Neighborhoods

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation on Monday announced that it was awarded $2.5 million in grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati’s Affordable Housing Program for home repair, new construction and down payment assistance.

To Read the full story from The Business Journal, click here. 

A portion of a $2.54 million grant to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) will go toward building six new rental units in the Mahoning Valley.

To read the full story from WKBN, click here.

YNDC was awarded $2.54 million dollars from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati's Affordable Housing Program for home repairs, new builds and down payment assistance.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.

The Mahoning County Land Bank received a $5 million state grant that will go toward the construction of 19 new affordable houses: 16 in Youngstown and one each in Struthers, Campbell and Sebring. This is the second grant the land bank received this year from the Ohio Department of Development’s Welcome Home Ohio program.  It received a $2.4 million grant earlier this year for six new homes to be built on Mineral Springs Avenue on Youngstown’s South Side and for the renovation of six existing homes.

“We’ll have 31 affordable housing opportunities coming from the funding,” said Debora Flora, the land bank’s executive director.  The land bank’s board of directors met Tuesday to sign the grant agreement with the state and for a contract with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to be the project’s general contractor.

To read the full story from The Vindicator, click here.

Kenneth Bonifas is the Property Maintenance Manager for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Kenneth is responsible for maintenance of YNDC's rental properties and facilities and works on the construction team to complete housing rehabilitation projects to improve the quality of life in strategic Youngstown neighborhoods. 

Faith Logan is the Rental Program Coordinator for the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation. Faith implements rental housing programming, including all client correspondence, document preparation and processing, showing units, data entry, filing, and reporting, and assists with administration of all other housing programs as needed. 

 Contact Faith at flogan@yndc.org

Since it started in 2012, Giving Tuesday has been celebrated every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. and around the world. The campaign encourages people to give back during the holiday season, whether that means donating money to a charity or volunteering time to help someone else in their communities. TOP VIDEOS The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard In 2023, around 34 million adults in the U.S. participated in GivingTuesday in some way, and donated close to $3 billion. Asha Curran, Giving Tuesday’s CEO, said right now it’s critical to support local causes, communities and non-profit organizations “GivingTuesday’s mission is to inspire generosity among as many people as possible, not just raise as many dollars as possible. Generosity has such important correlations with civic participation, community cohesion and well-being,” Curran said. In 2024, community organizations are hosting Giving Tuesday campaigns starting Dec. 3 to give back to those in need throughout the Mahoning Valley. COMMUNITY FOUNDATION MAHONING VALLEY For their Giving Tuesday 2023 campaign, the Community Foundation of Mahoning Valley was able to collect $235,000 for their funds by matching donations from community members. Hundreds of local donors contributed a total of $90,606. For 2024, CFMV president Casey Krell’s team set aside $50,000 to match all donations. “We were astounded to have such an incredible response to Giving Tuesday And Beyond last year and we’re just as excited to see what the Mahoning Valley community does this year,” said Krell. “With an average gift of $20, last year’s campaign showed that anyone can be a philanthropist. All it takes is giving back to a cause you care about, whether that’s with a few dollars as you can afford it, volunteering or spreading the word about their work.” On Dec. 3, for every $10 donation, the foundation will donate an additional $25, turning the donation into a $35 contribution. Then on Dec. 1 through Dec. 8, the foundation will match donations dollar for dollar, up to $1,250 for each agency fund. Donate to one of the community funds between Dec. 2 to 8 and the foundation will match your donation:

Animal Charity of Ohio Fund (New in 2024) 

Angels for Animals Endowment Fund

 Association of Fundraising Professionals Mahoning-Shenango Chapter Fund 

Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley Fund 

Beatitude House Endowment Fund 

Bridgeway to Thriving Funds (Thrive 10:10, New in 2024) 

Community Living Endowment Fund

Doris Burdman Fund for Mental Health (COMPASS Family and Community Services)

Easter Seals Building Tomorrows Fund 

Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley Fund (New in 2024) 

Inspiring Minds Youngstown Inc. Fund (New in 2024) 

Interfaith Home Maintenance Service Fund (Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.)

To read the full story from Mahoning Matters, click here.

For about a year, the Greater Ohio Policy Center, which was contracted by Eastgate, has been working on a housing study of Mahoning and Trumbull counties. On Jan. 16, Eastgate, along with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, will host a housing action plan meeting where GOPC will announce recommendations and a housing strategy for the two counties.

A housing needs assessment last month found a lack of diverse housing at a variety of prices in the two counties. It reported that affording a home is a challenge for households that earn between 30% and 50% of the area’s median income, but it’s even more challenging for households earning less. For a family of three, 50% of the area’s median income is $77,200 annually.  In another matter, Kinnick said the agency resubmitted its request for a federal grant to study elimination of the Madison Avenue Expressway and vacant service roads and to tie the city’s North Side into the downtown. “Again, this is just planning money to see if it’s feasible,” he said. It needs to be studied to determine if it would work. Eastgate also plans to submit two $20 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants for improvement projects. Justin Mondok, director of planning and development, said the U.S. EPA allows Eastgate to be a lead applicant on both grant requests.

“This is a one-time shot at money,” he said. “This is not going to be a continuing program the U.S. EPA will have. ”Eastgate officials believe that whatever direction the federal department goes, the region is well-positioned to secure some of the federal money, Mondok said. The first project was led by a coalition that includes the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, as well as nonprofits and community organizations. The effort is supported by the Healthy Community Partnership of the Mahoning Valley, he said.

To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here.

In Youngstown, Ohio, a local organization, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, has worked tirelessly for more than a decade to improve the quality of life for residents and to rebuild the city’s communities.

To read the full story from the AmeriCorps, click here.

The Raymond John Wean Foundation has named fifteen people who will take part in eight months of training to reinforce and improve their leadership skills in organizations focused on community development and improvement in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding areas.

Fifteen mid-career professionals from non-profit organizations across Warren and Youngstown were chosen from a competitive pool of nearly 40 applicants to be part of the inaugural class of the Wean Foundation's Nonprofit Leadership Cohort, partnering with Gradient, a consulting firm specializing in human equity development.

Gradient is an environmental and risk sciences consulting firm combining scientific principles and a systematic study of data, along with an independent perspective,to help clients understand issues they face.

Starting in 2025, the program will offer participants coaching, peer learning, and practical applications within their organizations. The curriculum focuses on building key leadership skills, including fostering inclusive leadership, strategic planning, financial management, and board governance.

The members of the first Nonprofit Leadership Cohort are:

Alex Hertzer, Executive Director, Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition
Angelica Diaz, Executive Director, Organización Cívica y Cultural Hispana Americana Inc.
Audrey Novotny, CEO, Trumbull Mobile Meals
Bryant L. Youngblood, Jr., Founder, Evolve Innovation Center
Christopher Colón, Executive Director, Thrive Mahoning Valley / Northeast Ohio Regional Director, Ohio Environmental Council & OEC Action Fund
Deon Stubbs, Founder and CEO, Hyer Merit Association
Elisa Nicole Hosey, Re-Entry Support Specialist, Home for Good Re-Entry Center
Jalaya Provitt, High School Program Coordinator, Inspiring Minds
Kevin Stringer, Community Engagement Coordinator, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership
Lea Dotson, Co-founder, Warren Forward
Markisha Parker, Executive Director, Parker Farms
Melissa Phillips, Executive Director, Sunshine-Warren Homes
Michaela Write, Mission Officer, YWCA Mahoning Valley
Norman Carter, Founder and Executive Director, The Carter House Inc.
Violeta Aguirre, Community Engagement Manager, Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here.