Wean Foundation Awards $193K in Grants

WARREN, Ohio – The Raymond John Wean Foundation awarded grants totaling $193,000 at its June board of directors meeting.

Grants from the Foundation’s responsive portfolio include We Are Warren, an initiative that seeks to bolster existing programming and better utilize community resources to ensure that Warren’s youth live safe, healthy and productive lives.

Inspiring Minds  was awarded funding for Warren City School student’s participation in its six-week summer enrichment program in addition to the 2017-18 academic year component and Eastern Ohio Education Partnership  for continued professional development for youth services program providers and educators.

The Ohio Transformation Fund (OTF) was awarded for its work to address the impact of mass criminalization and incarceration in Ohio’s communities. Matching funding from the Ford Foundation, the Wean Foundation, along with its Ohio partners, support on-the-ground work in community organizing, policy advocacy and civic engagement programs.

“In partnership with other OTF grantees, we’ve engaged in powerful intra-state connections, leveraged lobbying efforts and gained increased recognition and voice in the statehouse,” said Stephen JohnsonGrove, senior attorney, Ohio Justice and Policy Center. “This high-level access is vital to directly impacting communities through street-level, power-building organizations and people.”

In further partnership with the OTF, the Joyce Foundation and other Ohio funders, the Rockwood Leadership Institute, will roll out an Ohio-based fellowship. The Leadership Now: Ohio project will focus on building the capacity of social change leaders. Twenty-four Ohioans from multiple sectors, including several from the valley, will convene and collaborate at three multi-day retreats infused with Ohio-specific workshops, network mapping and individual leadership coaching sessions to equip these leaders for Ohio’s critical role in local and national issues.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.