1. Home
  2. Blog sosAssociates

Cleveland Foundation FREE Day at CIFF

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Cleveland
Cleveland Foundation

Cleveland Foundation free day at the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)!
Enlarge Image

Thank you, Cleveland Foundation! We had a great time at the March 24, 2014, Cleveland Foundation free day at the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)! While we could make this blog only about the good time we had, and the films we saw, of more importance is how this day represents more than just one good day. The day was one of this year's monthly activities honoring the 100 years of good work of The Cleveland Foundation (ClevelandFoundation.org - @CleveFoundation).

The Cleveland Foundation -- 100 Years

March Centennial Gift - Free Day at Cleveland International Film Festival

Small wonder that, in 2001, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the field’s newspaper, cited the inception of the Cleveland Foundation as one of 10 seminal events that shaped the nonprofit world in the 20th century.

One of the things that make Cleveland unique in the entire world is our region's foundation. The Cleveland Foundation was the first community foundation! It is our understanding that the Cleveland leaders representing Ohio's urban north developed a strong third sector -- the nonprofit sector -- to complement the government and profit sectors, since those sectors alone could not address the needs of the community. Cleveland has long been known for its strong philanthropic activities and strong sense of voluntarism. It is natural that the first community foundation would be created in this environment.

The idea of a community foundation was developed by Frederick Harris Goff. He addressed some key concerns about private foundations. Rather than exploring these here, we recommend you learn about the "evil of 'the dead hand'," and the involvement of Clevelanders from all walks of life, on the introduction web page of the special centennial ClevelandFoundation100.org website.

[It was] prophesied that Goff’s invention would one day be deemed Cleveland’s most important contribution to the ideas of the world.

The Cleveland Foundation was created on January 2, 1914. One hundred years later, here are some Cleveland Foundation Quick Facts:

  • The foundation awards most grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that support Greater Cleveland projects and programs that benefit citizens, meet community needs, and test new ideas.

  • Total assets (year ending 2012): $1.87 billion

  • Grants authorized (year ending 2012): 3,097 grants

  • Value of grants authorized (year ending 2012): $91 million

We have noticed that many of the events we attend have been supported by The Cleveland Foundation, and feel very fortunate to benefit from the foresight of its founders.

Today is a gift from The Cleveland Foundation
Enlarge Image

Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)

CIFF -- What can we say? CIFF is one of those Cleveland events that every year you say "we should do that." We knew it was a great event from positive comments we had heard from friends, who were always surprised when we told them we had never gone.

After attending the free day at Great Lakes Science Center in February (read the details in our blog post), we were watching to see what great Cleveland institution would be featured as part of the Cleveland Foundation centennial celebration in March. Here was our chance to finally go to CIFF -- and as a guest of The Cleveland Foundation! Stuart took a vacation day to make it possible.

Welcome to the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)Large turnout at the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)Today's CIFF films -- a gift from The Cleveland FoundationWelcome to The Cleveland Foundation day at CIFFCleveland International Film Festival (CIFF)
Enlarge Image

Here are our tweets and retweets, which include photos and links for more information. Plus the last few tweets include information about the next Cleveland Foundation centennial celebration event.

 

 

Before sharing with you the films we saw, we MUST mention the story of "Meet Olivia!" At the start of each film, we were shown her story. As the day progressed, the all-day attendees saw her story again and again, and the crowd began to cheer her on. By the end of the day, we were all rooting for Olivia.

Side Note: We recognized "Jim" when we saw "Meet Olivia," and later confirmed that it was actor Leonard Goff, whom we had seen at a free Shakespeare in the park play produced by Cleveland Shakespeare Festival (CleveShakes.com - @Cleveshakesfest). We know from attending their performances that Cleveland Shakespeare Festival receives support from the Cleveland Foundation. Thank you again Cleveland Foundation!

CIFF38, The Home for Stories - "Meet Olivia"


(FYI, there is a "Meet Jim" story online also!)

The Films

Rather than list all the details about the individual films we saw, we have created a separate web page. On this Films - Cleveland Foundation FREE Day at CIFF web page, we provide descriptions, photos, and some videos about the films. Since we attended many "shorts," there are many films listed. If you want to learn more about these films, please take a look. (Please click this link to open a new window with the films we saw at CIFF.)

Comedy Shorts ProgramOhio Shorts Program 2 - My Uncle HectorCleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) film listingSTAND-BY TICKET: The Ballad of Shovels and RopeThe Ballad of Shovels and Rope
Enlarge Image

What Others Say

We always like to list what others write about events we attend:

Terminal Tower as seen through skylight

Thank You

 

Future

Cleveland Foundation Day at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Enlarge Image

We had a great time at in February at The Cleveland Foundation's FREE Day at Great Lakes Science Center, and in March at the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF). Here is what has been announced for upcoming centennial events:

What a great year!