WARREN, OHIO—JUNE 17, 2026—The Raymond John Wean Foundation has approved $66,442 for resident-led initiatives in Warren and Youngstown. Grants will support a total of 19 organizations, including seven new grantee partners, underscoring the Wean Foundation’s ongoing investment in emerging leaders and community-led change.
Each year, the Wean Foundation provides Resident Engagement Grants of up to $5,000 to small nonprofits and grassroots groups to activate and sustain critical neighborhood solutions. Each recipient participates in one of the Wean Foundation’s Resident Engagement Grant workshops, a prerequisite to apply for such a grant, where they have an opportunity to refine their narrative and budget before applying. More than 270 unique grassroots organizations have received over $2.1 million in funding since 2008.
The grants, ranging from $1,475-$5,000, went to:
- Black House Farmz for its Youth Agriculture & Entrepreneurship program;
- Dress To Succeed Ohio for professional attire and hygiene essentials for residents entering the workforce;
- Ebony Ladies Golf and Youth Foundation for its summer enrichment program for youth;
- Hyer Merit Association for entrepreneurship development programming;
- Lit Youngstown to support outreach for its writing workshops for residents;
- Love Your Community for its Youth Life Skills & Sports Mentorship program;
- Mahoning Valley Reentry Coalition for Community Resource Pop-ups;
- Manna House Refuge for its Community Pantry for Youngstown’s East Side residents;
- Ministerio Caricias de Amor for a Community Resource Fair;
- Oak Hill Collaborative Inc. for a Youth Computer Coding Skills program;
- Small Steps Forward for youth life skills programming;
- Somos Youngstown for community resource videos for Spanish-speaking residents;
- Spanish Evangelical Church Assemblies of God Inc. for a Community Resource Fair;
- The Greater Youngstown Community Dialogue on Racism for an Infant Vitality Community Resource Fair;
- Top Hat Productions for youth arts programming;
- Trumbull County Youth Organization for a youth-led community gardening initiative;
- Unstoppable Dreams for youth workforce development;
- Walking In My Truth Inc. for a socioemotional youth mentorship program; and
- Youngstown NAACP for a resident-led civic engagement initiative.
“There was immense interest in our Resident Engagement Grant program this year,” said Wean Foundation Program Officer for Grantmaking Marissa Price. “This program is a great opportunity to engage with the Wean Foundation and learn more about the grantmaking process. And as a new program officer for the Foundation, it gave me the chance to better understand all the wonderful work happening in the Mahoning Valley.”
The Wean Foundation will accept submissions for its Resident Engagement Grants again in spring 2027. For more information on the Wean Foundation’s grant opportunities, visit https://www.weanfoundation.org/apply-for-grants/.
About The Raymond John Wean Foundation
Established in 1949, the Wean Foundation is dedicated to community building in the under-resourced communities of Warren and Youngstown in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. The Wean Foundation leverages a dynamic combination of grantmaking, capacity building, convening and partnerships to provoke new thinking, strengthen communities and disrupt the status quo to achieve its vision: empowered residents creating an equitable Mahoning Valley. Visit weanfoundation.org to learn more.
Media Contact
Sara McCarthy
communications@weanfoundation.org
330.770.8842