The Cleveland Foundation has announced May grants totaling $4.1 million to local nonprofit organizations, with a focus on innovative programs serving the region's most vulnerable populations.

Grant recipients include the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, which was awarded $200,000 to expand its SNAP outreach program; Linking Employment Abilities & Potential (LEAP), which will receive $200,000 to launch a program that trains community stakeholders on integrated care systems and increases employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities; Humility of Mary Housing Ministry, which was awarded $199,500 to fund renovations at its facility for homeless young men with a diagnosed disability who have aged out of foster care; and the Jordan Community Resource Center, which will receive $70,000 in support of its programs for female ex-offenders, young women at risk of incarceration, and those who have aged out of foster care.

The foundation also awarded grants in support of literacy and summer learning opportunities for youth, including $50,000 to Saint Martin de Porres High School to hire a reading specialist for incoming freshmen who are more than a grade level behind in reading, and $15,800 to the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning to pilot a six-week family literacy program that provides adult GED training and arts-integrated literacy programming for children and parents.

"This month's grants showcase the diversity of people in our community who benefit from Cleveland Foundation support," said Robert E. Eckardt, the foundation's executive vice president. "It includes young people aging out of the foster system, the homeless population, and people returning from prison. We're pleased these grants also demonstrate the range of nonprofit organizations committed to providing basic human needs to our neighbors."