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Cleveland Foundation

About

The Cleveland Foundation is the first community foundation in the world. Through our agency agreements with hundreds of donors and organizational fund partners, we have authorized over $2.8B in grants since 1914. In addition to making grants and providing scholarships, we support community programming, focusing on education, neighborhoods, youth development, health & social services, arts & culture, economic transformation, and the environment. To support our mission: "To enhance the lives of all residents of Greater Cleveland, now and for generations to come, by working together with our donors to build community endowment, address needs through grantmaking, and provide leadership on key community issues" we invest our dollars in a variety of ways. We have built out our in-house investment pools to provide more ways for our partners' gifts to make an impact while invested before being deployed into the community.

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Facts & Stats

  • Started using impact investments in 1982 with a $4M PRI to purchase the land and buildings in Playhouse Square to save it from demolition.
  • We provide and service hundreds of donor advised funds, and dozens of Organizational Funds for other non-profits. 
  • We offer several in-house investment pools for the funds invested with us, with strategic direction provided by our top-tier Investment Committee and consultants.
  • Through our in-house pools we offer access to a multitude of asset classes, and the ability to work with organizations to meet diversification requirements.

Notable Successes

Before 2017, the Cleveland Foundation had invested $65M towards community impact through multiple vehicles. In 2017, the Cleveland Foundation established a standing Social Impact Investment Committee (SIIC); this committee was previously ad-hoc. SIIC advises on the Foundation’s Program Related Investments, Mission Related Investments and Recoverable Grants. In 2017 SIIC, in conjunction with the Cleveland Foundation’s Investment Committee, reimagined the Foundation’s Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Pool. Since its inception in 2003, the SRI Pool has refrained from investing in non-ESG securities. Through this process, the SRI Pool now uses inclusionary metrics, such as female and BIPOC board representation; and a Cleveland “place-based” tilt to further local impact. The pool is fossil fuel free and has an emphasis on gender and racial diversity in leadership with a tilt toward companies located in the Greater Cleveland area In 2018, the Cleveland Foundation created a new investment pool for funds invested at the Foundation, the Racial Equity Investment (REI) Pool. The pool is focused on investing in U.S. public companies that are inclusive of BIPOC representation on their Boards (targeting 50% more than the R3000 Index), have a history of fostering an inclusive, equitable and diverse workplace culture, and a stated commitment to racial equity. This pool also contains exclusionary considerations which refrain from investing in sectors that are harmful to social justice, like private prisons and civilian-owned firearms and tear gas manufacturers. In 2022, the Cleveland Foundation launched the Green Bond Pool in collaboration with Key Private Bank. This pool exclusively invests in fixed-income securities known as “Green Bonds.” The proceeds from these securities are earmarked for environmentally friendly and sustainable activities. A third party verifies the progress of these projects and must maintain their Climate Bond Initiative certification to remain in the pool.

Team

We are an organization with nearly 100 employees across several departments, and all are committed to supporting our partners, donors, and Cleveland.

Rosanne Potter, SVP & CFO

In her current role as SVP & CFO, Rosanne manages the finance function for the Cleveland Foundation and their $3B endowment. She co-leads...

In her current role as SVP & CFO, Rosanne manages the finance function for the Cleveland Foundation and their $3B endowment. She co-leads the foundation’s new headquarters construction project, manages a $20M budget and co-leads the social impact investing program. The Cleveland Foundation is the oldest community foundation in the United States. Prior to joining the foundation in April 2016, she was responsible for managing $10 billion of global retirement assets for Eaton Corporation in Cleveland. She also held the position of treasurer for five major companies including the Lubrizol Corporation, RTI International Metals, Inc., and Dexter Corporation. Ms. Potter was recently honored with a 2022 YWCA Woman of Achievement Award presented to a select group of Northeast Ohio women who have achieved extraordinary accomplishments through career success. Participating on non-profit board other than the foundation is important to Ms. Potter who currently serves on the boards of Walsh Jesuit High School and the Twinsburg City Schools Foundation. She is a former board member and founding chairperson for the Cleveland American Heart Association’s Circle of Red and the Vision and Steering Committee for Go Red Goes STEM Cleveland. Past board service includes the Northeast Ohio Make a Wish Foundation, Adoption Network Cleveland and In Counsel with Women.

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Leta Obertacz, SVP, Philanthropy

Leta Obertacz brings almost 20 years of fundraising experience to The Cleveland Foundation, most recently serving as director of...

