(3) Stories of Inspiration: The Port Housing Revitalization Project, All-In Cincinnati, and The Cincinnati Project

Building a more prosperous region where everyone can thrive — that is the driving goal of Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF), and it is an ongoing journey. While there are many challenges in our communities, we also are heartened by successes along the way.

Here are three we’d like to share with you:

• GCF — along with its generous donors — recently provided a $1 million impact investment to The Port (formerly Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority) to establish the Greater Cincinnati Neighborhoods Housing Revitalization Loan Fund. A bold new initiative to stimulate neighborhood redevelopment, the Housing Revitalization Loan Fund supports the purchase, rehabilitation and reselling of abandoned and vacant homes by The Port. The Fund is supporting continued redevelopment in Evanston where, since 2013, The Port has rehabbed and sold 27 homes. The GCF loan will enable access to a wider capital pool to finance the revitalization of additional neighborhoods throughout Hamilton County.
• The All-In Cincinnati Equity Action Plan, unveiled on October 19 at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, is a roadmap for equity work that remains ahead of us. GCF, in partnership with United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Interact for Health, convened a core team of various nonprofit partners to inform and support the research-based data and policy recommendations for Cincinnati of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute. Read the full report. The next step, as we move forward, is the All-In Cincinnati coalition’s upcoming meeting, from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, November 29, at Interact for Health, 3805 Edwards Road, #500. If you are interested in joining All-In Cincinnati, please contact GCF at werisetogether@gcfdn.org.
• The Cincinnati Project harnesses the resources of University of Cincinnati faculty and students, in collaboration with Cincinnati community members, nonprofits, governments and agencies to conduct research benefiting the community. In 2016, GCF contributed $25,000 to help fund their project to record and share the life stories of women of color, reflecting the diversity of their experiences in Cincinnati. Those interviewed ranged from well-known activists to anonymous women who have faced violence and other challenges. Visit The Cincinnati Project to learn more about this initiative and their stories. The resulting exhibition, “What Is and What Can Be: Women of Color and the Struggle for Justice in Cincinnati,” has been seen displayed in several locations, most recently at Reverb Art + Design in September.