Cincinnati, Ohio

Incorporated as a city in 1819, Cincinnati grew steadily through the mid-1900s due to its prime location on the Ohio River.  In fact, the Queen City—so dubbed by Longfellow, who referred to it as “the Queen of the West”—weathered the Great Depression better than most cities of comparable size because of the resurgence in river trade, which was less expensive than rail.  By 1950, Cincinnati had grown to its peak of nearly 504,000 residents, making it the 18th largest city in the country.

Similar to other industrial cities, suburbanization, layoffs due to technological advances, industrial flight to places with lower labor costs, and globalization have had severe economic and social impacts. Moreover, when Delta merged with Northwest Airlines in 2008, it cut its flight capacity in Cincinnati by 22 percent, and has cut back further since, eliminating Cincinnati’s hub status and triggering significant layoffs and the relocation of companies to cities with more flights. As a consequence of all these dynamics, Cincinnati lost an average of 4,000 residents a year up until 2013, the first year in which the city experienced marginal growth.  According to U.S. Census estimates, as of 2013 Cincinnati had 297,517 residents, making it the third largest city in Ohio, and the 28th largest in the United States.  Today, approximately 49 percent of the city’s population is white, 45 percent black, 3 percent Hispanic or Latino, and 2 percent Asian.  Poverty is a major challenge. In 2012, over half (53 percent) of Cincinnati children lived in poverty, the second highest child poverty level in the country for major U.S. cities. 

Despite these challenges, many expect that the city’s modest growth will continue over the next several decades.  Community wealth building has played an important role in catalyzing new investment.  For example, two large healthcare institutions, UC Health and Mercy Health, have been leaders in supporting local and minority-owned businesses.  Moreover, Cincinnati’s largest anchors have also joined forces to create the Uptown Consortium, a nonprofit community development corporation focused on catalyzing human, social, economic, and physical improvements in Uptown Cincinnati.  To support the Consortium, the University of Cincinnati alone dedicated nearly $150 million out of its endowment (more than 15 percent of the total) to create a 4-percent interest loan fund that could provide low-interest financing to seven local community redevelopment corporations.  To date, the Consortium’s work has resulted in over $400 million in investment in the surrounding neighborhoods, which include Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, Clifton Heights, Fairview, University Heights, and Mt. Auburn.

Another recent innovative partnership aiming to improve Greater Cincinnati’s local economy is the Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative (CUCI).  Initiated as a partnership between Mondragón USA and the United Steelworkers (USW), CUCI brings together a range of national, state, and local organizations to help catalyze the development of union-worker cooperatives. 

Local government is also playing a key role.  For example, its Small Business Enterprise program targets at least 30 percent of its construction, 15 percent of its professional services, and 15 percent of its supplies/services contracts to local, small business enterprises.

An overview of these and other community wealth building efforts follows:

Anchor Institutions

Mercy Health

Comprising six hospitals and more than 80 network locations throughout Cincinnati, Mercy Health is a health provider that employs about 9,000 people and procures more than $300 million in goods and services a year. From spending just 3 percent with diverse suppliers prior to 2010, Mercy Health nearly doubled its 2011 spending target, procuring $23.4 from women and minority-owned businesses. Demonstrating its commitment to the community, it also runs two social service agencies that provide food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and health assistance to poor and uninsured families. Read more about Mercy Health...

Strive

In 2006 Greater Cincinnati leaders representing the education, nonprofit, community, civic, and philanthropic sectors formed the Strive Partnership to ensure that all children have a quality education “from cradle to career.”  The partnership has five specific goals—1) every child is prepared for school; 2) every child is supported inside and outside of school; 3) every child succeeds academically; 4) every child enrolls in some form of postsecondary education; and 5) every child graduates and enters a career—which it achieves by engaging executive and grassroots partners in Strive’s visio Read more about Strive...

