The REINBERGER FOUNDATION was established in 1968 by CLARENCE T. REINBERGER (1894-1968). The purposes of the foundation are general and non-restrictive and include education, the arts, social welfare, Protestant church support, hospitals and medical research. The Reinberger Foundation has been particularly generous to the CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, donating $1 million in 1985 for the Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance, which was formally dedicated on 31 Jan. 1986. In 1976 the foundation endowed the Cleveland Orchestra's principal bass chair. As of 1993 the foundation has given $2.7 million to the Cleveland Orchestra.
Grants from the foundation helped establish the Reinberger Gallery at the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART and the Reinberger Gallery at the WESTERN RESERVE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, and have gone to support the CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV. School of Medicine, the CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART, the CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, as well as the CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE and CLEVELAND BALLET. Grants are restricted to the Cleveland and Columbus area. No grants are given to individuals. In 1993 assets of the foundation were $60 million with 53% of the grants made benefiting the performing and the visual arts. That year the foundation expended $2.67 million in grants ranging from $20,000 to $100,000. Officers of the foundation included Robert N. and William C. Reinberger as co-directors and trustees; Sarah Dyer, Karen Hooser, and Richard Heer Oman also served as trustees.