Elevate Greater Akron

Thanks to the Greater Akron Chamber for hosting their 118th annual meeting - a wonderful evening recognizing our community's progress over the past 5 years. Over 850 attendees celebrated the power of collaboration, the refreshed Elevate Greater Akron priorities, two retiring Elevate leaders from Development Finance Authority of Summit County and Akron Community Foundation, our region's greatest assets, and so much more. Flashback to 2018, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, City of Akron, Ohio, GAR Foundation, and Greater Akron Chamber came together to lead differently and LEAD BIG. Elevate was born! Fast forward to this week's event, we are still standing together, reflecting on our collective wins, such as: ?? Creation of the Polymer Industry Cluster and attraction of over $100M in investment ?? Launch of the Greater Akron Business Navigator, the Economic Case for Inclusion report, and other resources for our community ?? Deployment of over $14M in Covid Small Business Grants ?? Conducting over 1,376 *coordinated* visits to retain and grow our local businesses Cheers to our progress and onward to the work ahead!

?? Connect. Convene. Collaborate SPARK Akron, the entrepreneurship strategy of the Elevate Greater Akron regional economic development initiative, is hosting a mixer at Bounce Innovation Hub on Wednesday, March 26 at 5:30 PM. For entrepreneurs looking to scale their business, this event offers an opportunity to foster relationships that will build community and drive success! Register for the event for FREE here: https://lnkd.in/gPk4Xk_G

Elevate Greater Akron is the “table” where economic development stakeholders unite to strengthen the region and create an inclusive economy in Greater Akron. Since GAR helped to found Elevate in 2018, we’ve prioritized collaborative action over isolated efforts. By supporting a shared vision, clear sightlines to each other’s work, data sharing, and collective accountability, Elevate embodies the intersection of economic development work and collaboration. Learn more about Elevate and their updated strategic framework centered on four shared priorities in our 2024 Impact Report ?? https://lnkd.in/gFWTHH_v Greater Akron Chamber Steve Millard

Elevate Greater Akron partners were out in full force at last week's Team NEO ED Now Conference. It was a great day to spotlight collaborative and data-driven economic development. Some of what we heard at the event... ?? Collaboration works! Successful economic development today is about multi-sector, multi-partner networks working toward common agendas. ?? Measurement helps us align our work, track progress, and fuel decision-making. We are already using the relaunched Vibrant Economic Indicator, which encompasses 600 indicators across key pillars like talent, equity, innovation, resilience, competitiveness, and prosperity. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ejDKSemZ

ICYMI - GAR Foundation released their 2024 Impact Report this week! A big thank you for highlighting the work of Elevate Greater Akron along many other incredible community efforts. The report's theme - ?? intersections ??- is a reminder of the power of collaboration. "Intersections occur when different ideas and strategies converge to create something more powerful than the sum of their parts...When we focus on what brings us together, rather than what divides us, we unlock new opportunities for progress."

TOMORROW! We will see you downtown for the Lunar New Year Celebration! ?? ??

After a rigorous and thorough search, the Team NEO Board of Directors is proud to announce Matt Dolan as our new CEO, effective today, February 4, 2025. A lifelong advocate for Northeast Ohio, Matt is an accomplished attorney, successful businessman, and dedicated public servant. He served in both the Ohio House and Senate, where, as Finance Committee Chair in both chambers, he oversaw billions in state budgets and played a key role in creating the economic development tools that JobsOhio and Team NEO use today to attract new businesses, support existing companies, and drive job creation. Under Matt’s leadership, Team NEO will build on the strong foundation laid by Bill Koehler, who has guided the organization through nearly a decade of transformative progress. With Matt’s collaborative leadership, deep relationships with business leaders and policymakers, and strategic vision, we are confident that Team NEO will continue to accelerate growth and create a more competitive and prosperous economy for the 14-county Northeast Ohio region. Please join us in welcoming Matt Dolan as he steps into this vital leadership role! Read more here: https://bit.ly/3CJn968 #TeamNEO #Leadership #EconomicDevelopment #NortheastOhioRegion #NEOhio #EconDev #vibranteconomy #economicvibrancy #VEI

?? More *good* news for Greater Akron! ?? Today the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded our community a $3 million Good Jobs Challenge grant. Matched by $3.4 million in local resources, this award will strengthen the polymer industry’s workforce pipeline through in-demand skills training and placement in jobs with good wages, strong job security, opportunities for advancement, and ultimately, pathways to financial stability. As 1?? of just 8?? awardees across the nation, this is an exciting moment to build on the work of EGA partners, including the Polymer Sector Partnership through ConxusNEO, the workforce initiatives team at the Greater Akron Chamber, and the Polymer Industry Cluster. The funded initiative will create accessible career pathways in the polymer sector, specifically targeted for underrepresented populations in Portage, Stark, Summit, and Wayne counties. Elevate Greater Akron prioritizes strengthening and diversifying the polymer industry supplier network and talent pipeline and increasing workforce training for careers in in-demand industries with an intentional focus on tailoring opportunities and outreach to Black residents. This initiative is an important step toward collaboratively executing these strategies! A?big congratulations to the Greater Akron Chamber, ConxusNEO, Fund for Our Economic Future, New Growth Group, Manufacturing Works, MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, Stark State College, and Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Inc., and so many others who moved this from strategy ?? proposal ?? initiative! Now the work begins!

Congratulations to Elevate's public, private, and philanthropic partners on yesterday's thrilling announcement - Our community is coming together to support a new Downtown Development Corporation! This capacity will: ?? Increase residential development downtown ??? Help develop a convention center hotel ?? Create more retail density in our city center A strong downtown = a strong region! ??

Downtown Akron Partnership (DAP) is proud to share that we have been awarded a $1.25 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to be used over three years for the continuation of excellent programming in public space. DAP President and CEO Kimberly Beckett says, “This grant will allow DAP to continue to build upon our successes in creating inclusive public space programming, attracting new audiences to downtown and spurring economic activity. Creating a welcoming, exciting environment downtown through creative placemaking and programming continues to support the Strong Downtown, Strong Region strategy of Elevate Greater Akron. A dynamic downtown attracts businesses, visitors and residents, fostering a district that supports economic growth across the city and county.” Find out more: https://lnkd.in/gksyi9hc We thank Knight Foundation for their continued support of our community! Photos: Clockwise from top: 2024 Downtown Akron Sakura Festival, photo by Ramahn Wilder, NIHF STEM Middle School Plaza, photo by Tim Fitzwater, 2024 Downtown Akron Lunar New Year Celebration, photo by Richard Walter, 2024 Akron Latin Festival, photo by Talia Hodge #downtownAkron #akronOhio #akron #publicprogramming #publicspace