Empowering Communities Annual Fund Catalyzes Impact

Greater Cincinnati Foundation shares a mission with our donors to make Greater Cincinnati a region that provides greater opportunities for everyone. We leverage donors’ generosity to support organizations and projects through grantmaking and impact investing; increasingly, we are also committed to focusing on initiatives that enact sustainable, life-changing equity.

That’s where our Empowering Communities Annual Fund comes into play. Our “team” isn’t in it for just one quarter, one game or even one season. GCF, with 55 years of experience in connecting people with purpose, has a long view of what we can do together to creating brighter futures and stronger communities, and the Empowering Communities Annual Fund catalyzes that impact.

GCF’s leadership has accomplished meaningful community work in various ways, including the examples below. The Empowering Communities Annual Fund allows us to do even more.

• The Family Independence Initiative, GCF’s concentrated investment to address significant issues of poverty in our region, has in its first year enrolled 208 families totaling 729 adults and children. The nationally tested FII model — Cincinnati is the seventh U.S. city to launch the initiative — empowers families to set their own goals for lifting themselves out of poverty through the support of cohort groups.
• The just-released All-In Cincinnati report, a research-based, intentional approach to creating sustainable economic growth. GCF helped to convene the All-In Cincinnati coalition, which is moving forward with ways to implement the policy recommendations in our communities to foster inclusive prosperity.
• The restoration of Union Terminal/Cincinnati Museum Center, the results of which will be unveiled in November. GCF was instrumental in the convening of the Cultural Facilities Task Force to help guarantee that Union Terminal will provide cultural dividends for generations to come.

As we look ahead to 2019, GCF will focus its strategy of game-changing equity on exploring and addressing issues of affordable housing. Greater Cincinnati has a critical need for 40,000 more such units, and we know that housing instability can be a pivotal factor for families striving to rise above poverty. Your contribution to GCF’s Empowering Communities Annual Fund will help to fuel that deep, policy-level work.