Ohio CDC Association to Provide $500,000 in Grant Funding for Three Ohio Nonprofits
COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio CDC Association (OCDCA) today announced three Ohio nonprofits - CleveLawn, Co-Op Dayton, and Community Development For All People (CD4AP) - will be awarded $500,000 in state funding through The Main Street Job Recovery Program for job creation efforts to benefit local communities.
“We look forward to seeing how these three organizations will grow and create long-lasting change through the Main Street Job Recovery Program. The projects this funding covers all create or strengthen jobs for Ohioans, while meeting community needs like food security and blight remediation. We are grateful to have this program included in last year’s state budget, and we remain hopeful that further support from state legislature will allow this program to grow in the coming years,” said Nate Coffman, executive director of the Ohio CDC Association.
This year, three Ohio nonprofits were selected to receive funding through The Main Street Job Recovery program. Awarded funds will be distributed among the following project areas:
CleveLawn – Based in Cleveland, CleveLawn will receive $200,000 to grow their operations. CleveLawn specializes in training returning citizens in full property maintenance, ground maintenance, small scale residential and commercial renovations, and equipment maintenance and repairs.
Community Development for All People – Based in Columbus, CD4AP will receive $100,000 to create the South End Café. The Café is designed to provide good paying jobs for low-income individuals who are returning citizens or who have been out of the workforce for an extended period of time.
Co-Op Dayton - To scale their proven model cooperative technical assistance, Co-Op Dayton will receive $200,000 to launch or expand four co-ops that meet needs in their community while creating permanent jobs in the process. These co-ops include: Gem City Market, TRIBE Doula Collective, Sustainergy, and the Black Farmer Composting Project.
Grants were awarded by Ohio CDC Association through the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) to support pressing community economic development needs such as, but not limited to, blight remediation, vacant properties, stable housing, food apartheid, and the reentry population, while creating jobs. The organizations have two years to implement the projects. “Real change starts with local individuals whose boots are on the ground every day...they are the ones that know the needs of their neighborhood best,” said Nate Coffman, “this is the opportunity to give them the resources they need to invest in their own people and their own community.”
About the Program
The Main Street Job Recovery Program created employment opportunities, support small businesses and startups, and increase self-sufficiency among Ohioans—particularly those with low- to moderate-incomes (LMI) – while working to strengthen and restore the community. The initiative built and augmented the federal government’s existing Community Economic Development (CED) grant program and addressed the economic needs of residents through the creation of permanent businesses and job opportunities. The state program supported community efforts that drive catalytic investment that is needed most on Ohio’s Main Streets.