The University of Cincinnati

As the largest employer in the region with 16,000 employees, expenditures of more than $1.1 billion a year, and an endowment of over $1 billion, the University of Cincinnati is the largest anchor organization in the city.  Since the early 2000s, it has allocated more than 10 percent of its endowment to local investments intended to stabilize and revitalize the city's Uptown District.  The University has experienced a nearly three-to-one leveraging on its endowment money through tax-debt, loans from banks and other sources. Read more about The University of Cincinnati...

UC Health

Comprising four hospitals and several outpatient facilities, UC Health (which was known as the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati until 2010) is a health system that employs about 10,000 workers and spends over $250 million a year on goods and services.  Since initiating its supplier diversity program in 2005, UC Health has awarded more than $150 million in contracts to minority and women-owned businesses.  To facilitate local business owners’ participation in procurement, it also holds weekly meetings to introduce diverse suppliers to its bidding processes. Read more about UC Health...

Uptown Consortium

Founded in the summer of 2003 by the leaders of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, TriHealth, Inc. and the University of Cincinnati, the Uptown Consortium illustrates an anchor-based approach to community wealth building. To date, the trustees of the University of Cincinnati alone have allocated $100 million from the university's $1 billion endowment to support the effort, helping to leverage over $400 million for community renovation work. Read more about Uptown Consortium...

Xavier University’s Community Building Institute (CBI)

Established in 1995 as a partnership between the United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Xavier University, The Community Building Institute helps communities to plan their own redevelopment by organizing residents and identifying the physical assets of their neighborhoods. Current projects include facilitating the development and management of community investment plans for the United Way’s new Place Matters Initiative, and working with Price Hill and the City of Cincinnati's Planning & Buildings Department to create a community-driven comprehensive plan for Price Hill's future. Read more about Xavier University’s Community Building Institute (CBI) ...

Community Development Corporations (CDCs)

Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC)

Established in 2003, 3CDC is a nonprofit focused on revitalizing Cincinnati’s downtown core. The CDC’s specific objectives include creating high density, mixed-use development and “great” civic spaces, preserving historic structures, improving streetscapes, and developing diverse, mixed-income neighborhoods supported by local business. 3CDC also operates two private development funds that have invested over $717 million in downtown Cincinnati and surrounding, distressed neighborhoods.   Read more about Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC)...

Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC)

Aiming to stabilize and revitalize the community, Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC) focuses on increasing homeownership, eliminating blight, and supporting business development. It adheres to energy-efficient and environmentally conscientious building practices and is credited with constructing the first two Silver LEED Certified single-family homes in Cincinnati. Read more about Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC)...

Over the Rhine Housing Network

Over-the-Rhine Community Housing focuses on developing and managing resident-centered, affordable housing in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. The nonprofit has developed over 300 units of affordable housing, saved 45 historical buildings from demolition, and currently manages approximately 200 units. Demonstrating its commitment to the community, the organization’s development work employs low-income community residents and purchases materials and supplies from local businesses.   Read more about Over the Rhine Housing Network...

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

Cincinnati Development Fund

The Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) is a nonprofit lending institution focused on financing the development of affordable housing and community revitalization projects in the Greater Cincinnati area. Since its establishment in 1988, CDF has made more than $250 million in loans, impacting more than $1 billion in economic development work and creating more than 3,500 housing units. Read more about Cincinnati Development Fund...

Community Land Trusts (CLTs)

Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati (CLCC)

Founded in 1981 by an ecumenical association to prevent the displacement of low-income, African-American residents from their neighborhood, the Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati (CLCC) was the first urban community land trust in the United States. In addition to helping community residents secure affordable housing, the organization works to empower families and enhance the community.  For example, CCLC supports a community garden and runs a summer camp for area children. Read more about Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati (CLCC) ...

