CLEVELAND RESTORATION SOCIETY AWARDED $147,000 MATCHING GRANT

One of 24 National Trust Partners Sharing in $5 Million to Strengthen Local Preservation Efforts

On February 20, 2008 the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced the Cleveland Restoration Society will receive a $147,000 Partners in the Field matching grant to provide preservation assistance and access to low-interest rehabilitation loans to homeowners throughout Northeast Ohio and statewide. Twenty-four organizations nationally were selected as recipients of the inaugural, multi-year Partner in the Field grants. Funds will be used to expand the scope of on-the-ground field services and assistance to property owners, developers, local officials, and others needing information and tools to protect and enhance their communities.

The Cleveland Restoration Society was eligible to apply for the new matching grants because it is one of more than 100 Statewide and Local Partners of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Partners program, created in 1993, helps emerging and established state and local nonprofit preservation organizations by providing organizational development assistance, grant support, specialized workshops and training, information resources, and networking opportunities.  

“Our statewide and local partners, including Cleveland Restoration Society, are at the creative forefront of preservation in the 21^st century,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Preservation fosters innovative solutions to complex problems. Our Partners in the Field matching grants will help our network of preservation organizations across the country use proven tools to save places and revitalize communities.”

“This recognition by the National Trust is powerful affirmation of our economic development work,” said Kathleen H. Crowther, executive director of the Cleveland Restoration Society.  “Our assistance programs have direct, positive impact on neighborhood stability and property value appreciation. This award will allow us to help more areas of Cleveland and a greater number of communities across Northeast Ohio to strengthen historic districts and traditional community centers. This is an infrastructure investment that will leverage national resources to improve our region and to develop ways to assist other communities in Ohio with the same programmatic approach.”

A total of $3 million was awarded in the first round of the new grant program, with another $2 million to be awarded next year. Round one awards ranging in size from $60,000 to $150,000 went to:

• APVA Preservation Virginia, $105,000, to provide hands-on technical assistance in local communities throughout Virginia;

• Bosco-Milligan Foundation (Portland OR), $150,000, to launch a new initiative of field services and technical assistance to meet critical preservation challenges in Portland;

• Center for Desert Archaeology (Tucson), $111,500, to expand the scope of historic preservation and conservation easement programs across the Southwest;

• Cleveland Restoration Society, $147,000, to provide preservation assistance and access to low-interest rehabilitation loans to homeowners throughout Northeast Ohio and statewide;

• Galveston Historical Foundation, $147,000, to educate the public to better prepare for natural disasters, work with lead-based paint and increase energy efficiency in historic buildings;

• Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, $140,000, to preserve more historic buildings, houses and structures throughout Georgia and use preservation field services as a catalyst for economic development;

• Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, $70,000, to expand field services to address unmet needs for hands-on preservation technical assistance;

• Historic Augusta (GA), $120,000, to provide expanded field services in the Greater Augusta area that incorporates preservation into community planning and development;

• Historic Boston, Inc., and Boston Preservation Alliance, $150,000, to collaborate in providing comprehensive neighborhood outreach and preservation services to 19 Boston Main Streets districts;

• Historic Denver, Inc., $122,000, to offer technical support and preservation services to historic communities and homeowners in Denver and its first ring suburbs;

• Historic Hawaii Foundation, $150,000, to deliver on-site technical preservation assistance and information services to rural and isolated communities on each of the major islands;

• Historic Savannah Foundation (GA), $90,000, to work with city government to bring preservation field services and technical expertise to underserved, threatened historic residential neighborhoods;

• Knox Heritage (TN), $97,500, to provide preservation field services in a nine-county Greater Knoxville region and increase regional preservation activities;

• Los Angeles Conservancy, $140,000, to expand historic preservation work and foster community-based preservation leadership in Los Angeles' Latino community;

• Michigan Historic Preservation Network, $75,000, to support a new, full-time preservation field representative working throughout the state, including the Upper Peninsula;

• Missouri Preservation, $125,000; to provide direct preservation field services and technical support throughout the state of Missouri;

• Montana Preservation Alliance, $150,000, to expand Most Endangered activities into a grassroots preservation program in collaboration with other state and national partners;

• Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, $150,000, to provide expanded preservation services to African American neighborhood organizations and homeowners;

• Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, $110,000, to deliver preservation information and provide technical assistance throughout the state of Minnesota;

• Preservation Maryland, $120,000; to provide expanded preservation field services to communities on Maryland's Eastern Shore;

• Preservation Massachusetts, $127,500, to expand preservation field services to Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket;

• Preservation North Carolina, $125,000, to establish full-time urban preservation services and work on preservation issues in North Carolina’s capital city, Raleigh;

• Preservation Pennsylvania, $150,000, to provide direct technical assistance and hands-on preservation expertise to communities throughout Pennsylvania;

• Preserve Rhode Island, $127,500, to establish an on-the-ground field services program in Rhode Island.

Partners in the Field challenge grants are funded by a $5 million gift to the National Trust for Historic Preservation from the Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust and matched by significant contributions from local donors and foundations. The George Gund Foundation and GAR Foundation have already pledged support to the Cleveland Restoration Society for this initiative. In implementing expanded field services funded by the grant, Cleveland Restoration Society will work closely with the National Trust’s Midwest Office in Chicago.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history – and the important moments of everyday life – took place, the National Trust for Historic Preservation helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, nine regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, the National Trust for Historic Preservation provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. For more information visit www.PreservationNation.org.

The Cleveland Restoration Society is the region’s largest non-profit preservation organization and is a Local Partner affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Founded in 1972, the Society is dedicated to the preservation of Greater Cleveland’s historic resources.

 

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