Welcome to Cleveland
To Council on Foundations’ 2014 Fall Conference for Community Foundations Participants:
On behalf of our green city on a blue lake, I welcome you to Cleveland! I am honored that the Council on Foundations selected our city as the location to celebrate 100 years of a movement that has changed the world.
The philanthropic sector in Cleveland has proven that it can be counted on to help address important challenges. As Cleveland addresses local and national issues, such as globalization and economic development and public education, we look to our civic partners to enable innovation and leverage the human and financial capital of our community to ensure that Cleveland is a place of opportunity and prosperity for all its residents.
To those of you who have never visited this great region, I enthusiastically invite you to experience all that we have to offer. We are confident you will be pleasantly surprised by the welcoming spirit you will find in all corners of Cleveland.
To our friends who have not visited Cleveland in some time, welcome back. We know you will be pleased to see how strong our city is as a global destination, but one that has maintained its mid-western charm.
Best wishes on a successful conference. And again, congratulations on achieving such a tremendous milestone together.
Sincerely,
Frank G. Jackson, Mayor
LeBron James chose Cleveland. The Republican National Committee chose Cleveland. The Gay Games chose Cleveland. You are choosing Cleveland. But first, Frederick Harris Goff chose Cleveland.
In 1914, Frederick Harris Goff launched the Cleveland Foundation, achieving his vision of a revolutionary philanthropic model and sparking the community foundation movement. This model for sustainable and democratic giving by the community, for the community ignited around the world. Today, some 1,750 community foundations exist in more than 50 countries. A century of impact has affirmed the ability of community foundations to evolve alongside their constituencies. In Cleveland, we can trace this evolution and see how a century of place-based giving has brought people together and enhanced the quality of life.
Welcome to Cleveland for the 2014 Fall Conference for Community Foundations. You are visiting at a remarkable time for our city – a renaissance driven by place-based philanthropy and the tireless efforts of public-private partnerships focused on achieving the greatest impact for future generations of Greater Clevelanders. In this birthplace of the community foundation movement, we will celebrate the centennial of our field and imagine the possibilities for the next 100 years.
Welcome to Cleveland. Welcome to your 100th birthday. We can’t wait to celebrate with you.
~ the Cleveland Foundation
