Applications Now Open for New CDC Leadership Program in Cleveland

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation is happy to announce the launch of the Community Development Corporation Leadership Program (CDCLP), building on 14 years of success with the Neighborhood Leadership Development Program (NLDP). NLDP has graduated over 250 community leaders who actively contribute to Cleveland’s neighborhoods. The lessons learned by the Mandel Foundation in its leadership training programs throughout the world and in Cleveland inspired this effort to enhance the quality and capacity of leaders in the Community Development Corporation community.

CDCLP engages high-level CDC directors, board presidents, and other CDC leaders to help improve their leadership skills and professional capacity to improve the neighborhoods they serve through education, coaching, and experiential activities that involve critical issues facing CDCs and neighborhoods.

“The Mandel Foundation believes the quality of leadership is vital to the development of high-performing organizations,” said Jehuda Reinharz, President and CEO of the Jack Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. “We see great opportunities to build on our leadership training programs with CDCLP to help develop the next generation of high-quality CDC leaders.”

The first Cohort of CDCLP will launch in September 2021. Each Cohort will consist of 12 sessions over 10 months that will address issues and best practices that CDC leaders are facing. Participants will hear firsthand from experienced community development leaders and other professionals and be engaged to workshop ideas including leadership skill development, governing CDCs, and equitable community engagement. Additionally, participants will work with CDCLP coaches to ensure that what is being learned in their sessions is being applied in their everyday operations.

“A CDC leader plays a critical role in building a strong organization that effectively engages stakeholders in developing and achieving a unified vision for a neighborhood,” said Michael R. White, CDCLP Program Director. “CDCLP will help those on the frontlines of community development improve their leadership skills for the benefit of their CDC, the neighborhood, and the entire Cleveland community.”

CDCLP Program participants can also apply for a grant to help their CDC through their participation in CDCLP.

The mission of CDCLP is to strengthen the skills, enhance the knowledge, and elevate the professionalism and capacity of existing and future staff and board leaders of community development corporations in Cleveland. To learn more about the program, please visit the website at cdclp.org.