MISSION STATEMENT

The Center for Cleveland is a non-profit, nonpartisan economic development organization focused on achieving economic and population growth in the City of Cleveland in pursuit of positive social, financial, economic, public health, public safety, transportation, educational, environmental, and equitable outcomes.

About Us

The Center for Cleveland seeks, simply put, to make the City of Cleveland, and by consequence, the surrounding region, a better place, which will foster and be fostered by economic and population growth. The Center for Cleveland was formed to promote, develop thought leadership on, advocate for, and pursue opportunities for Cleveland for economic and population growth in pursuit of positive social, financial, economic, public health, public safety, transportation, educational, environmental, and equitable outcomes.

The City of Cleveland and surrounding communities in the seven-county region comprise one economic system. Hence, as the City grows and attracts new people and companies, the full region benefits from more housing demand, greater property values, greater job and economic opportunities, higher wages, better schools, increased entertainment and dining options, and other benefits. The notion that any suburb can experience true sustainable growth and development without the health of the central city is false, particularly when any temporary growth is at the expense of the City, which alone has the inertia to drive economic growth across the region.

Accordingly, our focus is the City of Cleveland, while fully recognizing the City as part of the broader economic ecosystem of Greater Cleveland. A stronger City of Cleveland—the region’s heart—its economic and cultural center—will benefit the larger Cleveland region. Our core work and activities are:

1. Provision of accurate information and data about the City, which are often not easily or readily found elsewhere.

2. Research, analysis, and the development of thought leadership around strategies for Cleveland’s growth and improved quality of life. Included in this work will be policy approaches as well as consideration of technology innovation and potential “smart city” developments. These technologies and use of data seek to address a broad range of urban issues to include public safety, efficiency of city operations, traffic congestion, bicycle and pedestrian safety, digital inclusion, social equity, air quality, public health, government transparency, construction permitting, citizen engagement, and data collection (and ethical use) for planning/resource allocations/operations, amongst other municipal areas of concern. As we have extensive insight and expertise on this topic for our work, we also share this insight and our capabilities through custom-designed studies and projects for select clients, which also helps us fund our operations.

3. Implementation of strategies to achieve economic and population growth where appropriate or within our purview, or teaming with other organizations better operationally suited for implementation based on the specific undertaking.

4. Development of policy recommendations to further economic development, population growth, and improved quality of life.

5. Advocacy for policies or legislation supporting the goals of economic development, population growth, and improved quality of life, and opposition of policies and legislation that are harmful to the City. 

Funding

The Center for Cleveland is a non-profit corporation with 501(c)(3) status granted by the IRS. All contributions are tax deductible. Please consider supporting our work in growing Cleveland’s economy and population. We welcome contributions from civic and corporate foundations and individuals who support our mission.

Your funding helps make a difference in growing Cleveland!