Cooperatives (Co-ops)

MoBo Bicycle Cooperative

Founded in 2007, the MoBo Bicycle Cooperative is a nonprofit, volunteer-run cooperative dedicated to making cycling accessible and practical to everyone in the greater Cincinnati area. The co-op provides a central place for people to come to rescue bicycles and learn how to fix and maintain them. Members have access to the shop, tools, cleaners, and the knowledge of volunteer mechanics and can “adopt” donated bicycles, parts, and accessories at very modest prices. The co-op also advocates around bicycling, and organizes rides and other social events. Read more about MoBo Bicycle Cooperative...

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

Messer

Established in 1932 and converted to a 100 percent employee-owned company in the 1990s, Messer is a construction firm that employs nearly 750 builders working on commercial construction projects totaling more than $792 million in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. Demonstrating its commitment to the community, its Cincinnati office has contributed more than $3.7 million to local nonprofits since 2006 and works to include minority- and women-owned businesses in all of its projects. Read more about Messer...

Xtek

Founded in 1909, Xtek is an international company headquartered in Cincinnati that manufactures custom machined and heat-treated parts and component assemblies for heavy-duty industrial applications. It became 100 percent employee-owned in 2000 and now has about 460 employee-owners. Read more about Xtek...

Green Economy

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance

Aiming to promote and facilitate energy efficiency among homeowners, nonprofits and businesses, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is a nonprofit that provides education and training on energy efficiency, project management services, and financial assistance for efficiency projects. It is credited with providing nearly 3,000 reduced-price energy assessments, generating nearly $673,000 in energy savings each year, and creating hundreds of green jobs for Cincinnatians. Read more about Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance ...

Green Umbrella

Focused on maximizing the collective impact of Greater Cincinnati residents and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability, Green Umbrella is a nonprofit umbrella organization aiming to facilitate collaboration among over 200 area nonprofits, businesses, educational institutions and governmental entities interested in eco-focused issues. Read more about Green Umbrella...

Impact Investing

Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF)

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) is the first community foundation in the country to offer a portfolio of impact investment opportunities—i.e., investment opportunities intended to achieve both a financial and social or environmental return—to its donor advised fund holders. Aiming to increase its investments in the local community, provide a new way to engage existing donors, and attract new donors, GCF committed $10 million of its unrestricted endowment to impact investments and plans to co-invest with its fund holders in every deal. Read more about Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF)...

Individual Wealth Building

Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative, Inc. (GCMI)

Aiming to promote individual self-sufficiency and community economic development, the Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative (GCMI) is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit working to nurture entrepreneurship among low- and moderate-income individuals.  Key programs include entrepreneurial training, business classes, business coaching, and financial skills training.  GCMI also provides loans to low to moderate-income residents aiming to start or expand a business, and a matched savings program to help par Read more about Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative, Inc. (GCMI) ...

Lifespan's SmartMoney Financial Education and Counseling

Lifespan's SmartMoney Financial Education and Counseling aims to help underserved families in the Greater Cincinnati area achieve their financial goals and enhance the quality of life in the community.  Its programs include financial education, entrepreneurship training, and homeownership training. It also has a matched savings incentive (also known as an Individual Development Account) program, which provides participants with a 2:1 match for savings directed towards homeownership, entrepreneurship, or post-secondary education.  Read more about Lifespan's SmartMoney Financial Education and Counseling ...

Individual Wealth Preservation

Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity

Founded in 1986, Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity is a nonprofit that finances, develops, and manages affordable apartment housing with “renter equity,” a program through which renters earn up to $10,000 in financial equity—and thus build and preserve wealth—by participating in the management, routine maintenance, and governance of their communities and paying their rent on time.  Cornerstone also operates a community loan fund that attracts funds from socially conscious investors and makes loans to finance Cornerstone and other nonprofits’ housing development projects. Read more about Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity...

