The Cleveland Foundation has announced first-quarter grants totaling $16.4 million to local nonprofits working in the areas of education reform, aging and youth development, and neighborhood revitalization.

In the area of education reform, the foundation awarded nearly $1.4 million in support of new school development and postsecondary preparation programs, including a grant of $785,000 to College Now Greater Cleveland in support of its efforts to boost access to college for low-income students, and a grant of $372,750 to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to help underwrite start-up and first-year operation costs for two new high schools, both of which are slated to open this fall.

As part of the foundation's efforts to build a community framework for its new Encore Initiative, which promotes greater utilization of the time and talents of the region’s older residents, the foundation awarded $197,930 to the Cuyahoga County Public Library in support of its Encore Entrepreneurs program, which helps aspiring entrepreneurs age 50 and older gain the knowledge and skills they need to launch a business, and the Encore Community Connects program, which links tweens and teens with Cuyahoga County adults age 50 and older in cross-generational learning environments.

In addition, the foundation awarded $3.3 million in ongoing support to Neighborhood Connections, a community building initiative launched eleven years ago by the foundation. The grant funds will be used to continue the initiative's grantmaking program and to expand the work of the Neighbor Up Network, a recently launched neighborhood engagement initiative.

"Neighborhood Connections truly exemplifies its name by connecting and lifting neighbors in Greater Cleveland," said Cleveland Foundation executive vice president Robert E. Eckardt. "Neighborhood Connections has become a national model in how to empower residents to become more engaged with each other and the city around them. The foundation is proud of the role we have had in creating and sustaining this important program."

For a complete list of first-quarter grants, visit the Cleveland Foundation Web site.