Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) is looking to make big, long-term changes to address the area’s critical issues through bigger investments, announcing plans “to invest $1 billion in the region over the next 10 years,” the Cincinnati Business Courier reports. The foundation’s president and CEO, Matthew Randazzo, said, “[a]ffordable housing, education, community vibrancy, these aren’t things that you solve in a matter of months or even years. These are things that tend to take a decade or generations….We wanted to ask our board to cast a 10-year vision so the community, our donors, and our nonprofit partners understood we were going to have some stick-to-itiveness,” the article reports.
The organization “conducted a strategic planning process, engaging community leaders and its 1,100 fundholders to determine the greatest need, and what issues were most important to its donors.” A “major focal point” for the billion-dollar investment “will be creating and preserving affordable housing in the region with special focus on creating housing for community workers like nurses, firefighters, police officers, teachers, and more.” The group’s investment in education will include “addressing third-grade literacy and chronic absenteeism,” as well as “investing in the pipeline of educators” and “connecting young adults looking to pursue trade work and workforce needs.” GCF will also look to address “the safety net of resources” that support students’ readiness to learn, including primary care access and food banks. “Creating a community that people want to live, work, and grow their families is critical to the region growing as a whole, according to Randazzo.” For more, read the full article (subscription may be required).
