Youngstown Foundation OKs $500K+ in New Grants
Two weeks of the Autism Society’s Camp Friend, organized for children and teens on the autism spectrum, are scheduled for June 16-20 and July 28-August 1 at the Jewish Community Center.
$100K to Support Operations at Autism Society, Meridian
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Foundation today announced the approval of more than $500,000 in grants to 14 local organizations.
The largest grants, of $100,000 each, will support ongoing operations at the Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley and Meridian HealthCare.
“These grant funds are important to the continued operation of nonprofits that do great work,” said Lynnette H. Forde, president of the Youngstown Foundation. “We have received an unusually high number of requests in recent months for general operational funding, and we are pleased to meet those needs for organizations with strong records for serving local residents and families.”
Stacie Bacorn, executive director of the Autism Society, said the Youngstown Foundation grant will help the society meet growing needs, including higher enrollment at both 2025 sessions of Camp Friend, the weeklong summer camp the society organizes for school-aged children at the Jewish Community Center.
“These funds will enable us to work more strategically and effectively to respond to the increased needs we’re seeing across all of our programs and services,” Bacorn said.
The $100,000 Youngstown Foundation grant to Meridian HealthCare will enable the organization to add administrative staff with a goal of improving care.
The other 12 Youngstown Foundation grants are listed here:
- McGuffey Centre, operational funding, $50,000
- Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, women’s health initiative, $50,000
- Trumbull County Historical Society, Museum of Science Fiction, $50,000
- Oak Hill Collaborative Inc, digital advantage initiative, $37,500
- Veterans’ Outreach, new vehicle, $30,000
- Thrive Mahoning Valley, operational funding, $25,000
- Clothed in Strength, programming support, $25,000
- The English Center, operating support, $25,000
- Finer Things Academy, one church one child project, $15,000
- God’s Warehouse Inc., operating support, $10,000
- Boulevard Park Block Watch, Pleasant Grove Peace Park, $5,000
- Eversight, cornea donation and transplantation, $5,000
About the Youngstown Foundation
Since 1918, the Youngstown Foundation has devoted its resources to ensuring the quality of life and sustaining a vital and prosperous community in the Mahoning Valley. The Youngstown Foundation has grown from $33,000 in assets at its origins to over $150 million today and has distributed over $100 million back into the community through grants to support nonprofit organizations. The foundation remains poised to address the most pressing issues and support actions and ingenuity to ensure that our community continues to grow and thrive, with no one left behind. Further information is available at www.youngstownfoundation.org.