Leta Obertacz brings almost 20 years of fundraising experience to The Cleveland Foundation, most recently serving as director of advancement for the Cleveland Zoo Society, where she led numerous highly successful fundraising campaigns dedicated to the best quality animal care, education and meaningful guest experiences, including the Daniel Maltz Rhino Reserve; Bear Hollow; and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Auditorium. This year under Leta's leadership, her team launched the Primate Forest campaign, which, when complete, will result in a 140,000-square-foot world-class destination that will transform and significantly expand the zoo’s rainforest. Prior to her work at the Zoo Society, Leta spent several years as a fundraising and marketing executive at Career Gear, a nonprofit whose mission is to provide the formerly incarcerated, homeless and veterans with the tools and skills they need to successfully achieve reentry and financial independence. Leta earned a BA in history with honors from Brown University and a MPA, Pi Alpha Alpha, from Baruch College. She is a co-VP of activities and class officer at Brown. She is also a dedicated community volunteer, serving as the co-VP and advancement chair for EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute and the founding board president for Motogo, a nonprofit that teaches students how to solve problems and build confidence through working on motorcycles. Over the course of her career, Leta has participated in a number of leadership and professional development programs. She completed Cleveland Leadership Center’s Bridge Builders and Civic Leadership Institute programs and recently participated in the Cleveland Foundation’s Foundations for Philanthropy program. Just this spring, she was recognized as one of Cleveland Magazine’s Women of Distinction. Leta had the unique opportunity to tour the country as a professional performer with a variety of artists and groups, including the NBA for the Nets. In conjunction, she served as a national dance judge and presented on navigating the performer’s life and living in NYC.

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Anthony Gattuso, Director, Investments & Treasury

Anthony Gattuso is Director of Investments and Treasury at the Cleveland Foundation. He is responsible for overseeing the successful...

Anthony Gattuso is Director of Investments and Treasury at the Cleveland Foundation. He is responsible for overseeing the successful administration of the foundation’s $2.8 billion investment portfolio, cash management and finance/treasury functions. He joined the Cleveland Foundation in October 2016. Prior to the Cleveland Foundation, he worked for the Cleveland Clinic Health System as Senior Investment Analyst in the investment office. Anthony earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Saint Bonaventure University in New York and an MBA from Cleveland State University. In addition to his academic credentials, he is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst. Anthony is currently president of the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Pension, Endowment and Foundation Group and serves on the National Investment Practices Committee for the Finance, Administration & Operations Group for Community Foundations (FAOG).

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Keisha González, Program Director, Economic Development & Equity Innovation

Keisha González joined the Cleveland Foundation in June 2018 as the Program Officer for Community Revitalization and Engagement. In her...

Keisha González joined the Cleveland Foundation in June 2018 as the Program Officer for Community Revitalization and Engagement. In her current role, Keisha is responsible for supporting the foundation's Social Impact Investing initiatives through the management of both current and future investment opportunities that will lead to equitable economic growth. She works in collaboration with colleagues to position the foundation’s strategy for community development innovation, supporting efforts to strengthen the sector’s capacity and appetite for innovative risk. Prior to joining the foundation, Keisha served as the Managing Director for Metro West Community Development Organization. In this capacity, she implemented the organization’s strategic plan, management of programs and operations, and cultivated productive relationships in the public, private and civic sector. During her career at Metro West, Keisha also held the positions of Community Organizer (2014) and Director of Economic Development (2016). In these capacities, she focused on community-building initiatives designed to improve conditions in the neighborhood through the involvement of residents, businesses and community institutions. Keisha earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Cleveland State University and went on to earn her Master of Arts in Historic Preservation from the University of Delaware. During her time at the University of Delaware she worked for the Mid-Atlantic Historic Buildings and Landscape Survey at the Centre for Historic Architecture and Design documenting at-risk historic dwellings, infrastructure and landscapes for local and state governments. Committed to the equitable placemaking, Keisha has worked on many key projects in the cities where she has lived. Locally, Keisha was a part of the executive steering committee that launched La Placita and has elevated the La Villa Hispana as a priority placemaking initiative for the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. On the east coast, she worked on the Delaware City Oral History Project, a campaign designed to digitally document local recollections pertaining specifically to the history of the natural areas surrounding Delaware City, Delaware.

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