Cincinnati Works is honored to receive a Bank of America Neighborhood Builder award, a significant investment in the sustainability of our programs and the leadership of our organization. The award includes:
- $200,000 in flexible funding over the next two years, to ensure our staff has the skills and support to meet the ever-evolving needs of our Members
- a year of leadership training for Peggy Zink, President & CEO of Cincinnati Works, and Rayshun Holt, Program Director for Beacon of Hope
- a network of peer organizations across the U.S.
- and the opportunity to access capital to expand our impact.
Cincinnati Works is one of only two organizations locally and 100 across the country to be recognized as 2021 Neighborhood Builders, a highly competitive grant that is one of the nation’s largest philanthropic investments in non-profit leadership development.
The funding and leadership development will touch all programs and services at Cincinnati Works, with a particular boost to Beacon of Hope, a unique initiative that encourages fair-chance hiring by supporting job-seekers with criminal records and the employers who hire them. Nehemiah Manufacturing Co. launched Beacon of Hope in 2015 and Cincinnati Works assumed operations in 2019. Holt was a fair-chance hire at Nehemiah who rose to a management position, then became Program Director for Beacon of Hope in January 2021.
Since 2004, Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program has invested more than $240 million in 50 communities across the U.S., partnered with more than 1,000 nonprofits, and helped more than 2,000 non-profit leaders strengthen their leadership skills. Bank of America added a smaller Neighborhood Champions program in 2019 that has supported non-profits in another 40+ communities.
