In 1998, the Civic made applications to several Cleveland area foundations for grants for various capital projects. Many personal visits and discussions had yielded only a small amount of foundation grants. Finally, in late 1999, the George Gund Foundation indicated a willingness to consider a grant. In 1998, the Civic had sent the Gund Foundation a capital grant proposal for $150,000. This application remained on the desk of the program director for two years before coming to the top of the pile. Within hours of getting the call, the board president and the executive director of the Civic put together a revised wish list and resubmitted the request to the foundation. The grant was approved in December 1999, and the funds were dispersed to the Civic in January 2000. Because of an end-of-the-year cash flow problem resulting from a rent dispute with a major tenant, the Civic asked for and received permission from the Gund Foundation to temporarily use a portion of the grant for operating purposes with the stipulation that the Civic send to Gund for their approval a formal plan for restoring the operating dollars to the capital account, so that the entire $150,000 would be spent for capital purposes. The Civic used these capital dollars to improve the rentability of the large assembly spaces. The bathrooms were rehabilitated, several rooms were redecorated, the steps were repaired, the fire alarm system was updated to code, and tables and chairs were replaced for use in the rental halls.