Working in Neighborhoods

Founded in 1978 to empower low and moderate residents of Greater Cincinnati, Working in Neighborhoods (WIN) promotes homeownership and community engagement. To boost homeownership, WIN builds and renovates homes for first-time homebuyers, an initiative credited with selling over 160 homes and increasing home values in targeted areas by as much as 25 percent. WIN also offers foreclosure prevention services, which have saved 1,131 homes representing over $99.7 million in assets from foreclosure. Read more about Working in Neighborhoods...

Local Food Systems

Findlay Market

Operating out of the same historic building since 1855, Findlay Market is a public market that serves as the primary source of fresh, local food in Cincinnati’s urban core.  With shoppers spending roughly $30 million at the market in 2011, it helps ensure dollars remain and recirculate within the community. Demonstrating its commitment to sustainability, the Market has intensive recycling, composting, energy consumption reduction, and planting initiatives. Read more about Findlay Market...

Municipal Enterprise

Cincinnati Southern Railway

Recognizing the need to transport natural resources of the South to the industrializing Midwest, Cincinnati developed a 337-mile railway to connect its City to Chattanooga, TN. Completed in 1880, the railway is still owned by the City of Cincinnati, making it the only municipality in the country to own an inter-state railroad. Today, Cincinnati leases the railway to the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP), an arrangement that has generated over $400 million in rent payments for the city since 1987. Read more about Cincinnati Southern Railway...

New State & Local Policies

Cincinnati’s Small Business Enterprise Program

Established in 1999, Cincinnati’s Small Business Enterprise program supports small businesses located within ­­­­­­­the Greater Cincinnati area. Read more about Cincinnati’s Small Business Enterprise Program...

Reclaiming the Commons

Imago for Earth

Founded to reconnect people to the natural world, Imago is a nonprofit focused on providing environmentally focused educational experiences and conserving natural areas. Since its establishment over 30 years ago, it has preserved 36 acres of urban forest, 16 of which are open to the general public for hiking and exploration.   Read more about Imago for Earth...

Social Enterprise

Building Value

Building Value salvages reusable building materials destined for the landfill and resells them to the public. Founded in 2004 by the nonprofit Easter Seals Tristate to create new job training opportunities for its disabled clients and generate additional revenues, the enterprise to date has completed over 100 deconstructions, salvaged more than 5,000 tons of reusable building materials, and provided on-the-job training in retail and construction to over 150 individuals. Read more about Building Value...

Green Recycling Works (GRW)

Launched in 2011, Green Recycling Works (GRW) is a social enterprise designed to provide transitional employment opportunities for graduates of City Gospel Mission’s resident drug treatment programs, generate revenues for the Mission, and improve Cincinnati’s physical environment. GRW generates revenues by contracting with companies that have recyclables they cannot handle and then by breaking down and packaging materials that cannot be resold. In addition to creating about 10 jobs, GRW diverts 200 tons of cardboard and 12 trailers of paper from area landfills each year. Read more about Green Recycling Works (GRW)...

Whole Home

Whole Home is a social enterprise that provides home modification services to aging Cincinnati residents so that they can remain safely in their homes. All enterprise revenues are funneled into its parent nonprofit, People Working Cooperatively (PWC), which provides home repair, weatherization, modification, and maintenance services to low-income elderly and disabled homeowners in the Greater Cincinnati area. Since its establishment in 1975, PWC has provided services to more than 250,000 people.   Read more about Whole Home...

State & Local Investments

Hamilton County Development Company

Hamilton County Development Company (HCDC) is a nonprofit that supports business growth and job creation in Greater Cincinnati through business incubation, business lending, and economic development programs. Since its inception in 1983, it has approved business loans of over $1 billion, creating over 10,000 new jobs. In 2013 alone, its business incubator housed 47 companies, employing 201 individuals, and graduated seven start-up companies. Moreover, its economic development programs invested $97.7 million in area companies, creating or retaining 1,435 jobs. Read more about Hamilton County Development Company...

