Economic research confirms that Northeast Ohio’s four metros are underperforming similarly-sized metros in employment, income, output and productivity. Our region is at or near the bottom of many rankings. And the “Quiet Crisis” series in The Plain Dealer profiles the heart-wrenching realities of our economic downturn.
A group of organizations release The Northeast Ohio Barometer of Economic Attitudes , a survey of public attitudes of residents across Northeast Ohio. The poll is designed to track the public's perception of the region's overall economic development progress and their perspectives on regionalism. The first survey shows Northeast Ohioans recognize economic times are tough, but still view the region in a positive way and have hope for the future. The survey is conducted annually for years to come.
The Fund officially launches at the Great Again conference in February 2004 with nearly 30 institutions committing $22 million over three years to address the economic priorities of 10 counties. By the end of the phase, 52 member institutions raise a total of $28.4 million. This first-of-its-kind philanthropic collaboration is recognized by The New York Times. Members set forth 3 goals for the first phase: (1) An inclusive, region-wide dialogue and collaboration on key economic topics requiring regional solutions (2) Measurement and tracking of the region’s economic performance (3) Funding support for a focused set of transformational economic development activities, evaluation of the effectiveness of that support and identification of future funding opportunities.
Our founding members believe that for too long philanthropy had focused on addressing the social symptoms of our region’s declining economy without getting to the underlying factors that drove this decline. Together, founding members forge a new role for philanthropy in advancing our region’s economic competitiveness. Together, our members lay out the following principles: (1) We’re all in this together. (2) The economy isn’t going to fix itself. (3) Philanthropy has a role. (4) Every voice matters. (5) This is long-term, messy—but critical—work.
Rob Briggs, then president of GAR Foundation, is elected as the Fund’s founding chair, an important signal of its commitment to the region.
Goals are set to advance a shared and highly-focused regional economic development agenda, convene key stakeholders, track key metrics of regional economic progress and support key initiatives. The Fund awards a total of $26.1 million, with the majority going to five regional economic development organizations—BioEnterprise, JumpStart, NorTech, MAGNET and Team NEO.
The Fund conducts two public opinion surveys and a $3 million, 18-month civic engagement project—Voices and Choices—that confirms and strengthens support for a shared regional approach to building economic opportunity for families and businesses.
Fund members coin a new word to describe the work their doing, “regioning.” Regioning (verb) reg • ion • ing 1. Proactive nurturing of ourselves and our surroundings to create the networks that enable a region to compete and to be a distinctive place.
The Fund puts out a request for ideas from the community to help shape the strategic direction of the Fund going forward. This feedback helps the Fund decide which areas of work offer the greatest potential for Fund impact.
The Fund collaborates with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland to issue the first Dashboard Indicators for the Northeast Ohio Economy, which identify key factors to economic growth and the region’s performance in each factor.
