The Cleveland Foundation
Established in 1914, the Cleveland Foundation is the world's first community foundation and the nation’s third-largest today, with assets of $1.8 billion and annual grants between $80 and $85 million. The Foundation improves the lives of Greater Clevelanders in perpetuity by building community endowments, addressing needs through grantmaking, and providing leadership on vital issues. Currently the Foundation proactively directs two-thirds of its flexible grant dollars to the community's greatest needs: economic transformation (including advanced energy and globalization), public-school improvement, early-childhood and youth development, neighborhoods and housing, and arts advancement.
For more information on the Cleveland Foundation, please visit www.clevelandfoundation.org.
Letter From the President and CEO
On behalf of the board of directors and staff at the Cleveland Foundation, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Anisfield-Wolf website. We are proud that Edith Anisfield Wolf entrusted us to carry on her legacy with this important and unique award.
Edith Anisfield Wolf has often been described as a woman way ahead of her time and we’re grateful she was. When you think back to 1935 and the state of our country and our city, her concern about issues of social justice and race relations is particularly poignant.
Edith Anisfield Wolf did more than just talk about social justice. She established this award to encourage others to read, to think, and to debate critical issues. It was her fervent desire that through those conversations, Clevelanders and Americans would better understand and appreciate one another, the unique beauty in our cultural differences, and the richness of humanity.
As a poet, Edith Anisfield Wolf was acutely aware of the impact of language. As a philanthropist and concerned citizen, she knew she couldn’t turn away from the prejudices she saw in the world. Today, 75 years later, the Anisfield-Wolf prize remains the only American book award designed specifically to recognize works addressing issues of diversity, race and our appreciation of human cultures. It is an amazing legacy for a truly amazing woman.
I hope you will explore this site and in doing so, find yourself challenged to think deeply and differently, to value and respect our unique heritages, and to celebrate our differences while finding common bonds.
Ronald B. Richard
President and CEO
The Cleveland Foundation