Accelerate: Economic Development Strategy and Prosperity Plan for the I-69 Thumb Region

Accelerate is the culmination of a collaborative planning process for a seven-county area spearheaded by the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce and the Genesee Lapeer Shiawassee (GLS) Region V Planning & Development Commission, resulting in a coordinated Federal Economic Development Strategy and State Prosperity Plan. This document ties together the U.S. Economic Development Administration Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and the Region 6 Prosperity plans into a single, unified plan expressing a shared economic vision for Shiawassee, Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Tuscola, Huron, and Sanilac counties. Accelerate creates an economic roadmap for unified actions in the region leading to new jobs, international marketing opportunities, and investment. These actions will both strengthen and diversify the regional economy. The roadmap will also help guide the coordinated efforts by local communities across the seven counties in a manner that will positively impact the region as a whole

Assessing Community Needs: City of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio

At the core of issues in Lucas County and, in particular, the City of Toledo is poverty. While this does not necessarily provide an “Aha!” moment, current conditions that contribute to being economically disadvantaged in many areas of the city and county affect not only current residents but will also affect future residents—without meaningful and targeted interventions. It is beyond the scope of the Toledo Community Foundation, or any single institution for that matter, to unilaterally address the range of issues presented in this study. Remedying these issues must be accomplished through the coordination and leveraging of resources, including public, private, personal, and not-for-profit resources