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At the Cleveland Foundation, we’re committed to building a vibrant Northeast Ohio where no Clevelander is left behind. Together with our donors, nonprofit partners and the wider community, we are working to create meaningful, lasting change.
Joyce Pan Huang, the foundation’s chief impact officer, discusses the foundation’s work and how refining its strategic priorities with a dual lens on immediate and long-term impact will help propel the kind of generational change that will create an environment where all Clevelanders can thrive.
What drove the foundation to refine its priorities?
With Lillian’s appointment as the CEO/President and our move to become a new neighbor in the MidTown and Hough communities, the foundation wanted to take the opportunity to reflect about who we are, what we do, and how we do it. It spurred us to think about how we tackle really big issues that matter to us as a foundation. We started to ask questions about how we have and have not moved the needle on the overall wellbeing of our communities, and we grappled with what we needed to do differently to drive lasting change. For example, Cleveland continues to experience extremely high rates of childhood poverty, and if a child remains in poverty for seven years, they have a 13% chance to escape it. What can be done to move the needle for our future generations of kids?
Why the two-pronged approach to address immediate and long-term impact?
Our approach is inspired by our mission, which is to make the lives of Clevelanders better, now and for generations to come. Our work lives in two different timelines -- we live in the now by responding to the needs of Clevelanders today, and we work for future generations when we focus our investments on priorities that will take time to change. Change happens when both things are true.
Immediate impact is critical because we know many organizations need support to become sustainable or when individuals have basic, day-to-day needs. As for the long-term view, because the complex challenges of today formed over many decades and even centuries, the solutions will require a lot of intentionality, big bets, and deep partnerships to see change for our community over time.
What might the foundation be doing differently?
Our recent completion of the MidTown Collaboration Center and our work with the Impact Cleveland Pool also showed us that our toolbox is bigger than we thought. As a foundation, we can be a part of the change by making our own place-based, socially impactful investments and developing differently with community in mind.
We’re also taking a more interdisciplinary approach to our work. We previously focused on program areas organized by sector, such as arts and culture, education, the environment, workforce development, and more. The fact is that community develops when all those components are present and connected. Our region, our neighborhoods, and our people need all those things to thrive. We’ll continue to support work in all these areas, but supporting them through a place-based lens that focuses on how each piece works together toward a larger whole. That mix is magic!
Learn more about our priorities here.