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Cleveland, OH

A community determined to take bold action to rebuild

Cleveland, once one of the largest industrial centers in the U.S., is in the midst of revitalization. The city boasts a community of innovative activist leaders, dedicated philanthropies, engaged businesses, and an ambitious mayor.

It has recently become a hotspot for millennials, and there are increased efforts to invest in the city’s historically marginalized communities.

Cleveland, OH neighborhood

Why Cleveland?

A long history of singling out Black communities

Despite recent progress, Cleveland still struggles to shake off the impact of decades of racist policies and practices. Federal urban renewal programs, redlining, blockbusting, and employment discrimination purposely designed to separate and then stunt the growth of the city’s Black community in the past, led to years of population decline, deep racial segregation, and inevitably, disinvestment.

Learn more about how government policy has deepened segregation.

Key signs of the inequitable systems shaping Cleveland

#3

Cleveland has been ranked among the top 3 poorest cities for multiple years in a row (source)

#6

Cleveland is the 6th most racially segregated U.S. city (source)

$14-24k

A $14k-$24k gap between median incomes for Black, Indigenous and Latino households

30%

30% of the population lives below the poverty line; 35% are Black (source)

31%

There’s a 31% homeownership gap between people of color and white residents, the 6th widest of large U.S. cities (source)

I am excited about the opportunity for Black- and Brown-led organizations to have the resources that give them the space to actually think and strategize, and to not constantly be on the hook to do a dog and pony show for eight months [for funders]. We can rely on each other’s expertise and experience. We use ingenuity all the time because we have to… the PERC resources help us to be able to leverage each other’s brilliance.

Evelyn Burnett, ThirdSpace Action Lab, PERC Cleveland

Cleveland Local Partners

Joining forces to build a roadmap for a more equitable Cleveland

Mature couple walking arm in arm down an urban sidewalk

The PERC Cleveland coalition was carefully curated by the site’s lead organization, ThirdSpace Action Lab (TSAL), and includes the mayor’s office, a cross-sector of community leaders and organizations:

PERC Cleveland in action

Building the action plan

Using PERC’s model for shared decision-making and consensus building, PERC Cleveland has designed a data-centered action plan to apply for potential investment dollars, and to execute and deliver measurable, results-based outcomes once the investment is received.

Image: Cleveland collaborative table

Research & analysis

What is currently driving the inequities?

The coalition conducted a comprehensive data review and analysis of the factors currently sustaining the racial disparities in the city, and found that Black, Indigenous and Latino/a/x communities are caught in a vicious cycle of numerous factors which stall growth, limit opportunity and prevent building wealth, including:

  • A long history of lower incomes and more likelihood today to live below the poverty line
  • A deficit of affordable housing rentals in the city leading to more likelihood of paying high percentages of income on rent
  • Prevalence of predatory lending in neighborhoods leading to higher mortgages & higher likelihood of foreclosures, vacancies and blight
  • A lack of reliable transportation in Black, Indigenous, and Latino neighborhoods, decreases in childcare workers and degree requirements – limiting job options and income mobility
  • Slower or stagnant property values leading to high mortgages and fewer resources for community, including schooling
  • Lower property values which discourage investment in neighborhoods or businesses, leading to population decline and loss of revenue in communities
  • Voter suppression practices & limited investment in BIL community engagement, depressing the voter turnout

Identifying Solutions

Unlocking potential with public investment

The Cleveland coalition is currently developing public investment opportunities to influence the factors driving racial inequities while building new systems for long-term impact. Here are the coalition’s five-year goals and strategies:

Housing

Increase BIL homeownership and affordable housing by 5% in five years through a variety of funding streams including buying and developing rent-to-own and co-ownership properties in BIL neighborhoods.

Economic Development

Increase income mobility of BIL households by 20-25% in five years through the creation of pathways and partnerships for BIL residents to skilled construction trades and Black, Indigenous and Latino construction companies as part of the program to increase homeownership and affordable housing.

Civic Infrastructure & Engagement

Invest in physical infrastructure including building out broadband infrastructure across the city that will ultimately provide a vehicle to access affordable internet for all residents.

Increase civic engagement by 15% in five years by instituting a People’s Budget process granting residents genuine decision-making power and providing incentives for active participation.

Key Milestones Achieved

Building infrastructure for the long-term

Carefully curated coalition with 12 organizations across 3 sectors

Completed 10 learning sessions on equity framework for collaboration

Logged 32.5 hours of collaborative table meetings, including 4 planning sessions with the community

Designed detailed 10-year implementation plans for 20 projects aimed at improving the lives of more than 95,900 people

Expanded coalition capacity by hiring 2 dedicated staff

Identified and staffed 3 working groups to focus on housing, economic development and civic infrastructure

Held monthly meetings since January 2023 to design impactful strategies, tactics, areas of alignment, and funding opportunities

Planned all-partner retreat to solidify strategies, tactics and funding opportunities

Awarded $2.5M in local philanthropic dollars over the next 3 years

Are you interested in becoming an active participant in PERC’S transformation process? Let’s partner!

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