Community Investment

The Raymond John Wean Foundation is committed to improving the lives of the people of the Mahoning Valley.

Through strategic grant making, the Foundation seeks to create various opportunities for people living in the Valley’s economically disadvantaged communities and neighborhoods.

With a strong focus on Mahoning and Trumbull counties, the Foundation wants to help fund programs that work for social and economic equity and that involve community  inclusion and innovative solutions.

Community grants have two levels of funding each with its own set of specific application instructions:

• $1,000 and not to exceed $5,000
• Over $5,000

Please visit our How To Apply page for more information.

With a strong focus on the Mahoning Valley, The Raymond John Wean Foundation uses three benchmarks to help guide grant making decisions.

• Building community capacity
• Building organizational capacity
• Building network capacity

Building Community Capacity

The phrase, "Building Community Capacity," really boils down to something quite simple: Using and strengthening what you already have. Those strengths can be people, organizations or something much less tangible, including ideas.

We seek to build on already existing strengths instead of creating entirely new organizations or programs. By doing this, we believe that we have the potential to maximize possible good work.

We believe that collaborations of local residents, community-based organizations, businesses, schools, religious institutions, health and social service agencies and donors are the core of successful community building.  Consequently, community ownership and involvement in proposed projects or activities is critical.

Additionally, when we look for grants to fund, we want to see if the efforts will be targeted in areas that have traditionally been ignored or neglected. We want to help fund projects where the need and possible impact will be the greatest.

Building Organizational Capacity

Building organizational capacity is also a rather simple concept. We believe that strong nonprofit organizations in a variety of areas are central to the development and revitalization of the Mahoning Valley. 

Strong nonprofits are efficient, well-managed, responsive, results-oriented, open, thoughtful and strategic.

When The Raymond John Wean Foundation offers assistance to nonprofits, it seeks to leverage the investment of other donors to provide greater benefit for the community.

We seek to assist nonprofits in thoughtful planning, developing collaborations and increasing their ability to accomplish goals.  We also believe it is important to invest in the development of nonprofit leadership.

The Foundation believes that strong nonprofit groups are central to any effort of thoughtful community change.

Building Network Capacity

It is critical to connect leaders from as many different types of organizations, neighborhoods and backgrounds as possible to come together for collective action. 

By promoting collaborative working relationships and supporting the development of networks and partnerships, The Raymond John Wean Foundation can invest in a thoughtful process of community change with an emphasis on collaboration and building on community assets.