Dozens of Mahoning Valley nonprofits, schools and community programs will share $752,904 in third-quarter grants from the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, the foundation announced in its grant release, which the Business Journal Daily reported on Wednesday, October 28. The awards are aimed at organizations meeting the needs of residents across Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
According to the foundation’s announcement, $272,590 was awarded through its general grant program, while three supporting foundations accounted for more than half of the money: the Western Reserve Health Foundation awarded $167,500, the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation awarded $162,500 and the William Swanston Charitable Fund awarded $125,000. A separate Steel Valley Homes for Youth Fund round added $25,314 for young adults aging out of foster care.
“The needs of our community are diverse, and so are the organizations working every day to address them,” Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley President Casey Krell said in the foundation’s announcement. Krell added in the same announcement that the grants reflect a commitment to “supporting both immediate needs and long-term solutions, while giving local nonprofits the resources and flexibility to make a meaningful difference for the people they serve.”
Some of the largest single awards support children, students and green space in the Valley. The Mill Creek MetroParks Foundation received $25,000 for the Fellows Riverside Gardens Children’s Garden, the YWCA Mahoning Valley received $25,000 for housing with supportive services and another $10,000 for its Discovery Place preschool program, and the Warren City School District received $20,000 from the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation and $10,000 from the Swanston fund for mental and behavioral health services for students, according to the foundation’s grant list.
Health-focused grants run through much of the round, the foundation’s list shows. The Western Reserve Health Foundation gave $20,000 to the American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley for blood services, $20,000 to Project Milk Mission for breastfeeding education in Mahoning County, and $20,000 to the YMCA of Youngstown. The Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation added $20,000 for Lit Youngstown’s outreach writing support for veterans, people in recovery and new mothers, and $10,000 to the City of Hubbard for senior center ramp improvements.
Youth and neighborhood programs fill out the list in the foundation’s announcement. Moab House, which serves former foster youth, received $20,000 from the Steel Valley Homes for Youth Fund for bathroom renovations at its Campus of Care site, and Ohio Urban Renaissance received $5,314 from that fund for its OUR Prep Academy independence program. Other awards included $10,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of Youngstown, $10,000 to Youngstown State University’s Legacy Forests for reforestation fencing, and $10,000 to the Potential Development School for Students with Autism for its athletic program.
For Valley residents, the money translates into concrete services close to home: student mental-health support in Warren classrooms, a children’s garden taking shape at Mill Creek MetroParks, housing help through the YWCA and stability support for young people leaving foster care. The foundation said in its announcement that the next application deadline for the Community Foundation and its supporting foundations is January 15, with grant opportunities and applications available through the foundation’s website.
Photo: Dreajc10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons