Project Access

While faith- and community-based organizations are dedicated to their missions, their leadership teams often lack the organizational expertise that is vital to success.

In response to this need, the Cleveland Foundation has created Project Access, a nine-month program designed to strengthen the leadership, management, program, and community advocacy skills of faith- and community-based organizations in Cleveland and its inner-ring suburbs.

In addition to valuable training, qualifying organizations may also be eligible for small grants averaging $4,000 to implement skills and initiatives learned through Project Access.

NOTE: Enrollment for 2010 is closed. Project Access will begin recruitment of new organizations in January 2011.

Learn more about Project Access

• Eligibility
• Schedule
• Training
• Results

Download an informational brochure on Project Access

For more information on Project Access, please contact:

Harold Garling, Program Assistant
216-685-2016
hgarling@clevefdn.org 

Eligibility

Project Access is made available to faith- and community-based organizations that:

• Are located in and serve residents of low-income neighborhoods in Cleveland or its inner-ring suburbs
• Have a 501(c)(3) tax exemption or a fiscal agent
• Have been in operation for at least two years with a functioning board of directors
• Have an annual operating budget between $20,000 and $500,000
• Have at least two staff members (paid or volunteer)
• Can show evidence of providing services to least one of six targeted populations:
  • at-risk youth
  • elderly in need
  • disabled
  • homeless
  • prisoner re-entry
  • families transitioning from welfare to work

Interested organizations that meet these criteria are encouraged to contact the Cleveland Foundation for more details and an orientation schedule.

Schedule

Participants meet on Thursdays (4:30 to 7:30 p.m.) from March through November. While the program is free of charge, all organizations are expected to attend and participate in each aspect of the program.

Training

Through Project Access, organizations are trained in the following areas:

Leadership Development

• Effective directorship
• Board development and management
• Ethics

Program Development

• Strategic planning
• Effective program development and evaluation
• Volunteer programs

Organizational Development

• Budget development and management
• Human resources

Resources Development

• Proposal writing
• Individual fundraising

Community Engagement

• Leveraging of political resources
• Community involvement 

Results

• In its four years of existence, Project Access has enrolled 135 faith- and community-based organizations, 95 percent of which have successfully completed the program.
• More than 278,000 individuals in the community are being served by these organizations.
• Twenty new organizations enrolled for Project Access in 2009, to go along with 27 returning organizations from previous years.
• Third-year Project Access participants have been able to leverage dollars, increase the number of people they serve, expand their services, and engage the community more effectively.

Read what program participants have had to say about Project Access:

• “Project Access has given me the courage to share with the church board and the church why the mission of outreach is important. The church has increased individual giving to the programs and we have more people volunteering.”
• “I have become a better leader – motivating, supervising and providing accountability.”
• “My board is becoming more cohesive and more engaged and is improving in fundraising involvement. There is more ownership.”
• “It has allowed us to evaluate our programs with greater sophistication and accuracy, making it possible to meet the requirements of more demanding funders.”