The Cuyahoga Arts & Culture board approved more than $12.3 million in grants Wednesday, the first fruits of last year's increase of the county cigarette tax.
A large portion of the meeting, however, was given to public comment by 11 people who expressed displeasure with 蜜桃导航, one of the grantees, and Cleveland State University changing the format of WCSB to jazz. Most asked the board to delay or rescind Ideastream鈥檚 grant until WCSB鈥檚 previous schedule is reinstated.
Former WCSB General Manager Alison Bomgardner questioned whether Ideastream鈥檚 educational mission is being fulfilled by the switch to jazz. She鈥檚 led the effort to continue the station as a student organization known as XCSB.
Amanda Light, a 2021 CSU graduate, asked that the board provide emergency funds for XCSB to re-establish a terrestrial radio presence.
Jerry Koenigsmark from Olmsted Falls suggested that even if the 89.3 frequency were to be flipped to its previous programming, Ideastream鈥檚 funds should still be delayed until 鈥渢hey have earned back the good favor they鈥檝e lost in the community.鈥�
CAC鈥檚 board did not delay or rescind funding for Ideastream.
鈥淚 hate that our community is in a position like this,鈥� said CAC Board President Karolyn Isenhart. She encouraged all parties to 鈥渒eep talking.鈥�
Ideastream Chief Development and Marketing Officer Yvette Cook Darby said there 鈥渋sn鈥檛 anything new to add to the conversation鈥� about WCSB.
The 2026 grant awards comprise 308 operating support and project support grants to local nonprofits. Funding comes from the county cigarette tax, increased from 30 cents per pack to 70 cents after the passage of Issue 55 last year. The move came as revenue from the tax has been down by half since its inception in 2007. Yet CAC Executive Director Jill Paulsen said that does not mean an automatic doubling of grants.
鈥淲e had a plan, and the board had a plan, last cycle to really push the dollars out the door to get them to the community while we had it - banking on a successful levy,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat said, now we're building back up. So, we don't have the dollars in the bank to double grants. That's just not a possibility. We'd love to be able to plan for this community so that we know CAC is that consistent, steady funder across the board. A little bit of savings now allows us to keep steady into the future.鈥�
Three of the biggest grants went to Playhouse Square, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art, up by an average of nearly 14%. Applicants were reviewed by a panel of arts experts from outside the region. Some of this year鈥檚 first-time recipients include the Northeast Ohio chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, as well the new BabelBox Theater, led by Latine artists. Paulsen said they鈥檙e looking forward to the program offerings from those groups and others, such as Women in Film & TV Ohio, launching the She Creates Shorts Film Festival.
See a full list of grant awardees below for general operating support and project support. First time grantees are indicated by an asterisk.
蜜桃导航 receives funding from CAC and also contributed to the campaign supporting Issue 55. The Ideastream newsroom is editorially independent from 蜜桃导航 leadership. Executive management did not review or have input on this story.
