Neighborhoods

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and its supporting foundations have awarded $640,000 in grants to 53 nonprofit organizations through its first grant cycle of 2025. Through the foundation’s General Grant opportunity, $271,000 was awarded, while its three affiliated organizations — the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation, Western Reserve Health Foundation and William Swanston Charitable Fund — awarded $140,000, $157,000 and $90,000, respectively. “We are continually impressed by the work the Valley’s nonprofits do, and this cycle is no different,” foundation President Casey Krell said.“It’s always inspiring to see people so dedicated to improving their community,” Krell said the first quarter of 2025 has been challenging for nonprofits.

“While philanthropic dollars cannot replace the public funding that many organizations rely on, the Community Foundation is exploring how we can best support our local nonprofits as we all adapt to a new landscape in our sector,” she said in a news release.

The Community Foundation and its supporting foundations have three more grant opportunities this year, with deadlines on April 15, July 15 and Oct. 15. Organizations can see grant opportunities and start their application at CFMV.org/grant-opportunities. Outside of the usual grant cycles, the Fund for Women & Girls is accepting applications for its Impact Builder Grant through April 28. Finalists for the grant will present their projects to supporters at an event May 15 to receive their share of $2,900 in grant funding. Read more about the Fund for Women & Girls and start an application at CFMV.org/women.

A full list of the first-quarter grant awards follows.

Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

• ACTION: $10,000 for operating support.

• Akiva Academy: $2,500 for its expansion project.

• American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley: $10,000 for its home fire safety campaign.

• Behind Closed Doors Ministries: $2,500 for operating support.

• The Butler Institute of American Art: $5,000 for the Good Neighbor education outreach and field trip program.

• Eversight: $3,000 to support clinic operations, training surgeons and research.

• Flying HIGH Inc.: $10,000 for the expansion of its Professional Development Center.

• God’s Warehouse: $10,000 for operating support.

• Grace AME Church of Warren: $10,000 for the Trumbull County Try Fitness Program.

• Greater Youngstown Community Dialogue on Racism: $10,000 for social justice history programming in Youngstown City Schools.

* Harvesting Hope in Your Community: $5,000 for operating support.

• Humility of Mary Housing: $10,000 to support clearing barriers to employment and housing for patrons at Emmanuel Community Care Center.

• Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio: $5,000 for K-12 programs.

• Lake to River Foundation: $20,000 for operating support for the Lake to River Economic Development district.

• Lit Youngstown: $10,000 for operating support.

• Mahoning County Soil and Water Conservation District: $10,000 for the Mahoning County Backyard Conservation program.

• The McGuffey Centre: $10,000 for operating support.

• National Inventors Hall of Fame: $2,500 for the Camp Invention summer program.

• Nikki’s House: $10,000 for operating support.

• Northeast Ohio Adoption Services: $10,000 for operating support.

• Oak Hill Collaborative: $10,000 for the Digital Advantage program.

• Ohio State Extension Mahoning County: $8,000 for a summer intern with Mahoning County 4-H.

• Tri County Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates: $2,500 for career readiness programs at Liberty High School.

• United Way of Trumbull County: $5,000 for the United 4 Kids program.

• Valley Economic Development Partners: $20,000 for its revolving loan fund.

• Warren Grown: $3,000 for the From Sapling to Sovereign youth summer program.

• Yellow Brick Place: $10,000 for operating support.

• YMCA of Youngstown: $15,000 for upgrades to the kitchen at Central YMCA.

• Youngstown Business Incubator: $10,000 for its Elevating Every Entrepreneur program.

• Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.: $22,000 for the Healthy Community Partnership’s Where the Sidewalk Ends No More initiative.

To read the story from the Tribune Chronicle, click here.

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and its supporting foundations have awarded $640,000 in grants to 53 nonprofit organizations through its first grant cycle of 2025. Through the foundation’s General Grant opportunity, $271,000 was awarded, while its three affiliated organizations — the Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation, Western Reserve Health Foundation and William Swanston Charitable Fund — awarded $140,000, $157,000 and $90,000, respectively.

