News

Commission announces 2016 Best-in-Class winners

The Commission on Economic Inclusion, a program of Greater Cleveland Partnership, will recognize eight organizations for their diversity and inclusion efforts at the GCP Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 7 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel.

The Best-in-Class Award winners are selected based on the results of the Commission’s annual Diversity and Inclusion Organization Assessment. Click to find out who won.

GCP urges congressional support to protect NASA Glenn priorities, funding

In partnership with the office of U.S. Senator Rob Portman, the Greater Cleveland Partnership hosted a congressional briefing in the U.S. Capitol on the importance of NASA Glenn Research Center to Northeast Ohio and issued a rallying cry to attendees on the need to protect and grow the economic impact of the Center in the region. 

“Ohio’s congressional delegation strongly supports NASA Glenn,” said Marty McGann, the GCP’s senior vice president of advocacy. 

“Our elected leaders understand that NASA Glenn’s $600 million in direct spending generates over $1 billion in economic impact that touches every corner of our state.”

Congressional staff from the majority of Ohio’s delegation attended the meeting along with several organizations and companies who work directly with NASA Glenn on their core missions. Read more.


GCP Annual Report available online

The 2016 Greater Cleveland Partnership Annual Report is now available online.

It provides an overview of our work in advocacy, business development, education and workforce development, physical development, economic inclusion and more to advance the Northeast Ohio business community’s agenda.

It also includes a summary of accomplishments from our partner organizations BioEnterprise, JumpStart, MAGNET and Cleveland Plus/Team NEO.

Click to view or download.

Joe Roman on WTAM

Topics in this month’s conversation with “Wills and Snyder” co-host Bill Wills, GCP President and CEO Joe Roman include the GCP’s work to transform Cleveland neighborhoods.

This includes securing involvement of U.S. Senators Brown and Portman to help champion efforts to extend the New Markets Tax Credits program.

The credits are used by Cleveland Development Advisors, a GCP affiliate, to invest in catalytic neighborhood projects in the city. Click to listen.

Ohio's congressional delegation supports key development tool

In recent weeks, Ohio’s U.S. Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown signed on as legislative cosponsors of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Extension Act of 2017.

This legislation proposes a permanent extension of the federal NMTC program, currently set to expire in 2019. The legislative proposal would also increase the annual NMTC allocation. Several U.S. House members from Ohio are already lined up in support of the companion legislation in the House.

Those members include: Rep. Pat Tiberi (lead sponsor), Rep. Dave Joyce, Rep. Jim Renacci, Rep. Tim Ryan, Rep. Bob Gibbs, Rep. Bill Johnson, Rep. Betty Joyce, Rep. Steve Stivers, and Rep. Michael Turner.

“The NMTC program is helping drive Cleveland’s momentum,” said Greater Cleveland Partnership President and CEO Joe Roman. Read more.

We need your vote!

A designated representative of a member company of the Greater Cleveland Partnership or COSE is entitled to vote in the 2017 election of the GCP Board of Directors.

By checking the appropriate box on the ballot, you may either submit proxy instructions to vote for the entire slate of nominated candidates or submit proxy instructions to vote for individual names. Read more.

Click to download the ballot.

CDA investment helps second phase of Innova project move forward


The Finch Group has closed on financing for the second phase of the Innova project on Chester Avenue in the Hough neighborhood.

Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA), an affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, provided a $1.5 million loan from its Advance Cleveland Development Fund.

The $26 million investment will add 70 apartment units and 7,700 square feet of retail. The initial phase, 177 apartment units and 23,000 square feet of retail was completed in 2015. CDA provided $3 million of financing for the first phase. Read more.

Reshaping big-box retail creates a multimillion-dollar company

When a company grows from initially operating out of one of its founder’s garage to being named by Forbes magazine as one of the next “billion-dollar startups,” there has to be an intriguing back story.

That company is Boxed, and co-founder and CEO Chieh Huang shared some of that story with the more than 125 attendees at the 2017 Greater Cleveland Middle-Market Forum held May 11 at Corporate College East. Read more.

CDA invests New Markets Tax Credits in Charter Steel expansion

Charter Steel has closed on financing for its $153 million expansion project in Cuyahoga Heights. Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA), an affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, provided $10 million of New Markets Tax Credit allocation.