Transit-Oriented Development

The Cincinnati Streetcar

To help spur denser, mixed-use development, enhance the city’s walkability, and decrease development costs by reducing the need for parking, the City of Cincinnati is in the process of developing a new streetcar system. The project’s first phase is a 3.6-mile loop through the urban core that is expected to be completed in 2016. Read more about The Cincinnati Streetcar...

Worker Cooperatives

Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative

Aiming to create jobs that are family supporting and to improve Greater Cincinnati’s local economy, the Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative (CUCI) focuses on catalyzing the development of Cincinnati-based worker-owned cooperatives. Read more about Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative...

Interfaith Business Builders

Interfaith Business Builders is a faith-based nonprofit aiming to develop, support, and promote employee-owned, cooperative businesses in Cincinnati’s low-income neighborhoods. In 1995, it launched its first enterprise, Cooperative Janitorial Services, which now has 15 worker-owners.  Most recently, it has been supporting the development of Community Blend, a fair-trade, co-op coffee shop. Read more about Interfaith Business Builders ...

Our Harvest

Our Harvest is the first union worker-owned cooperative catalyzed by the Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative (CUCI). The Co-op farms on multiple properties in Cincinnati and sells its produce through CSA programs and other markets. Our Harvest is committed to creating family-sustaining jobs, producing sustainably-grown produce, building a food hub to strengthen the local food system and increase access to healthy food, and sustaining these efforts by training new farmers. Read more about Our Harvest...

Social Enterprise

Building Value

Building Value salvages reusable building materials destined for the landfill and resells them to the public. Founded in 2004 by the nonprofit Easter Seals Tristate to create new job training opportunities for its disabled clients and generate additional revenues, the enterprise to date has completed over 100 deconstructions, salvaged more than 5,000 tons of reusable building materials, and provided on-the-job training in retail and construction to over 150 individuals. Read more about Building Value...

Green Recycling Works (GRW)

Launched in 2011, Green Recycling Works (GRW) is a social enterprise designed to provide transitional employment opportunities for graduates of City Gospel Mission’s resident drug treatment programs, generate revenues for the Mission, and improve Cincinnati’s physical environment. GRW generates revenues by contracting with companies that have recyclables they cannot handle and then by breaking down and packaging materials that cannot be resold. In addition to creating about 10 jobs, GRW diverts 200 tons of cardboard and 12 trailers of paper from area landfills each year. Read more about Green Recycling Works (GRW)...

Whole Home

Whole Home is a social enterprise that provides home modification services to aging Cincinnati residents so that they can remain safely in their homes. All enterprise revenues are funneled into its parent nonprofit, People Working Cooperatively (PWC), which provides home repair, weatherization, modification, and maintenance services to low-income elderly and disabled homeowners in the Greater Cincinnati area. Since its establishment in 1975, PWC has provided services to more than 250,000 people.   Read more about Whole Home...

Community Development Corporations (CDCs)

Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC)

Established in 2003, 3CDC is a nonprofit focused on revitalizing Cincinnati’s downtown core. The CDC’s specific objectives include creating high density, mixed-use development and “great” civic spaces, preserving historic structures, improving streetscapes, and developing diverse, mixed-income neighborhoods supported by local business. 3CDC also operates two private development funds that have invested over $717 million in downtown Cincinnati and surrounding, distressed neighborhoods.   Read more about Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC)...

Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC)

Aiming to stabilize and revitalize the community, Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC) focuses on increasing homeownership, eliminating blight, and supporting business development. It adheres to energy-efficient and environmentally conscientious building practices and is credited with constructing the first two Silver LEED Certified single-family homes in Cincinnati. Read more about Cincinnati Northside Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CNCURC)...

Over the Rhine Housing Network

Over-the-Rhine Community Housing focuses on developing and managing resident-centered, affordable housing in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. The nonprofit has developed over 300 units of affordable housing, saved 45 historical buildings from demolition, and currently manages approximately 200 units. Demonstrating its commitment to the community, the organization’s development work employs low-income community residents and purchases materials and supplies from local businesses.   Read more about Over the Rhine Housing Network...