“We are continually impressed by the work the Valley’s nonprofits do, and this cycle is no different,” foundation President Casey Krell said. “It’s always inspiring to see people so dedicated to improving their community,” Krell said the first quarter of 2025 has been challenging for nonprofits.

“While philanthropic dollars cannot replace the public funding that many organizations rely on, the Community Foundation is exploring how we can best support our local nonprofits as we all adapt to a new landscape in our sector,” she said in a news release. The Community Foundation and its supporting foundations have three more grant opportunities this year, with deadlines on April 15, July 15 and Oct. 15. Organizations can see grant opportunities and start their application at CFMV.org/grant-opportunities. Outside of the usual grant cycles, the Fund for Women & Girls is accepting applications for its Impact Builder Grant through April 28.

Finalists for the grant will present their projects to supporters at an event May 15 to receive their share of $2,900 in grant funding. Read more about the Fund for Women & Girls and start an application at CFMV.org/women.

A full list of the first-quarter grant awards follows.

Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

• ACTION: $10,000 for operating support.

• Akiva Academy: $2,500 for its expansion project.

• American Red Cross of Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley: $10,000 for its home fire safety campaign.

• Behind Closed Doors Ministries: $2,500 for operating support.

• The Butler Institute of American Art: $5,000 for the Good Neighbor education outreach and field trip program.

• Eversight: $3,000 to support clinic operations, training surgeons and research.

• Flying HIGH Inc.: $10,000 for the expansion of its Professional Development Center.

• God’s Warehouse: $10,000 for operating support.

• Grace AME Church of Warren: $10,000 for the Trumbull County Try Fitness Program.

• Greater Youngstown Community Dialogue on Racism: $10,000 for social justice history programming in Youngstown City Schools.

* Harvesting Hope in Your Community: $5,000 for operating support.

• Humility of Mary Housing: $10,000 to support clearing barriers to employment and housing for patrons at Emmanuel Community Care Center.

• Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio: $5,000 for K-12 programs.

• Lake to River Foundation: $20,000 for operating support for the Lake to River Economic Development district.

• Lit Youngstown: $10,000 for operating support.

• Mahoning County Soil and Water Conservation District: $10,000 for the Mahoning County Backyard Conservation program.

• The McGuffey Centre: $10,000 for operating support.

• National Inventors Hall of Fame: $2,500 for the Camp Invention summer program.

• Nikki’s House: $10,000 for operating support.

• Northeast Ohio Adoption Services: $10,000 for operating support.

• Oak Hill Collaborative: $10,000 for the Digital Advantage program.

• Ohio State Extension Mahoning County: $8,000 for a summer intern with Mahoning County 4-H.

• Tri County Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates: $2,500 for career readiness programs at Liberty High School.

• United Way of Trumbull County: $5,000 for the United 4 Kids program.

• Valley Economic Development Partners: $20,000 for its revolving loan fund.

• Warren Grown: $3,000 for the From Sapling to Sovereign youth summer program.

• Yellow Brick Place: $10,000 for operating support.

• YMCA of Youngstown: $15,000 for upgrades to the kitchen at Central YMCA.

• Youngstown Business Incubator: $10,000 for its Elevating Every Entrepreneur program.

• Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.: $22,000 for the Healthy Community Partnership’s Where the Sidewalk Ends No More initiative.

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

The Ohio Department of Development on Wednesday announced it has awarded $6.8 million in grants to home and neighborhood improvement organizations across the state, including two in the Mahoning Valley.

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. was awarded a $1 million grant for essential home repairs and modifications for handicap accessibility for homeowners at or below 50% of the area median income.

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

The City of Youngstown is beginning to see the benefits of the new Welcome Home Ohio program. The program includes funding for the construction and rehabilitation of residential properties, and the Mahoning County Land Bank and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) are taking full advantage of it. Representatives of both organizations showed WKBN the progress of a renovation that is currently underway at 3551 Shirley Road. 

To read the full story from WKBN, click here. 

