Community Foundation Awards $379K Grants - Business Journal


The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley awarded $379,430 in grants and distributions following its first grant cycle of 2017.

The funds include $76,000 in grants to 11 nonprofit organizations in Mahoning and Trumbull counties that submitted requests through the Community Foundation’s online grantmaking process. In addition, $303,430 was distributed outside of the grant process at the recommendation of advisers to component funds of the Community Foundation.

The largest grant was $12,500 to Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. for its Glenwood Neighbors Initiative. This project, funded by The Collier Endowment Fund and Kennedy Family Fund, seeks to improve the quality of life, safety, public health and perception of the Glenwood Avenue corridor to foster reinvestment and economic opportunity.

The YWCA of Warren received $12,000 in support of its Girls’ STEAM Camp from the Kennedy Family Fund and Ralph E. and Esther K. Meacham Memorial Fund. The summer camp focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and math for girls.

The following were additional grants made by the foundation’s component funds:

$10,000 to Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland Inc. for room sponsorships for Mahoning Valley residents (First Place Community Fund and Kennedy Family Fund)

$10,000 to Mahoning Valley College Access Program Inc. for the MVCAP College Guides High School Program (First Place Community Fund and Kennedy Family Fund)

$7,500 to Youngstown State University’s Regional Economic Development Initiative for the Innovative Plan for Leveraging Arts Through Community Engagement (INPLACE) project (The Collier Endowment Fund and Kennedy Family Fund)

$6,000 to The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges to provide scholarships through the First Place Community Fund Scholarship Program to Mahoning and Trumbull county students (First Place Community Fund)

$5,000 to East Side Organization Project for its Senior Financial Empowerment Initiative (Kennedy Family Fund)

$5,000 to National Inventors Hall of Fame for Camp Invention summer program for underserved Mahoning Valley children (Kennedy Family Fund)

$4,000 to Making Kids Count to provide Mahoning and Trumbull County Comfort Kits (Young Philanthropist Fund)

$3,000 to Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership for Building a Better Warren Community Projects (Kennedy Family Fund)

$1,000 to Boardman Township Park to support its Adventure Day Camp (Kennedy Family Fund)

The beneficiaries of the $303,430 in distributions are:

Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic

Boardman Local Schools

Columbiana County Community Foundation

Mahoning Valley Historical Society

Champion Schools

St. Edward Church

Diocese of Youngstown

Trumbull Family Fitness

Youngstown State University Foundation

Youngstown Cityscape

Mercy Health Foundation Mahoning Valley

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