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

Cincinnati Development Fund

The Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) is a nonprofit lending institution focused on financing the development of affordable housing and community revitalization projects in the Greater Cincinnati area. Since its establishment in 1988, CDF has made more than $250 million in loans, impacting more than $1 billion in economic development work and creating more than 3,500 housing units. Read more about Cincinnati Development Fund...

Municipal Enterprise

Cincinnati Southern Railway

Recognizing the need to transport natural resources of the South to the industrializing Midwest, Cincinnati developed a 337-mile railway to connect its City to Chattanooga, TN. Completed in 1880, the railway is still owned by the City of Cincinnati, making it the only municipality in the country to own an inter-state railroad. Today, Cincinnati leases the railway to the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP), an arrangement that has generated over $400 million in rent payments for the city since 1987. Read more about Cincinnati Southern Railway...

Worker Cooperatives

Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative

Aiming to create jobs that are family supporting and to improve Greater Cincinnati’s local economy, the Cincinnati Union Cooperative Initiative (CUCI) focuses on catalyzing the development of Cincinnati-based worker-owned cooperatives. Read more about Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative...

Interfaith Business Builders

Interfaith Business Builders is a faith-based nonprofit aiming to develop, support, and promote employee-owned, cooperative businesses in Cincinnati’s low-income neighborhoods. In 1995, it launched its first enterprise, Cooperative Janitorial Services, which now has 15 worker-owners.  Most recently, it has been supporting the development of Community Blend, a fair-trade, co-op coffee shop. Read more about Interfaith Business Builders ...

Our Harvest

Our Harvest is the first union worker-owned cooperative catalyzed by the Cincinnati Union Coop Initiative (CUCI). The Co-op farms on multiple properties in Cincinnati and sells its produce through CSA programs and other markets. Our Harvest is committed to creating family-sustaining jobs, producing sustainably-grown produce, building a food hub to strengthen the local food system and increase access to healthy food, and sustaining these efforts by training new farmers. Read more about Our Harvest...

New State & Local Policies

Cincinnati’s Small Business Enterprise Program

Established in 1999, Cincinnati’s Small Business Enterprise program supports small businesses located within ­­­­­­­the Greater Cincinnati area. Read more about Cincinnati’s Small Business Enterprise Program...

Community Land Trusts (CLTs)

Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati (CLCC)

Founded in 1981 by an ecumenical association to prevent the displacement of low-income, African-American residents from their neighborhood, the Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati (CLCC) was the first urban community land trust in the United States. In addition to helping community residents secure affordable housing, the organization works to empower families and enhance the community.  For example, CCLC supports a community garden and runs a summer camp for area children. Read more about Community Land Cooperative of Cincinnati (CLCC) ...

Individual Wealth Preservation

Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity

Founded in 1986, Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity is a nonprofit that finances, develops, and manages affordable apartment housing with “renter equity,” a program through which renters earn up to $10,000 in financial equity—and thus build and preserve wealth—by participating in the management, routine maintenance, and governance of their communities and paying their rent on time.  Cornerstone also operates a community loan fund that attracts funds from socially conscious investors and makes loans to finance Cornerstone and other nonprofits’ housing development projects. Read more about Cornerstone Corporation for Shared Equity...

Working in Neighborhoods

Founded in 1978 to empower low and moderate residents of Greater Cincinnati, Working in Neighborhoods (WIN) promotes homeownership and community engagement. To boost homeownership, WIN builds and renovates homes for first-time homebuyers, an initiative credited with selling over 160 homes and increasing home values in targeted areas by as much as 25 percent. WIN also offers foreclosure prevention services, which have saved 1,131 homes representing over $99.7 million in assets from foreclosure. Read more about Working in Neighborhoods...

