Newly announced Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative seeks to raise a quarter-of-a-billion dollars to address inequities and boost opportunity in Charlotte Mecklenburg
Mayor’s Racial Equity InitiativeCommitted to an equitable Charlotte, the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative seeksto set the standard as an American city for achieving racial equity, social justice, economic opportunity and upward mobility through transformational public-private partnerships.
Learn MoreLeading on Opportunity Announces the Launch of the North Mecklenburg Economic Mobility Collaborative
Uniting for Change in North Mecklenburg CountyCommunity leaders in Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville unite for transformative change.
Read MoreA Year of Igniting Change: 2019
Leading on OpportunityIn 2019, we set our sights on our North Star Goal with input from hundreds across Charlotte-Mecklenburg along the way. Learn about our work and community impact this year.
Read MoreMeeting Presents Opportunity to Galvanize Community for Lakeview
WSOC TV • Kevin Campbell - August 28, 2019“We need to lift up potential bright spots in neighborhoods like Lakeview,” Cooper-Lewter said. “If things are going to change, we have to have conversations and work.”
Read MoreCommunity Conversation: The American Dream vs. Charlotte Reality
WBTV • Dedrick Russell - July 26, 2019Featuring Leading on Opportunity Executive Director Stephanie Cooper-Lewter, Leading on Opportunity Council Member and County Manager Dena Diorio, and community organizations like Crisis Assistance Ministries, Central Piedmont Community College, the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Meck Pre-K, and Workforce Investment Network.
Read MoreGreenLight Fund Invests $1 Million in Early Childhood Initiative
Queen City Nerve • Ryan Pitkin - May 29, 2019“This investment connects directly to our early care and education strategies,” [Leading on Opportunity Executive Director] Cooper-Lewter continued. “It aligns and fills a gap where early care recommendations were not being addressed and says, ‘This is something that we can do differently as a community.’”
Read MoreAs Employment Rises, African American Transplants Ride Job Wave to the South
NPR • Daniella Cheslow - May 23, 2019Don Thomas is on the front lines of that change. In Chicago, he and his wife Monica worked with children in the juvenile justice system until funding for their jobs ended. In Charlotte, he is the community impact director at Leading on Opportunity, an organization devoted to improving economic mobility in the city.
Read MoreTaking the Lead: Leading on Opportunity Advances the Call for Economic Mobility
Foundation For The Carolinas • March 27, 2019Launched in 2017, the Leading on Opportunity Council is already reshaping the way the community looks at economic mobility, from improving access to preschool to increasing funds for affordable housing.
Read MoreHow Charlotte Has Changed After Two Years of Focus on Economic Mobility
Charlotte Business Journal • Erik Spanburg - March 27, 2019Affordable housing, economic mobility and more educational and training opportunities are all part of public-private efforts started two years ago with the release of a 73-page task force report. On Tuesday, CEOs, political leaders and nonprofit executives pledged to keep pushing for investments to improve the standard of living for people in need.
Read MoreBoosting Economic Mobility Could Take a Generation, Leaders Are Told
WFAE • David Boraks - March 26, 2019It's been two years since a task force of Charlotte leaders published the Leading on Opportunity report. It outlined 21 strategies to improve economic mobility after a national study ranked Charlotte last out of 50 cities. Hundreds of business and civic leaders gathered uptown Tuesday to review the effort so far.
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