Mark your calendars for the 5th annual Progress Institute. Cleveland Neighborhood Progress is proud to host this professional development day in partnership with Union Miles Development Corp. This year’s event will take place at Camelot Hall. Stay tuned! Registration will go live soon.
Save the date! The second national middle neighborhoods convening will take place November 13-14, 2018 in Cleveland.
Themed “Building Advocacy for Middle Neighborhoods,” this convening will bring 
together the growing movement of practitioners, policymakers, and researchers dedicated to stabilizing “on the edge” neighborhoods around the country. Participants will share insights and learn about recent research efforts. The meeting will also provide practical information about how to mobilize support to better serve these communities.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, and The American Assembly are partnering on this event, which takes place one year after the inaugural gathering in Baltimore.
If you have questions about this meeting or would like to learn more about middle neighborhoods, please contact Stephanie Sung at ss4336@columbia.edu.
-PROGRAM UPDATES-
PLACEMAKING
EQUITABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress’ Placemaking Advisory Committee is convening various takeholders across the community development field to define and discuss the issues of gentrification and displacement in Cleveland neighborhoods. This issue came into focus as a few community development corporations raised concerns about rapidly appreciating housing values in their neighborhoods. With our organization’s mission to foster inclusive communities of choice and opportunity, the Placemaking Advisory Committee decided to explore models for insuring all city residents have the ability to thrive within their chosen neighborhood and all Cleveland neighborhoods continue to provide opportunities for individuals of varying income levels. As part of that conversation, one of the first tasks was to research best practices across the industry around policies and programs that advance equitable community development. That led the group to draft a working definition of that term. It is currently as follows:
Equitable Community Development (ECD) is development and investment that prevents displacement and creates vibrant, mixed-income communities. ECD is done by enrolling private developers and public sector partners in developing projects that:
- Enhance the quality of life for both existing and new residents;
- Respect cultural, racial, and physical aspects of an existing community;
- Prioritize resident involvement in decision-making; and
- Focus on fairness & equitable distribution of benefits that connect residents to opportunity.
As consensus is reached on core policies and programs, they will be shared in future newsletters. Please feel free to email us your questions or comments.
VCC SPOTLIGHT
Village Capital Corp. (VCC) is the lending subsidiary of Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. It recently made a $500K loan investment to Mayfield Station, a new residential development in Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood by Perotti Development.
Read more about the development here on our website.
SUSTAINABLE CLEVELAND SUMMIT
Mark your calendars for September 20-21! Now in its 10th year, the 2018 Sustainable Cleveland Summit will bring together more than 500 people to help design Cleveland’s sustainable future. The Summit provides an opportunity to work across sectors to strengthen existing initiatives, foster collaboration, and learn about recent innovations.
Each year includes a sustainability theme, and 2018 serves as the “Year of Vital Neighborhoods” in Cleveland. The 2018 Summit is also special because it is the last one before June 22, 2019 – the 50th anniversary of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire.
NEW VIDEO!
“Cleveland: This is Where I Live”
Cleveland: This is Where I Live offers resident testimonials and neighborhood footage showcasing the top reasons why more people are choosing to live in the city. The video is a part of the LiveCleveland! campaign and will be shared among community partners, real estate professionals, professional recruiters and corporate HR representatives. The video can be accessed here on the LiveCleveland! YouTube channel and also via social media channels.
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
NEW STAFF
The Economic Opportunity team for Neighborhood Progress is pleased to welcome new members and evolving roles:
Kandis Williams rejoins the organization as the new VP of Economic Opportunity. See below for more information on Kandis in the Staff Spotlight section. Jose Colon joins the team as the fourth Community Financial Services Manager. And Royce Muskeyvalley now serves as the Education Equity Manager for Neighborhood Progress. He had previously been working with us as a Cleveland Foundation fellow.
CHAIN REACTION UPDATE
In late July, 18 small businesses (from an initial pool of 107) made their pitches to our five Chain Reaction investors. Each was seeking to gain a share of the $500K that is available for competing companies looking to grow their business in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood. The finalists will be announced soon and investors are looking to solidify their investment offers this fall.
This neighborhood economic development project is a collaborative effort between COSE, JumpStart, GlazenUrban, Fox 8 and Cleveland Neighborhood Progress. You can learn more at www.ClevelandChainReaction.org
CDC ADVANCEMENT
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR
Community development professionals are encouraged to explore a variety of professional development opportunities by accessing this resource compiled by our CDC Advancement team.If you know of other opportunities that are not listed, your contributions are appreciated. Please contact Jennifer Chandler for more information.
A UNITED COLLINWOOD
Last month, a bold step was taken toward realizing the vision of a united Collinwood neighborhood, as Collinwood & Nottingham Villages Development and Northeast Shores Development were combined to serve all of the community under one CDC umbrella. Staff from Northeast Shores has joined Collinwood & Nottingham Villages, and will continue their work with residents and businesses in North Shore Collinwood and throughout the entire community.
The strengths of each organization will be leveraged throughout the combined 
service area, which is now one of the largest in the city. Programs and activities will serve all of North Shore Collinwood, Five Pointes/Collinwood Village, Nottingham Village and Euclid Green. Over 35,000 residents live in this area, which also includes six commercial districts and an industrial corridor. Its combined efforts will provide all of the familiar services residents and business owners expect including: support to all of the block clubs, civic organizations and neighborhood groups in our community; business attraction, retention and engagement efforts within the various business districts; neighborhood planning and development services that focuses on housing redevelopment and stabilization; arts-based redevelopment initiatives, creative placemaking efforts, neighborhood planning and more.
Beyond uniting these organizations physically and organizationally, it is the vision of the boards and staff that this opportunity is used to move the community forward, united in purpose and serving all in the greater Collinwood community.
Neighborhood Progress is pleased to assist with this process.
POLICY, ADVOCACY & RESEARCH
here Click here to learn more about what’s happening in Cleveland in the world of
policy and advocacy.
Updates offered on:
- Policy at the state and federal levels
- Cleveland VOTES
- Hack Cleveland
RACIAL EQUITY & INCLUSION – YEAR OF AWARENESS BUILDING 
Since Neighborhood Progress started offering REI trainings, more than 600 organizations in northeast Ohio have participated, sending nearly 2,500 participants. Are you included in this group? Trainings are still being offered – Sign up now!
You can also receive the updates on our Racial Equity & Inclusion programming and find them atwww.clevelandnp.org. Additional info, including the 2017 Year of Awareness Building “By the Numbers” report, may be accessed here.
If you are interested in signing up for our REI newsletter, please sign up here. As always, please send any feedback, questions, or interesting reading materials to REI@clevelandnp.org.
DATES TO NOTE
Note the upcoming events below or check out our calendar here.
To view professional development opportunities, click here.
Nov 13-14 – Building Advocacy for Middle Neighborhoods
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Kandis Williams
VP of Economic Opportunity
Cleveland Neighborhood Progress is pleased to have Kandis Williams rejoin our organization as the Vice President of Economic Opportunity. Kandis started in July and has already begun taking on various tasks within the EO portfolio, which includes financial counseling, education, workforce development and neighborhood leadership training.
This is Kandis’ second position within our company. Previously, she served as Senior Vice President for Village Capital Corporation, the lending subsidiary of Neighborhood Progress. In between, Kandis was with Citizen’s Bank as its Vice President of Community Lending.
We are pleased to welcome Kandis back to the organization.