The City Club of Cleveland Podcast Various

Last month, billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott announced she was gifting $640 million to 361 small nonprofits out of 6,000 that responded to an open call for applications. It was another round of jaw-dropping and transformative gifts that Scott pledged to dole out \"until the safe is empty\" following her divorce from Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos.\r\n\r\nOn the receiving end are four Cleveland nonprofit organizations--providing a catalyst for high-impact equitable community change right here in our neighborhoods. Each of these organizations shares a mission that aligns with Scott\'s goal to \"advance the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.\"\r\n\r\nBirthing Beautiful Communities, the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, and Towards Employment each received $2 million in gifts; and Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp. received $1 million of the latest round of Scott\'s donations.

Richey Piiparinen is a son of Cleveland and one of the city\'s leading researchers on urban poverty and community development. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, NPR\'s Morning Edition, CBS Evening News, and more. His first book, Rust Belt Chic: A Cleveland Anthology assembled an authentic snapshot of a post-industrial Cleveland. Over the years, Piiparinen has built a reputation on his keen ability to recount why Rust Belt cities like Cleveland have struggled to thrive, all while revealing the promise of what is possible.\r\n\r\nThen in January 2021, Piiparinen would come face-to-face with a glioblastoma diagnosis, an aggressive form of brain cancer. What came next was Octopus Hunting, a collection of fourteen essays on the history and economics of Cleveland. But it is also part memoir of Piiparinen\'s wisdom in the face of life and death, while living in a city in its very own throes of revival. Piiparinen\'s personal experiences deepen the economic discussion, forcing us never to forget that when we are talking about the rise and fall of cities, we are really talking about the people who live in them.

2024 Law Day with Former US Attorney Barbara McQuade\r\nIn democracies, the people rule. For nearly 250 years, Americans have expressed their political views and wishes by speaking their minds and voting in elections. Yet, the information we consume, and a well-informed public is crucial to the health of our democracy. These days, it seems like voters are more polarized than ever before and cannot come to a consensus on much of anything.\r\n\r\nIn Attack from Within, legal scholar and analyst Barbara McQuade argues that American society is strategically being pushed apart by disinformation-the deliberate spreading of lies disguised as truth. Advances in technology including rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence threaten to make the problems even worse by amplifying false claims and manufacturing credibility. McQuade shows us how to identify the ways disinformation is seeping into all facets of our society, and how we can fight against it.

According to the Eight Point Plan for Housing Justice in Cuyahoga County, those with criminal records are ten times more likely to experience homelessness, and those who are homeless are more likely to be arrested--beginning a vicious cycle for those with a record. These individuals face collateral sanctions (both state laws and administrative rules) that can limit a person\'s ability to find employment, housing, and more. In fact, the same Eight Point Plan cited that 78% of affordable rentals in the County had long-term bans on those convicted of even minor offenses. With housing prices escalating, more than 20,000 people exiting incarceration in Cuyahoga County every year do not have access to a basic need that is vital for successful reintegration.\r\n\r\nYusuf Dahl has been on both sides of the struggle to strengthen America's most vulnerable neighborhoods. As a teenager, he operated a network of drug houses before being sentenced to prison for 10 1/2 years. After his imprisonment, during the depths of the financial crisis, he became an unlikely real estate investor and affordable housing advocate. From a single two-family house in one of Milwaukee's poorest zip codes, Yusuf built a portfolio of over two hundred residential and commercial units and founded an award-winning property management company.\r\n\r\nYusuf is a former president of Wisconsin's largest apartment owners trade association and is leading the national effort to repeal the Thurmond Amendment - legislation that imposes a lifetime denial of fair housing protections to persons with a drug distribution conviction. He holds an MPA from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.\r\n\r\nJoin us at the City Club as we hear from Yusuf Dahl on how to break down barriers and empower those seeking to rebuild their lives.

Jeremy Johnson is President and CEO of Assembly for the Arts, the umbrella organization that advocates for, and unites, Greater Cleveland's complex creative sector. A mix of diverse nonprofits, individual artists, and creative businesses comprise the region's arts and culture industry. In the coming months, the Assembly will endeavor to motivate Cuyahoga County voters to, once again, pass a tobacco levy in support of arts and culture nonprofits.\r\n\r\nJoin us at the City Club as Rhonda K. Brown, the City of Cleveland's Senior Strategist for Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy, will lead a discussion with Johnson about the opportunities and challenges for Greater Cleveland's future economic and cultural growth.

On Saturday, April 13th, the Cleveland Foundation's African American Philanthropy Committee's (AAPC) biennial summit will discuss philanthropy and the Black family; as well as how the ability to access resources essential to one's life and well-being means increased economic stability. This access includes employment, income, financial support, financial services - and of course - philanthropy. But what factors are involved in building intergenerational wealth and stability through community partnerships with financial institutions and businesses? And what role does philanthropy play on the path to prosperity?\r\n\r\nAhead of the weekend\'s Summit, join AAPC member Jeff Johnson as he leads a conversation with bank executives and entrepreneurs about striving for economic stability in Black families through banking, credit, and entrepreneurship.