Cleveland officials are taking steps to close the racial wealth gap within the city.
A planning grant from the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund will help lay the groundwork to make that possible.
Cleveland joins seven other cities in the latest . The program, created eight years ago, assists cities in engaging community members about financial hardships facing minority groups.
鈥淭his is not just a Cleveland issue or a Northeast Ohio problem; this is across our country, we鈥檙e seeing a number of folks, especially in our communities of color, having this gap in wealth,鈥� said Cleveland鈥檚 Neighborhood Investment Coordinator Aaron Kinney.
According to a , about 6% of Cleveland鈥檚 population, which is majority non-white, are without a safe and affordable checking and savings account; on par with the national average.
鈥淭his is a resource to try to help decrease the racial wealth gap in the city of Cleveland and the surrounding areas,鈥� Kinney said.
The city hopes to use some of the $75,000 grant to hire consultants to identify problems and propose solutions in a report due by the end of the year.
Kinney said housing will be a major focus.
鈥淎 true need in our minority communities is home ownership and beginning to create that wealth,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to start creating homeowners here in the city of Cleveland with families that care about the communities in which they live.鈥�
The city will work with community groups to host roundtables, where residents can share 鈥渉urdles and pain points鈥� when it comes to financial wellbeing.
Potential solutions include the creation of a financial empowerment center that could offer free one-on-one financial counseling to residents.
Cleveland鈥檚 CityStart program continues an already-existing relationship with CFE. The pair previously collaborated on the city鈥檚 campaign, which works to ensure access to affordable banking.
