Wean Foundation offers neighborhood grants

The Raymond John Wean Foundation is inviting grassroots groups from Warren and Youngstown to apply for Neighborhood Success grants of $500 to $5,000 through its new streamlined application portal. The grant cycle opened in mid-January.

For 2021, the Neighborhood Success Grants Program has been adapted to be responsive to the pandemic. In addition to a streamlined application process, on-demand orientation and technical assistance, a rolling timeline and expedited review process have been implemented.

Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Jan. 21, Feb. 4, Feb. 18, March 4 and March 18 and reviewed by the Resident Council who represent the diversity of Warren and Youngstown residents. Most applications will be reviewed and processed within two weeks.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color and requires an urgent, equitable response that places residents at the center of the process, and leverages the financial, human and material resources that exist in the community,” says Corrie Adams, program officer. “Our streamlined grant application process is a response to what we’re hearing from residents and organizations today.”

Requests that align with resident-identified priorities and the spirit of the program will be considered for:

• COVID Response – efforts related to neighborhood challenges caused or made worse by the pandemic

• Program/Operations – resources to bolster organization operations or programs. Before applying, groups are encouraged to visit the Neighborhood Success page at www.rjweanfdn.org for more information.

Now in its 11th year, Neighborhood Success Grants have invested $1.6 million in nearly 500 resident-led projects improving the quality of life in underresourced neighborhoods across Warren and Youngstown.

About the Wean Foundation – The Raymond John Wean Foundation is dedicated to community-building in underresourced communities of Warren and Youngstown in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. The 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.