Local Health Foundations Seek Proposals for Grants

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The Western Reserve Health Foundation and the Western Reserve Health Foundation are welcoming grant proposals for “innovative programs” that serve health needs in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The foundations, which are affiliates of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, have set deadlines of Friday, Feb. 27, for initial letters of inquiry. The required forms and more information about funding priorities are available at the WRHF and TMHF sections of the Community Foundation website.

Those invited to submit full proposals will be notified by early April.
The Western Reserve Health Foundation, which serves residents of Mahoning County, recently announced nearly $200,000 in grants for initiatives that promote juvenile rehabilitation, infant health, health insurance access and more.

The Western Reserve Health Foundation, which serves Trumbull County, recently announced nearly $200,000 in grants for programs that advance women’s health, health insurance access, home food delivery and more.

“Both foundations support programs that might not otherwise not exist,” said Shari Harrell, president of the Community Foundation. “In weighing applications, the foundations give strong consideration to the needs specified in the community health assessments developed by the Mahoning and Trumbull county health departments.”

For example, the priorities in the Mahoning County assessment include promoting healthy living and eating and addressing infant mortality, unhealthy birth outcomes and diabetes, she said.

Priorities in the Trumbull County document include improving access to health care, reducing crime and drug abuse and protecting the environment.

Both foundations are successors to organizations that supported local hospitals. The WRHF was established in the 1980s as the fundraising arm of the Western Reserve Care System but enlarged its mission in 2012 when it became an affiliate of the Community Foundation. The TMHF began as the Trumbull Memorial Hospital Foundation in 1976, but has operated separately from the hospital since 2012 with a countywide scope, also as a Community Foundation affiliate.

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and its affiliates hold more than $56 million in assets and distributed more than $1 million in grants during the fiscal year ended June 30. The CFMV is the only local foundation with certification from the Community Foundation National Standards Board.

SOURCE: Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.

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