Over the next six months we would take leverage these $5,000 in funding to supercharge our Culture.CLE efforts to reach a larger audience here in Cleveland and build the capacity. 

• We envision leveraging 60% of the money raised to create a fund from which we can pay contractor (aka restaurant) service costs and exploratory fees when we sample restaurants and have our in person contract signings. Currently, our organization has to pay out of pocket for every event up front. This has been a barrier in the past to getting events completed every month because we simply don’t have $600-$1000 to give to them at contract signing. So, we host events when we have the money, amongst ourselves, to do so. This is a huge risk for us to take on as young professionals, as we are relying on the event to go well to get fully reimbursed. While thus far all have been successful, the risk remains. This grant would provide an essential financial cushion for our organization to support more events. 
• For the remaining 40% of the money raised, we plan to improve our operational infrastructure so that we can provide better marketing and management tools to both our audience and our contracted restaurants. This would include gathering the necessary subscriptions to manage and communicate with large audiences effectively and providing small stipends to our members for the coordination and marketing support they currently provide for free to the restaurants we partner with. 

We are not only setup with a proper plan to leverage these funds but also a team, making us prepared to leverage these funds immediately.

• We are fortunate to have an organization (Global Shapers Cleveland) filled with driven, diverse members who are invested in making Cleveland a welcoming place for migrants and a culturally integrated city for all. In addition, we are lucky to have the support of our fiscal sponsor and organizational partner, Black Environmental Leaders. BEL's organization is filled with activists that know Cleveland very well who promote our events with their networks. In fact, their members have even attended some of our events and created long-lasting relationships with the restaurant owners that have generated more sales for them through catering opportunities. 

Support our vision and help us continue to introduce Clevelanders to restaurants they otherwise would not have tried or heard of, and thus building these restaurants a new client base. Culture.CLE diners always express gratitude in being able to meet other Clevelanders, hearing the stories of staff from other countries that too often go untold, and supporting a local business with their patronage that night and word-of-mouth marketing following their experiences! This social change work matters and has been improving the restaurant scene in Cleveland since 2019.

PROJECT FUNDING NEEDED    $5,000.00
ioby Fiscal Sponsorship Fee N/A    $0.00
ioby Donation Processing Fee 4%    $208.33
TOTAL TO RAISE    $5,208.33
Donation processing fees apply to donations only. 100% of match funding goes to projects. Please note, fees are estimated here and final numbers may change based on the final amount raised and amount of match funding applied to this campaign.