Charter Steel, a division of Charter Manufacturing, is a leading American supplier and manufacturer of carbon and alloy steel bar, rod and wire products. The project will expand its wire rod production facility, helping the company to stay competitive in the U.S. steel industry. Read more.

Events

Digging Deeper: Measuring D&I Beyond Demographics

The next meeting of the Commission on Economic Inclusion's Diversity Professionals Group will feature a presentation on "Digging Deeper: Measuring D&I Beyond Demographics" with Charmaine Brown, president & founder of Connexions Consulting, Inc.

The Commission's Diversity Professionals Group (DPG) is composed of senior-level staff from Commission-member organizations responsible for developing and implementing diversity management goals and initiatives within their organizations. Learn more.

Morning Conversation: State Senator Matt Dolan

GCP members are invited to a Morning Conversation with State Senator Matt Dolan, who serves the 24th District that includes portions of Cuyahoga County.

His background in the private and public sectors is extensive. He is currently a partner at the law firm of Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan, where he represents business clients in a variety of matters, in addition to handling municipal law and real estate matters, including zoning and land use issues.

Senator Dolan has made significant contributions in the area of tax reform and has supported tax credits that stimulate business growth and community revitalization. Read more.

The GCP Morning Conversation series is sponsored by:

Lock in preferred seating for the 2017 GCP Annual Meeting!

Please  join more than 1,100 business and community leaders at the Greater Cleveland Partnership Annual Meeting on Wednesday, June 7 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown.

We're pleased to announce that our keynote speaker will be Susan Goldberg, editorial director of National Geographic Partners, and editor-in-chief of National Geographic magazine.

From 2007 to 2010, she was editor of The Plain Dealer. She also served as executive editor for federal, state and local government coverage for Bloomberg News in Washington, D.C. from 2010 to 2014.

To ensure premium seating for your company, click to purchase a table of 10.

Presenting Sponsor

Supporting Sponsors


 Reception Sponsor                               Video Sponsor

 

Media Sponsor

Procurement Professionals Group

Sheila LiszkaSheila Liszka, procurement manager at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, will be the presenter at the next meeting of the Commission on Economic Inclusion’s Procurement Professionals Group on Wednesday, June 14.

Breakfast and networking will be available beginning at 7:30 a.m. with the program on “Supplier Diversity: Measuring, Reporting and Certifying,” running from 8 to 10 a.m. Learn more.

Internship Central Lunch and Learn Webinar

The new GCP Internship Central Lunch & Learn Webinar Series, to be held quarterly, will provide valuable information to employers on issues related to starting, managing, and/or growing internship programs.

At our first webinar, James M. McWeeney II, attorney with Walter Haverfield, will share his expertise regarding legal issues employers should know about internships.

Learn more.

Middle-Market CEO Dialogue


What’s going on in health care is difficult to watch from the sidelines these days.

So imagine leading an organization with hundreds or thousands of employees and tens of thousands of customers depending on you.

GCP Board Chair Rick Chiricosta, chairman, president and CEO of Medical Mutual (photo left), and GCP Board member Dr. Akram Boutros, president and CEO of The MetroHealth System (photo right), will share their perspectives on the change and challenges they have been managing in response to market forces and government-imposed shifts. Read more.

NOTE: This forum is by invitation-only for middle-market CEOs and is limited to 50 participants.

Sponsored by:

Save the Date! GCP Member Golf Outing

Get ready to think green!

Mark your calendar and save the date for the Greater Cleveland Partnership Member Golf Outing on Monday, July 24. This event is for C-suite execs and their direct reports.

The day will include lunch, golf and dinner at Kirtland Country Club in Willoughby.

Presenting Sponsor

3Q Middle-Market Forum


Save the Date!

Please mark your calendar for our third-quarter Middle-Market Forum. Topics and speakers TBA.

Sponsored by

BizConCLE

BizConCLE is a unique education and networking experience, presented by the Greater Cleveland Partnership/COSE, exclusively designed for middle-market CEOs, C-suite leaders and their teams, as well as small business owners.

The one-day convention includes national keynote speakers, plenary sessions led by regional business and community leaders, and interactive workshops. Learn more.

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