Since 2020, two major cities in Mahoning and Trumbull counties have seen a drop in vacant housing, according to a report recently released by The Raymond John Wean Foundation. Wean Foundation president Jennifer Roller said this is only one of the encouraging trends highlighted in the research compiled by the Greater Ohio Policy Center. 

“We first commissioned these reports three years ago to inform our funding strategies in community revitalization and economic and educational opportunities,” Roller said. “We are sharing it more broadly so that our grantees and partners may also benefit from having accurate and consistent information from vetted sources.” The research from Greater Ohio Policy Center is designed to provide a view of today’s Warren and Youngstown as they compare to the rest of Trumbull and Mahoning counties, as well as the state of Ohio. 

Alison Goebel is the executive director of the Greater Ohio Policy Center. “We are extremely encouraged by the progress in the Mahoning Valley,” Goebel said. “At the same time, the data indicated that the Wean Foundation’s mission of empowered residents creating a more equitable Mahoning Valley is needed now more than ever.” 

Housing, entrepreneurship bright spots in Youngstown

In Youngstown, the percentage of vacant housing stock has declined by 8% since 2010. The number of vacant structures stood at just over 10% in 2023, compared to almost 19% in 2010. According to the report, in 2025, vacancy rates are much lower in Youngstown, Mahoning County, Trumbull County and the rest of the state for a variety of reasons, including: Millions of dollars allocated to demolition Effective landbanks that have removed and prevented blight, Increased code enforcement ,Relief and support programs that have kept at-risk owners in their homes. 

Housing, entrepreneurship bright spots in Warren

In 2010, more than 16% of the housing stock was vacant. The new reports show that the number of housing units in Warren that are considered abandoned and vacant have declined by 46% since 2020. Now there are just over 1,200 units or 6.47% of Warren’s housing stock classified as vacant. Matt Martin is the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership’s executive director. Martin said much of the drop in vacancy rate in Warren and Trumbull County is the result of over a decade of remediating blight by the Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, the Trumbull County Land Bank along with the city of Warren, Trumbull County, and other municipalities, townships and villages. He said they’ve collectively been prioritizing renovation and home ownership while also utilizing demolition and land use to stabilize neighborhoods. “Similar efforts in Youngstown and Mahoning County include Youngstown Neighborhood Deveopment Corp., the Mahoning County Land Bank and government partners,” Martin wrote. “Both communities are now experiencing a push for new housing, with all of these same organizations playing a role in that effort.”

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

Wednesday, April 9, 2025.

YNDC is proud to announce the publishing of its performance report from the 1st Quarter of 2025!

The performance report highlights the work of YNDC from January to March 2025.

An electronic copy can be downloaded below. 

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. is building three new duplexes in the 3000 block of Glenwood Avenue — with onsite solar panels — as part of its ongoing effort to revitalize the South Side corridor.

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

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) and its partners will broke ground Thursday on three new duplexes in Youngstown that will feature on-site solar power generation. The ceremony took place at 3013, 3021, and 3031 Glenwood Avenue, the locations of the new buildings. Each duplex will contain two two-bedroom, two-bath apartment units with covered parking. YNDC said the units will be highly energy efficient and all-electric, with solar panels expected to generate more than 100% of the buildings' energy needs. This on-site power generation is intended to make the housing more affordable for tenants.

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

Organizations in both Mahoning and Trumbull Counties will receive grant funding for essential home repairs. The funding comes from $6.8 million from the Ohio Department of Development's Housing Assistant Grant Program, which utilizes Ohio Housing Trust Fund funds to help Ohio non-profits promote affordable housing opportunities and improve housing conditions.

Locally, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation will receive $1,100,000 to provide essential home repairs and handicapped accessibility modifications for homeowners who are at or below 50% area median income (AMI). 

To read the full story from WFMJ, click here. 

Thursday, April 10, 2025

YNDC's Community Safety program continues to make improvements to increase safety in the greater Glenwood Avenue corridor. The most recent projects include the installation of significant lighting on 22 businesses along Glenwood Avenue. YNDC's resident surveys have consistently noted the need for additional lighting along the corridor.

The Community Safety program will begin additional work in other locations on the south and east sides. More information will be provided in the coming months.