Local Food Systems

Findlay Market

Operating out of the same historic building since 1855, Findlay Market is a public market that serves as the primary source of fresh, local food in Cincinnati’s urban core.  With shoppers spending roughly $30 million at the market in 2011, it helps ensure dollars remain and recirculate within the community. Demonstrating its commitment to sustainability, the Market has intensive recycling, composting, energy consumption reduction, and planting initiatives. Read more about Findlay Market...

Green Economy

Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance

Aiming to promote and facilitate energy efficiency among homeowners, nonprofits and businesses, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is a nonprofit that provides education and training on energy efficiency, project management services, and financial assistance for efficiency projects. It is credited with providing nearly 3,000 reduced-price energy assessments, generating nearly $673,000 in energy savings each year, and creating hundreds of green jobs for Cincinnatians. Read more about Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance ...

Green Umbrella

Focused on maximizing the collective impact of Greater Cincinnati residents and organizations dedicated to environmental sustainability, Green Umbrella is a nonprofit umbrella organization aiming to facilitate collaboration among over 200 area nonprofits, businesses, educational institutions and governmental entities interested in eco-focused issues. Read more about Green Umbrella...

Impact Investing

Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF)

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) is the first community foundation in the country to offer a portfolio of impact investment opportunities—i.e., investment opportunities intended to achieve both a financial and social or environmental return—to its donor advised fund holders. Aiming to increase its investments in the local community, provide a new way to engage existing donors, and attract new donors, GCF committed $10 million of its unrestricted endowment to impact investments and plans to co-invest with its fund holders in every deal. Read more about Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF)...

Individual Wealth Building

Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative, Inc. (GCMI)

Aiming to promote individual self-sufficiency and community economic development, the Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative (GCMI) is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit working to nurture entrepreneurship among low- and moderate-income individuals.  Key programs include entrepreneurial training, business classes, business coaching, and financial skills training.  GCMI also provides loans to low to moderate-income residents aiming to start or expand a business, and a matched savings program to help par Read more about Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative, Inc. (GCMI) ...

Lifespan's SmartMoney Financial Education and Counseling

Lifespan's SmartMoney Financial Education and Counseling aims to help underserved families in the Greater Cincinnati area achieve their financial goals and enhance the quality of life in the community.  Its programs include financial education, entrepreneurship training, and homeownership training. It also has a matched savings incentive (also known as an Individual Development Account) program, which provides participants with a 2:1 match for savings directed towards homeownership, entrepreneurship, or post-secondary education.  Read more about Lifespan's SmartMoney Financial Education and Counseling ...

State & Local Investments

Hamilton County Development Company

Hamilton County Development Company (HCDC) is a nonprofit that supports business growth and job creation in Greater Cincinnati through business incubation, business lending, and economic development programs. Since its inception in 1983, it has approved business loans of over $1 billion, creating over 10,000 new jobs. In 2013 alone, its business incubator housed 47 companies, employing 201 individuals, and graduated seven start-up companies. Moreover, its economic development programs invested $97.7 million in area companies, creating or retaining 1,435 jobs. Read more about Hamilton County Development Company...

Reclaiming the Commons

Imago for Earth

Founded to reconnect people to the natural world, Imago is a nonprofit focused on providing environmentally focused educational experiences and conserving natural areas. Since its establishment over 30 years ago, it has preserved 36 acres of urban forest, 16 of which are open to the general public for hiking and exploration.   Read more about Imago for Earth...

Anchor Institutions

Mercy Health

Comprising six hospitals and more than 80 network locations throughout Cincinnati, Mercy Health is a health provider that employs about 9,000 people and procures more than $300 million in goods and services a year. From spending just 3 percent with diverse suppliers prior to 2010, Mercy Health nearly doubled its 2011 spending target, procuring $23.4 from women and minority-owned businesses. Demonstrating its commitment to the community, it also runs two social service agencies that provide food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and health assistance to poor and uninsured families. Read more about Mercy Health...

