CAAO, Commerce and Cops

I am pleased to report that my stint as consulting executive director at the Consortium of African American Organizations ended, effective November 30, 2012. It was a great position from which to gain a strong sense of the pulse of the community, particularly with respect to the improving environment for minority business. In fact, I am of the opinion that prospects for a leap forward in that arena are strong.

I believe this is true for a variety of reasons. In the first place, Cleveland is becoming a community that appreciates entrepreneurship and is developing the infrastructure to nurture and support small business growth. Second, Cleveland has a growing number of talented and educated African American businessmen and women who are staking claims throughout our regional economic ecosystem. I see in place of the attitude that black people don’t merit a place at the economic table continues to recede — albeit too slowly — a growing appreciation of the fact that the success of Northeast Ohio depends on significant contributions of all sectors in our community.

This emerging and encouraging environment is due to several factors, not least of which is our community’s generational shift. That too is a slow but unmistakable and thankfully inevitable progression, and it is impacting pretty much all sectors: public, private and nonprofit. As that poet philosopher of social change, James Brown put it so memorably, “Money won’t change you, but time will take you on.”

For my part I am looking at opportunities to hasten and support these trends. I will be writing more about the evidence I see that supports the conclusions I have advanced here. But for now, take heart that things are getting better.

Except perhaps in the Cleveland Police Department. Let us hope and pray that some of the more than half of the police officers who took part in that senselesspolice pursuit of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams but didn’t fire their weapons, will come forward across that thin blue line. They should recognize that silent complicity in the rogue behavior of their colleagues stains their whole profession.

Nonprofit Thursday Returns!

Today is a promising day in Cleveland’s nonprofit world. Regular readers in this space are familiar with how underperforming we find so many of the nonprofits whose principal mission is to serve the African American community. But even the local NAACP has at least bestirred itself to address one of the burning issues of the day — the election of the next Cuyahoga County prosecutor. They are sponsoring a debate among the five candidates next Tuesday, February 7 from 7-8:30PM at St. James A.M.E. Church, 8401 Cedar Ave.

The Society of Urban Professionals has for the last several years been one of the brightest lights on our local nonprofit scene. S.O.U.P. knows how to put on a party and how to have fun, but they also put together some top-notch lunches with speakers who address topics of special interests to African American professionals. Now the group is expanding its horizons with the establishment of the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, set to debut April 19-22 at the Shaker Square Cinema.

The festival will showcase local emerging talent as well as established artists in the world of independent filmmaking. GCUFF’s programming objective is to educate, entertain and highlight the African American experience via films and documentaries that represent the African American journey. They also hope to encourage area students to consider a career in the film industry.

GCUFF’s artistic director is Neal Hodges, a fixture on Cleveland’s arts scene via his work with Karamu and other organizations. Hodges told The Real Deal that Cleveland has given birth to or nurtured much outstanding talent in the movie industry, including Hallie Berry, Terrence Howard, Bill Cobbs, and Kym Whitley. He thinks their success and connections can help foster both GCUFF’s success as well as the development of new local talent.

The Festival is reaching out to film programs in the region’s institutions of higher learning in a call for films for this year’s inaugural event. Festival principals also hope to land one or two nationally known actors for the premiere.

In a prepared statement, co-founder and executive director Donna Dabbs said the Festival has been established itself as a as a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of African American and African Diaspora cinema as well as the education of media arts, said Donna Dabbs of SOUP. The organization's board will consist of community minded citizens and business leaders dedicated to the promotion and marketing of the Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival.

Alton Tinker, co-founder of both S.O.U.P. and the Festival, said in the Festival press release that "We are continuing to build our brand and promote our image in Cleveland and the film festival is one more way that SOUP can contribute to building and connecting our urban professionals in Greater Cleveland". Tinker serves as the director of funding and sponsorship for GCUFF.

For more information, contact Neal Hodges at 216-214-6383, email
Info@gcuff.net, or visit the Festival website at www.gcuff.net.

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The local chapter of the National Black MBA Association also has some positive initiatives going. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, it will host a webinar on "Sustainable Business 101: Re-Thinking How We Conduct Business in Tomorrow's Economy". Local attorney David E Nash, partner at McMahon DeGullis, an environmental law firm, will present.

To register, visit http://anymeeting.com; for more information contact program and events co-chairs Starlyn Priest or Tammy Monroe at programs.clevelandblackmbas@hotmail.com.

The chapter also is sponsoring an academic leadership and enrichment   program, Leaders of Tomorrow, to serve area high school students who demonstrate leadership potential. The program offers a special curriculum that focuses on mentoring, cultural exposure, experiential learning, and college preparation.

For more information contact Catrina Palmer at catrinapalmer1@gmail.com.

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One of the strongest and most positive area nonprofits in the black community is the Consortium of African American Organizations [CAAO].

CAAO is now looking for new leadership following the retirement of the one-of-a-kind Connie Atkins.  Resumes are currently being accepted until February 25 for a new Executive Director of the Consortium. Go to the website to see the job description - www.caao.net.

If you are passionate about CAAO's mission, energetic, and an excellent communicator (and able to raise money), this may be for you.

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Black History Month at the Maltz Museum

In recognition of Black History Month, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage has announced two special programs related to the Black Experience in America.

On Wednesday, February 8, Cleveland Public Theatre director Beth Wood and members of the cast of Antebellum will talk about and perform selected scenes from this provocative drama that unfolds against the backdrop of a southern plantation, a German concentration camp and the 1939 Atlanta premiere of Gone with the Wind; a play that resonates with the entwining realities of Nazi cruelty and Hollywood dreams. Program beings at 7pm; advance tickets available $10 ($8 Museum members) - call 216.593.0575 to purchase.

