Supporting a resident-led approach to equitable community building
At the Wean Foundation, we believe partnership deepens impact and accelerates change. We partner with residents and organizations to cultivate the learning and collaboration required to create and sustain authentic change in our communities.
Strategic Partners
To advance the Wean Foundation community-building mission, we focus key investments to create a resourced and sustained physical landscape in Warren and Youngstown through resident-centered neighborhood revitalization.
In 2009, the Foundation formed a critical public-private partnership with the City of Youngstown to establish the city’s first neighborhood-focused community development corporation. The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) was founded to improve the quality of life in Youngstown by building and encouraging investment in neighborhoods of choice for all.
Building on the success of this work, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership (TNP) was launched in 2010 as a community development corporation to empower residents and promote sustainable community development in the City of Warren.
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As community-based organizations, YNDC and TNP operate as strategic partners of the Wean Foundation. This strategic partnership is characterized by a significant level of Foundation investment, as well as:
- A commitment to the Foundation’s values of resident engagement, race equity and inclusion, social equity, collaboration, community investment and learning
- The organizations’ strong leadership role in seeking to achieve a resourced and sustained physical landscape in Warren and Youngstown neighborhoods
- A deep engagement with the Foundation to achieve impact across strategic priorities.
Together, we share a clear vision to “collectively build capacity to provide voice to residents and leaders throughout the Mahoning Valley.”
YNDC is committed to improving the quality of life in Youngstown by building and encouraging investment in neighborhoods of choice for all. To accomplish this mission their focus is a dual approach that includes strategic investments to rebuild market confidence in neighborhoods with strong assets and broaden partnership strategies to strengthen Youngstown’s community development capacity and the citywide infrastructure supporting neighborhood revitalization.
TNP is dedicated to empowering residents through programming and projects that improve the quality of life in the neighborhoods of Warren, Ohio. The vision of TNP is to transform neighborhoods into meaningful places where people invest their time, money, and energy into their homes and neighborhoods; where neighbors have the capacity to manage day-to-day issues; and where neighbors feel confident about the future of their neighborhood.
Resident Council
Composed of Warren and Youngstown residents, the Wean Foundation’s Resident Council represents the rich diversity that makes the Mahoning Valley a vibrant community. Resident Council members, by way of their proximity to neighborhoods, use their time and talents to inform the Wean Foundation’s resident engagement efforts.
The Resident Council supports and champions the Wean Foundation’s vision of empowered residents creating an equitable Mahoning Valley. Members play a critical role in executing meaningful decisions in various aspects of the Wean Foundation’s programming. Members are invited to contribute time and expertise in:
- Grantmaking: To ensure a fair and thoughtful decision-making process for grant awards
- Capacity Building: To review plans and provide input on proposed programming and vendors
- Convening & Partnerships: To participate, with staff, in relevant community events, activities and meetings
In all instances, Resident Council members serve as ambassadors of the Wean Foundation and promote specific events and programming.
Benefits:
- Interaction with fellow residents, peer learning
- Enriching environment and opportunities in service of community
- Participation in Wean Foundation-sponsored learning opportunities, including the Racial Equity Institute Phase 1 training
- Up to $1,500 stipend each year
Expectations:
- Two-year term, with the potential for an additional one-year term
- Up to 12 hours per quarter commitment of your time and talents
- Ability to make fair and just decisions
- A good work ethic
- Engaged participation in meetings, trainings, conferences and networking events
Responsibilities and Time Commitment:
- New Member Orientation, including off-site prework — 3 hours
- Content-specific training (Grantmaking, Capacity Building or Convening & Partnerships) — 5 hours
- Application and proposal review (specific to Grantmaking and Capacity Building), onsite and off-site — up to 10 hours
- Pre-round Meeting (specific to Grantmaking) — 2 hours
- Learning opportunities, including webinars, conferences, etc. — Members choose a minimum of two
Now accepting applications through January 15, 2025.
Christine Anderson
Danielle Anderson
Erica Putro
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Grantmaking
Funding the development and implementation of viable solutions led by organizations whose leadership reflects the racial demographics of the communities in which they work.
Capacity Building
Supporting the strong leadership, strategy and impact of Black and Hispanic/Latinx-led organizations.
Convening and Partnerships
Defining challenges, formulating solutions and taking collective action, with Black and Hispanic/Latinx-led organizations who have a stake in the decisions being made.