Strive

In 2006 Greater Cincinnati leaders representing the education, nonprofit, community, civic, and philanthropic sectors formed the Strive Partnership to ensure that all children have a quality education “from cradle to career.”  The partnership has five specific goals—1) every child is prepared for school; 2) every child is supported inside and outside of school; 3) every child succeeds academically; 4) every child enrolls in some form of postsecondary education; and 5) every child graduates and enters a career—which it achieves by engaging executive and grassroots partners in Strive’s visio Read more about Strive...

The University of Cincinnati

As the largest employer in the region with 16,000 employees, expenditures of more than $1.1 billion a year, and an endowment of over $1 billion, the University of Cincinnati is the largest anchor organization in the city.  Since the early 2000s, it has allocated more than 10 percent of its endowment to local investments intended to stabilize and revitalize the city's Uptown District.  The University has experienced a nearly three-to-one leveraging on its endowment money through tax-debt, loans from banks and other sources. Read more about The University of Cincinnati...

UC Health

Comprising four hospitals and several outpatient facilities, UC Health (which was known as the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati until 2010) is a health system that employs about 10,000 workers and spends over $250 million a year on goods and services.  Since initiating its supplier diversity program in 2005, UC Health has awarded more than $150 million in contracts to minority and women-owned businesses.  To facilitate local business owners’ participation in procurement, it also holds weekly meetings to introduce diverse suppliers to its bidding processes. Read more about UC Health...

Uptown Consortium

Founded in the summer of 2003 by the leaders of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, TriHealth, Inc. and the University of Cincinnati, the Uptown Consortium illustrates an anchor-based approach to community wealth building. To date, the trustees of the University of Cincinnati alone have allocated $100 million from the university's $1 billion endowment to support the effort, helping to leverage over $400 million for community renovation work. Read more about Uptown Consortium...

Xavier University’s Community Building Institute (CBI)

Established in 1995 as a partnership between the United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Xavier University, The Community Building Institute helps communities to plan their own redevelopment by organizing residents and identifying the physical assets of their neighborhoods. Current projects include facilitating the development and management of community investment plans for the United Way’s new Place Matters Initiative, and working with Price Hill and the City of Cincinnati's Planning & Buildings Department to create a community-driven comprehensive plan for Price Hill's future. Read more about Xavier University’s Community Building Institute (CBI) ...

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

Messer

Established in 1932 and converted to a 100 percent employee-owned company in the 1990s, Messer is a construction firm that employs nearly 750 builders working on commercial construction projects totaling more than $792 million in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee. Demonstrating its commitment to the community, its Cincinnati office has contributed more than $3.7 million to local nonprofits since 2006 and works to include minority- and women-owned businesses in all of its projects. Read more about Messer...

Xtek

Founded in 1909, Xtek is an international company headquartered in Cincinnati that manufactures custom machined and heat-treated parts and component assemblies for heavy-duty industrial applications. It became 100 percent employee-owned in 2000 and now has about 460 employee-owners. Read more about Xtek...

Cooperatives (Co-ops)

MoBo Bicycle Cooperative

Founded in 2007, the MoBo Bicycle Cooperative is a nonprofit, volunteer-run cooperative dedicated to making cycling accessible and practical to everyone in the greater Cincinnati area. The co-op provides a central place for people to come to rescue bicycles and learn how to fix and maintain them. Members have access to the shop, tools, cleaners, and the knowledge of volunteer mechanics and can “adopt” donated bicycles, parts, and accessories at very modest prices. The co-op also advocates around bicycling, and organizes rides and other social events. Read more about MoBo Bicycle Cooperative...

Transit-Oriented Development

The Cincinnati Streetcar

To help spur denser, mixed-use development, enhance the city’s walkability, and decrease development costs by reducing the need for parking, the City of Cincinnati is in the process of developing a new streetcar system. The project’s first phase is a 3.6-mile loop through the urban core that is expected to be completed in 2016. Read more about The Cincinnati Streetcar...