2020 has been a year of challenges. As we enter Thanksgiving week, many of us will be finding other ways to celebrate than we are used to. One thing that will not be different, however, is taking a moment to express thanks and gratitude for the important people in our lives.

At Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), we also want to take a moment to express our thanks and gratitude to the many people, groups, and organizations that work us fulfill our mission to improve the communities of Ohio through smart growth strategies and research.  There are so many leaders whose visions align with ours of a revitalized Ohio.

• We are thankful for the dedicated community leaders in Ohio’s legacy cities In the midst of COVID-19, racial equity and justice protests, and continued efforts to revitalize their cities, community leaders are blazing the way. Ohio’s legacy cities exemplify the grit and determination that keeps Ohio’s strong.

• We value our longstanding relationship with the members of the Affordable Housing Learning Exchange, a community of practice including practitioners and advocates for affordable housing in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Findlay, and Toledo. COVID-19 plunged many families into economic uncertainty, and the Exchange mobilized to spread awareness on the need for emergency rental assistance and to encourage communities to leverage federal funds for assistance programs. Along with a broad coalition of nonprofit and private industry leaders, the Exchange lobbied the DeWine Administration to establish a statewide assistance fund. Last month, the Administration announced it was using federal CARES Act money to seed a $50 million program for emergency housing assistance.

• We are thankful to work closely with Ohio’s highly skilled Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) sector. These non-profit, financial institutions bring much-needed capital to people and places around the state where they are needed most.  Members of the Ohio CDFI Network GOPC are helping to support revitalization and job growth throughout Ohio. 

• We were grateful to have the experience of working with the Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) on a comprehensive housing analysis for Champaign County and its four largest municipalities. GOPC’s report presented thoughtful policies to preserve existing housing stock and encourage new market rate housing building and development within the four focus communities. Since the release of the report in April 2020, historic rehab projects are underway in three of the four communities and 51 new units of affordable senior rental housing are set to come online by the end of next year.

• We are thankful and appreciative of our partners who make-up the Ohio Revitalization Steering Committee (RSC), an advisory group organized to develop solutions to mitigate vacant and abandoned properties and generate marketable properties in Ohio’s residential neighborhoods. The RSC is comprised of bankers, non-profit leaders, and public sector officials and the high level of trust among participants is a testament to members’ dedication to finding workable solutions.

• Thank you also the Ohio State Resource Network, a group of experts with varying expertise working together to empower Ohio’s government leaders from economically challenged communities to take on their toughest problems. In the pilot program’s first year, OSRN helped guide the City of Sandusky with multi-year financial planning, and it is currently working with two Appalachian communities, Village of Greenfield and City of Chillicothe.

• We are also thankful for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for their release of an indispensable standardized data set of local government finances for the country’s 200 largest cities.  This new data set allows researchers to confidently make fiscal comparisons across cities and was critical to GOPC’s analysis of potential changes to Ohio’s municipal income tax policy in the wake of COVID-19. 

• We are grateful for the 614 for Linden, a collaborative of four CDFIs and six nonprofits working together to implement four big ideas from the City of Columbus’ One Linden Plan. In its first year, The 614 for Linden helped preserve 230 affordable housing units, provided six small business loans, and assisted in stabilizing dozens of families during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing emergency rent and utility assistance—all to strengthen one neighborhood, Linden.

• We are thankful for the Opportunity CLE Neighborhoods. Cleveland Development Advisors and Finance Fund are collaborating to revitalize the City of Cleveland’s Glenville, Clark-Fulton, & Buckeye/Kinsman neighborhoods; they are showing both organizations will be lasting partners for the communities’ in achieving their development priorities. In Year I, Opportunity CLE Neighborhoods assisted three community facilities projects and deployed $150,000 in COVID-relief grants for target area small businesses.

• We also want to express gratitude for the OH3C. The OH3C is a group of four community development financial institutions (CDFI) working to revitalize up-and-coming neighborhoods in Ohio’s Three Cs: Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. Led by the Economic Community Development Institute, the group received a $3 million grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to support their efforts. These major cities have different economic situations. In Columbus and Cincinnati, OH3C is working to prevent gentrification and preserve affordable housing. In Cleveland, OH3C is investing to catalyze new development.

• We are grateful to our friends at the Montgomery County Land Bank (MCLRC). In 2020, the Land Bank finished up its strategic planning process to chart its path forward for the next three years.  This plan will help the Land Bank navigate the unknown waters ahead with confidence and coordination.

• We are pleased that the City of Cleveland and its nonprofit partners are thinking critically and pro-actively about equitable redevelopment, and how to appropriately balance developer incentives with provisions that protect legacy and vulnerable residents. In undertaking this work thoughtfully and with lots of input, we’re sure the City will develop a slate of sensitive local policies.

• Last, but certainly not least, we are forever grateful to the men and women who have served, and continue to serve on our Board of Trustees, whose leadership, expertise and support are critical to the success of this organization.