Building Stability and Opportunity Together
This blueprint describes our commitment to serving Cleveland residents. It lays out the actions we will take to help residents build a strong financial future.
Delivering on Our Commitment to Residents
For this project, we looked at historical trends and economic data but also residents’ lived experiences. We hosted focus groups and pop-up interviews with 137 community members to better assess how Cleveland residents feel about their capacity to build wealth. Overwhelmingly, we heard that wages have not kept up with the ever-growing costs of childcare, transportation, education, and, especially, housing.
The outcomes of this blueprint therefore focus on ways to better connect residents to the existing financial safety net and to maximize opportunities for economic mobility from a variety of starting points, while centering the needs of our most vulnerable and historically excluded residents.
| Availability | To Learn More | |
| Launch the Office of Financial Empowerment to increase access to resources | Available Now | Visit the Office of Financial Empowerment or call 216-664-7289. |
| Map and assess financial empowerment resources and promote programs through a variety of engagement and media | Resources are available, promotion plans are in motion | Visit our Resource Directory |
| Grow the work of the Bank On CLE Coalition to improve banking access for residents | Ongoing | Visit bankoncle.org or contact ebjork@clevelandohio.gov to discuss partnership opportunities. |
| Measure housing costs and financial wellbeing to track Clevelanders’ financial health over time and by neighborhood | Financial Empowerment dashboard coming Fall 2026 | Visit the Urban Institute Financial Mobility Scorecard for Cleveland. |
| Deploy Community Engagement Specialists to better support low-income homeowners in protecting their investment through foreclosure prevention, home repair funding, and estate planning | Spring 2026 | For more information on connecting with the community engagement team, call 216-664-4000. |
| Promote all aspects of the homeownership journey, from mortgage readiness to post-purchase counseling | Summer 2026 | Connect with HUD-certified housing counselors, visit our resource directory. |
| Leverage the Cleveland 2030 Housing Equity Plan to promote innovative housing policies, including community land trust and zoning reform | Ongoing | Learn more and join conversations about the Housing Equity Plan, please reach out to jparton@clevelandohio.gov. |
| Outcome | Learn More |
| Seek additional support for Greater Cleveland Works’ Barrier Removal Fund, which pays start-up costs to help residents begin better-quality jobs | To learn more about the barrier removal fund, visit Built Environment Collaborative | Greater Cleveland Works |
| Promote saving and estate planning to help families build wealth across generations | To learn more about estate planning, click here to download materials from the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland They may be able to assist clients who meet income eligibility criteria |
| Engage with Greater Cleveland Works to create strategies for supporting talent attraction and retention through best practices that create high-quality employment experiences | To learn more about Employers Solutions, please contact Ian Marks, Manager of Employer Solutions, ian.marks@jfs.ohio.gov |
| Layer home repair funding into development projects to increase neighborhood stability | This is an ongoing priority for the Department of Community Development |
| Improve home repair programs so that residents can access them efficiently and equitably | We are currently revamping the home repair grant process and will provide an update later in 2026. |
| Create incentives for banks that encourage flexible underwriting, more home repair loans, smaller mortgages, and other products tailored to the capital needs of Cleveland residents | In coordination with Cuyahoga County and other cities within it, we are beginning conversations with financial institutions. |
| Create a directory of safe banking products that build credit, support home repair projects, provide down payment assistance and finance innovative housing, including age-in-place improvements | This project will be available in the Winter of 2026-2027. |
| Develop and hire a bank policy position to create safer financial products and fairer lending practices, particularly in historically redlined neighborhoods | Please reach out to ebjork@clevelandohio.gov to learn more. |