Ray Leach, the CEO of Cleveland-based venture development organization JumpStart Inc. of Cleveland, was among the winners this week of awards from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

The organization this week at its NVCA Leadership Gala honored leaders in the venture capital industry “for their significant contributions to advance innovation, strengthen the industry and promote entrepreneurship.”

Leach received the American Spirit Award, which the organization says recognize NVCA members “who have shown philanthropic leadership by applying business skills, knowledge, expertise and resources to make an outstanding contribution to society.”

In presenting Leach with the award, the NVCA said that over the last 14 years, he “has helped create an innovative venture development organization in Cleveland, leveraged those learnings to become a trusted NVCA leader, and significantly advanced efforts to make the venture industry more inclusive.”

Leach, who has been CEO of JumpStart since the organization’s start in 2004, is a founding member of the NVCA Diversity Task Force. JumpStart’s $10 million Focus Fund invests in minority- and/or female-led companies throughout Ohio; its most recent investment was in Talmetrix, a human resources software-as-a-service company based in Cincinnati.

Read the full story at Crain’s Cleveland Business.