Cleveland Foundation CEO on Being Mindful of Gentrification While Bringing Economic Development

Ronn Richard, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation, says the fund’s switch to focus on economic development has brought a renaissance to the Ohio city.

“The better we do in economic development, the less funds we have to spend in social services and many other areas,” he said at a recent visit to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

He says the foundation is working to bring back neighborhoods close to downtown that have great promise, but the aim is to do so without pushing the current residents out.

The organization has tried to stay current by picking investments such as wind turbines in Lake Erie.

“We’ve been funding a lot of really cutting edge, risky, but so far successful programs.”