Leaders launch economic plan

Mayors from Youngstown, Cleveland and Akron support the plan.
AKRON -- More than 250 community leaders from 16 Ohio counties joined together to launch a new economic action plan for the region.
Advance Northeast Ohio is focused on growing businesses, improving education, increasing opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged and making government more efficient.
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic were among those on hand to support the plan at an event Friday in Akron.
Advance Northeast Ohio follows more than two years of work by the Cleveland-based Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration of foundations, organizations and individuals.
"The announcement of our region's economic action plan marks the beginning of an exciting era of regional collaboration in Northeast Ohio," said Rob Briggs, chairman of the Fund for Our Economic Future.
Advance Northeast Ohio grew out of the fund's Voices & amp; Choices initiative, which brought together more than 20,000 people to establish the region's economic development priorities.
Those insights were joined with insight from the Federal Reserve Bank and other leading economists and leaders from business, labor, government, education and community groups.
Partners
More than 50 business development organizations, chambers of commerce, governments, universities and civic institutions are partners in Advance Northeast Ohio.
As a partner, the organizations endorse the plan's action areas and are committed to collaborating to implement at least one of its regional economic development initiatives.
The fund will convene the partners, encourage broader regional collaborations and measure progress being made on the plan. Regular updates on the plan will be available at www.advancenortheastohio.org.
Also, the fund announced that it has pledged up to 1 million to start the Minority Business Accelerator. This program will help minority business owners develop the skills and attract the capital needed to grow, and it will work with majority-owned companies to expand business opportunities.