CNP’s advocacy and external relations support investments in Cleveland’s community development ecosystem and connects neighborhood action to systems-level changes in the city and in the state. These strategies center CDCs and the residents they serve, identifying opportunities for them to participate in shaping the policies, investments, and narratives that define our neighborhoods and our future. Together, these efforts help dismantle structural barriers to opportunity while amplifying the leadership of residents and organizations rooted in historically disinvested communities.
Neighborhood marketing
Love Cleveland Neighborhoods is a collaborative campaign launched by CNP in 2024. The campaign’s goal is to encourage Northeast Ohioans to invest more time and money in every neighborhood within the city. The target audience includes visitors within a one-hour drive, “young talent” considering futures in Cleveland, potential homebuyers, and current city residents.
As of 2026, the campaign reaches over 100,000 people every month with digital, print, and in-person marketing. CNP fills a gap in local media by uplifting authentic, positive stories of neighborhood pride for Cleveland proper. By leading this campaign, CNP provides a valuable platform for CDCs to reach large audiences, and CDC participate through CNP’s Neighborhood Marketing Working Group, one of its ongoing working groups for CDCs.
Policy and advocacy
CDC funding reform
The City of Cleveland is the largest funder of our CDC partners, and its funding system needs more transparency and flexibility to serve neighborhoods’ needs. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the City empowered CDCs to move quickly, responding to community members’ visions, tackling many local issues, and driving real estate deals across neighborhoods. But after the Great Recession, the City began reducing the eligible activities in CDC contracts that it reimbursed with its federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
Since development of the 2021 Neighborhood Platform, CNP and CDCs have identified funding reform as a key priority. In 2025, CNP’s advocacy led to Cleveland City Council introducing Ordinance 113-2025, which proposes a new City program to create transparency and accountability with CDCs for their wide range of services to neighborhoods. The funding program aligns with CNP’s Advancement Model for resilient and effective CDCs.
Property Tax Relief
CNP is leading efforts to address rising property taxes that threaten to displace long-time, low-income homeowners, particularly those in historically disinvested, Black, and Brown neighborhoods. Through leadership of a statewide coalition, CNP developed a proposal for “Residential Stability Zones.” This model would empower municipalities to provide property tax relief for eligible homeowners. Currently a bipartisan bill in the Ohio Senate, the “Residential Stability Zones” legislation reflects the framework of Ohio’s existing law on tax abatement, a familiar tool to local governments. Its design ensures flexibility for municipalities to set eligibility criteria and direct assistance to those who need it most.