Leadership development changes people. Those people change Cleveland.
CLC’s mission is advancing a community of leaders to build a Greater Cleveland. CLC programs differ in length, audience, and format, but they are all designed to achieve that mission across the same four outcomes:
Since 2012, CLC has evaluated its programs against these outcomes in two phases. Phase one asks what changes in a participant during a program. Phase two asks how those participants lead and what they do in the years following. Together they trace a full arc, from what learning and growth happens in a program to what happens in Cleveland because of it.
Phase one: How programs change people
Each outcome is evaluated through a retrospective pre-test at the close of every program. Participants rate themselves on where they stand now, and where they stood before they began. The charts within each accordion below indicate the percentage of participants (across the 2026 program year cohorts) who agreed or strongly agreed with the specified outcome-related indicators before the program and after the program.
- Civic Understanding
Percentage of participants across all programs who report understanding the civic landscape and are able to use their knowledge to build a better Cleveland.
“I feel more informed about what’s going on in the city and especially in neighborhoods that I’m not super present in. It made me want to engage more beyond my own neighborhood!”
Cleveland Bridge Builders 2026 graduate - Relationship Building
Percentage of participants across all programs who report building meaningful relationships and regularly engaging with people from a variety of backgrounds.
“I learned how much relationships matter. It’s clear that regardless of the profession, including government, relationships can be a key driver of progress.”
Civic Leadership Institute 2026 graduate - Collaborative Leadership
Percentage of participants across all programs who report understanding their individual leadership capacity and can deploy their strengths to collaborate with community stakeholders to effect positive change.
“Collaborative leadership means recognizing that no single institution has all the answers. It requires listening, sharing power, and being willing to adjust when the data or the community tells us something different”
Leadership Cleveland 2026 graduate - Civic Readiness
Percentage of participants across all programs who report feeling confident to take action in the community to build a better Cleveland.
“I fostered my passion for getting involved with the community.”
Look Up To Cleveland 2026 graduate
*Percentages show participants who agreed or strongly agreed with a set of indicators for each outcome, combined across all programs in the 2026 class year.
You can see individual program outcomes on each program page:
Leadership Cleveland | Cleveland Bridge Builders | OnBoard Cleveland | Look Up To Cleveland | Advanced Leadership Institute | Civic Leadership Institute
Phase two: How alumni change our community
Every three years, CLC investigates the long-term learning and behavior that follows a program. Alumni are asked about their leadership skills and beliefs and about their current involvement in their organizations and their communities.
The survey is built around the same four outcomes that anchor CLC’s program evaluation, so results map the long-term impact of programming on participants’ behaviors and beliefs.
The 2025 Alumni Impact Survey drew 813 responses spanning all programs and program years 1978 through 2024. See the results in the video below:
Key findings
CLC alumni don’t just participate in civic life. They shape it.
Of the 813 alumni who responded to a 2025 survey, 405 have served on a board and 303 have led one, from food banks and arts districts to school boards and neighborhood coalitions.
164 alumni have launched a new organization, program, or initiative
800+ organizations, initiatives, and causes where alumni invest their time
48% volunteer regularly (well above the national average of 28%)
78% feel more confident and capable in the community as a result of their CLC experience.
See their stories
Meet a few of the people behind last year’s numbers in the FY25 Annual Impact Report.
See the full Alumni Impact Survey Summary.
Introducing phase three: How CLC evolves
Alumni scored high on civic understanding and on collaboration, and measurably lower on confidence to act when an effort carries real risk of failure. Roughly one in four said there needs to be more visionary, collaborative leadership in Northeast Ohio. Across hundreds of open responses, alumni asked for the same thing: stronger connection to CLC and to each other after a program ends.
Those three findings are shaping current curriculum work, and they are the foundation Vision 2035: CLC’s 10-year strategic vision. Vision 2035 is CLC’s commitment to strengthen Cleveland by galvanizing leaders through transformative, immersive experiences that accelerate collaborative action to make Cleveland better for all.
Whether you’re ready to begin your leadership journey, get involved as an alum, or support this work, there’s a place for you in Vision 2035.
Let’s build a Greater Cleveland together. Join the momentum.
Find your place | Get involved | Support the work
Have questions about CLC’s evaluation design, methodology, or data? Contact Rachel Ciomcia at (216) 592-2280.