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Housing Rehab Initiative Takes $25,000 Prize

Stock photo of foreclosure in Slavic Village area (pic by Brian Bull)
Stock photo of foreclosure in Slavic Village area (pic by Brian Bull)

Slavic Village Development beat out two other organizations with its Neighbors Invest In Broadway program. It involves the purchase of old, abandoned homes and selling them at reduced cost to those who agree to fix them back up to code.

From a press release:

"“We are honored and excited to have won the Leadership in Community Innovation Award, our neighbors truly are investing in our community said Marie Kittredge, executive director of Slavic Village Development. “These funds will enable us to rehab more abandoned houses with the hiring of an intern, and to provide small matching grants to home buyers to do a little extra beautifying the outside their homes. Thank you to Enterprise and KeyBank for making this possible.”

Meanwhile, Enterprise also announced the winner of its $10,000 Nurture An Idea Award. The Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation took the prize for its retail development initiative where used shipping containers are converted into small stores, converting parking lots into unique public spaces.

Additionally, Historic Warehouse District Development Corporation raised $19,000 in the Crowdrise Challenge online fundraising competition. This earned them an $10,000 award from Ohio Savings Bank. In total, participants raised over $48,000 for their initiatives through the Crowdrise Challenge.

Other contenders for the Leadership in Community Innovation Award were Urban Grazing, a joint program between St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and Stockyard, Clark-Fulton & Brooklyn Centre Community Development. The idea is to use the animals’ natural grazing talents to prevent overgrowth in vacant lots. Besides being cheaper than professional landscaping services, Urban Grazing also aims to generate revenue from milk, fertilizer, and wool.

And the other contender was the Hispanic Business Center’s Small Business Fundamentals program provides training, business coaching, and specialized curriculum for getting small business owners the tools they need to launch their enterprise and maintain a successful model.

The Community Innovation Awards are organized by Enterprise Community Partners Incorporated. Their mission is to build opportunity and develop partnerships nationally to boost business, create homes, and recognize organizations or individuals who help carry out their goals. Its sponsors are KeyCorp and Ohio Savings Bank.

Article by ideastream's Brian Bull.