SEARS-SWETLAND FAMILY FOUNDATION - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The SEARS-SWETLAND FAMILY FOUNDATION was created in 1949 as the Sears Family Foundation in Cleveland by TOWMOTOR CORP. Corp. founder Lester Sears (18881967). The foundation supports health, education, and environmental research but does not grant to individuals nor for scholarships, fellowships, or loans. In 1969 the fund made a $30,000 grant to help launch a new magazine, Environment, sponsored by the Committee for Environmental Information. The foundation has donated to many UNIVERSITY CIRCLE institutions, funding, for example, the Sears Hall of Man's Ecology at the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY in Sept. 1972 and the Mary Ann Sears Swetland Memorial Meeting House at Hale Farm and Village in June 1973. The fund has also supported CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY in a variety of areas. In 1994 foundation assets were over $2.54 million, with expenditures of $109,225 for 44 grants ranging from $250 to $15,000. Trustees included Ruth Swetland Eppig, David Sears Swetland, and David W. Swetland.

See also PHILANTHROPY, FOUNDATIONS.

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