The Cleveland-based Fund for Our Economic Future has announced grants of up to $1.9 million in support of job creation initiatives in Northeast Ohio.

The grants include up to $550,000 to BioEnterprise, an organization dedicated to growing the region's health care and bioscience companies; up to $850,000 to JumpStart, which provides mentoring, funding, and other services to entrepreneurs; and up to $500,000 to the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network in support of its PRISM (Partnership for Regional Innovation Services to Manufacturers) program, which provides small and midsize manufacturers in the region with technical expertise, research, development facilities and capabilities, and funding.

The fund, a collaborative of funders and economic development agencies that works to address poverty and unemployment in Northeast Ohio, has raised $100 million since 2004 to help improve regional economic competitiveness.

"These grants represent the fund's commitment to supporting our region's economy and advancing our goals of increased jobs, payroll, and capital in Northeast Ohio," said Mark Samolczyk, president of the Stark Community Foundation and a member of the fund's executive committee. "In addition to these job creation grants, we continue to support and promote efforts that better prepare our region's workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow and ensure greater connectivity between jobs and workers so that we build and sustain a strong economy full of opportunities for all people. For our efforts to be successful in the long term, growth must be combined with opportunity."