and culture aren't just things we observe—they're experiences we create together," said Kate Sommerfeld, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. "These grants support projects that invite neighbors to be co-creators, storytellers and active participants in cultural experiences that reflect and celebrate our region's diverse communities."

 Building Community Through Creativity 

The funded projects represent a vibrant range of artistic disciplines and community engagement approaches: 

  • Anthony Wayne Area Arts Commission will create a large mural welcoming people to town after they have crossed The Waterville Bridge on Mechanic St.
  • Arts Commission Greater Toledo will revitalize Swayne Field Shopping Center as a community gathering space in partnership with the City of Toledo’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
  • Believe Center will present "Corazon y Recuerdo" (Heart and Memory), honoring Toledo’s Latinx community and El Corazon de Mexico Ballet Folklorico’s 30-year legacy.
  • Cherry Street Mission will restore its historic auditorium and reopen as a multi-use arts and community venue, with programming in collaboration with Toledo School for the Arts (TSA) and Street Art Missions.
  • Fair Housing Center will present "Ode to the Zip Code," where contestants craft poems based on their Zip Code, with the number of words in each line matching the Zip Code.
  • Fostoria Vision 2020 will serve as a host community for the Midwest Sculpture Initiative (MSI).
  • Issue Box Theatre will develop The Belonging Project, using theater as a tool to explore themes of identity, inclusion and what it means to belong in our communities.
  • Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful will install a series of large-scale murals across the Greater Toledo area.
  • Live Arts Toledo (formerly known as Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts) will present Live Arts Discovery, designed to deepen neighborhood connections through weeklong dance classes, public performances, music and movement workshops and youth-led engagement.
  • Midstory will develop Community Corridors, a film and pop-up exhibit series of place-based stories focused on five major street-corridors with historical and cultural significance to Toledo.
  • Oak Harbor Development Group will create a Heritage Mural in downtown Oak Harbor that celebrates the village’s rail history, its industrial past and its hardworking future.
  • Reinvest Toledo will launch a creative civic engagement initiative, equipping young adults ages 18–24 to become engaged community leaders, in collaboration with the Maumee Bay Club, the Greater Toledo Realtist Association, 50 Way Studios and the League of Women Voters – Toledo Chapter.
  • Toledo Museum of Art will host their Block Party, engaging more than 7,000 attendees through free, inclusive, family-friendly programming designed to foster belonging, civic pride, connection and collaboration for intergenerational visitors of all backgrounds. 
  • Valentine Theatre will host a Flamenco Vivo Residency, bringing world-class Flamenco artists into direct engagement with Toledo audiences through performances, workshops and educational programming.
  • WGTE Public Media will produce Neighborhood Voices, where residents and artists will be part of an effort to co-create art that reflects our neighborhoods’ unique identities. 

A New Chapter for Arts Philanthropy 

The creation of the Arts and Culture Area of Interest Fund represents a strategic commitment to supporting the vital role that creative expression plays in building strong, connected communities. By prioritizing projects that engage residents directly, the fund recognizes that the most transformative cultural work happens when community members are active participants rather than passive audiences. 

These inaugural grants reflect the Foundation's collaborative approach to philanthropy—supporting organizations of all sizes, from major cultural institutions to grassroots community groups.