The Museum will be open on Presidents Day (Monday, February 20) 11am - 5pm. At 1pm there is a special program, free with Museum admission, featuring portrayals of Abraham Lincoln and four other U.S. Presidents of the past. The performers will tell the audience about their life and times, and be available for questions after the presentation. No reservations required.

Maltz Museum Executive Director Judi Feniger notes, "The core of our work at the Museum is outreach to people from all backgrounds, races, religions and cultures. As The Museum of Diversity and Tolerance, we're always looking for ways to share experiences and foster community collaboration and conversation." The Museum's most recent special exhibition was Hardship to Hope: African American Art from the Karamu Workshop, and for the fourth year it was open free to the public on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, welcoming nearly 1,200 visitors.

The Museum is located at 2929 Richmond Rd.  Beachwood, Ohio 44122
(216). Learn more: www.maltzmuseum.org, 216.593-0575.

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Nonprofit Directors and Trustees:

If you struggle to manage and retain your volunteers or if you are unsure of how best to use volunteer talent to help your organization grow, then Grassroots Networking Night: Tapping into Talent may be the event for you.

On Wednesday, February 8, 5:30 —7:30 pm, you can meet, greet, ask questions, make connections, and have some fun in a version of “speed dating” with invited presenters who will share tips from their successful real-world experiences building a movement around their organization’s mission.

Featured presenters are Joy Banish, Executive Director of Greater Cleveland Volunteers; Jeff Griffiths, Founder and Executive Director of HandsOn Northeast Ohio; and Ann Kent, Vice President, Services to Nonprofits at Business Volunteers Unlimited.

WHERE:  The Foundation Center-Cleveland 1422 Euclid Ave. Suite 1600, Cleveland, OH 44115

 REGISTER: http://bit.ly/w4sFuT or call 216-861-1933 x325.

COST:  Free.

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Nonprofit Thursday: Choking the Pipeline

The Consortium of African American Organizations announces the unveiling of its new website at www.caao.net. Take a look and let director Connie Atkins know what you think.

 

Choking the Pipeline

We take advantage of the fact that this month begins on a Thursday to inaugurate what may be a new tradition: using the first Thursday of the month to focus on a specific local community nonprofit or issue.

As a reminder, when we debuted Nonprofit Thursdays six weeks ago, we were acknowledging the critical role nonprofit organizations play in civic, business, social, and of course, religious life, most especially in Cleveland’s black community. We celebrated new executive leadership at three of the city’s principal black organizations: The Urban League, The United Black Fund, and the NAACP.

At the same time we alluded to the tendency of too many organizations in our community to marginalize themselves by recycling the same officers and board members. This unhealthy practice has retarded the development of new leadership and fresh ideas in the black community for at least forty years. 

In a healthy environment, board members and executive directors alike would constantly look to recruit and develop new participants and supporters. 

There is an enormous reservoir of talent in our community waiting to be tapped:

   • The young neighbor who organizes the bake sale to raise funds for her child’s elementary school can use the same talents to benefit a neighborhood center or advocacy group. 

   • That co-worker skilled in organizing workplace functions who consistently demonstrate a knack for great ideas for entertaining, fundraising, or recruiting. 

   • The new attorney/insurance agent/ accountant/ corporate executive/ returning veteran in your neighborhood who could contribute mightily to your organization while simultaneously expanding their own personal network.

There is a natural progression of responsibility in both the workplace and the civic arenas. New recruits start at the bottom, have a chance to make mistakes and learn from them, to demonstrate energy, industry, initiative, team spirit. They move from neophyte to assistant to associate to primary to chief as they demonstrate mastery and reliability and readiness. Before long the best and brightest are ready for  leadership roles in our churches, social agencies. Some may emerge as potential candidates for public office.

At the dawn of a new era in the sixties, when the possibility arose that a black person might become mayor of Cleveland, Carl Stokes was ready. He had demonstrated the skills and commitment necessary for the job. He was 36 when he ran the first time. 

Contrast that era to 2001 when another young lawyer, a native son with national credentials, tossed his hat in the mayoral ring. It took his uncommon tenacity and the eventual endorsement of his Congresswoman to overcome the inbred and closed structure of our community and make Ray Pierce a viable candidate against the wishes of an aggregation of cautious and timid gatekeepers.

It is not so much caution and timidity that causes so many of our organizations to turn their collective backs on welcoming and developing our young people into future leaders. It is unfortunately something worse than that: a misplaced sense of entitlement, a desire to hold on to some puny or imagined piece of power or prestige.

When insiders hang on too long they cease being community assets and become community clogs. They choke off the natural paths our youth to stretch and grow.

When young people don’t see opportunity or a welcome hand, they are likely either to disengage or depart. Most of us have seen our children leave Cleveland for places of greater opportunity.

Where are the opportunity structures in Cleveland when what should be our premier and even second-tier organizations have the same board members in place for decades?

One of the worst offenders in this regard is the Cleveland branch NAACP. The president has been there twenty years. Several members of the executive committee have been there twice that long.

In our first paragraph we said we would spotlight a community nonprofit. As it happens this time the spotlight reveals mold.

But we end by making this plea: resolve to join the NAACP in 2012. If we can reclaim the most sclerotic organization in our community from its politburo, there’s no limit to what we can do.

Occupy NAACP in 2012!