WARREN, OHIO—MARCH 18, 2025—The Raymond John Wean Foundation’s board of directors has approved $270,000 of grants to two Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in support of economic opportunity. CDFIs are federally designated mission-driven financial institutions that support economically disadvantaged communities.
Bridgeway Capital, a regional organization headquartered in Pittsburgh that recently expanded to the Mahoning Valley, received a one-year grant to support its operations in Warren and Youngstown. To date, the organization has made $4.3 million of loans to Warren and Youngstown businesses and nonprofits, with an average loan size of more than $500,000. Bridgeway Capital aims to lend $2 million in the Mahoning Valley in 2025. It will continue prioritizing support for Black-led enterprises. In addition to lending, Bridgeway also provides technical assistance to support business development, focusing on serving small businesses earning less than $100,000.
“Too often, communities face barriers to accessing capital and resources for revitalization,” said Angelo LoCastro, who leads Bridgeway’s Mahoning Valley office. “I believe in the transformative power of impact-driven lending and am grateful for the Wean Foundation’s partnership in this work.”
Valley Economic Development Partners received a two-year grant to support its Growbiz revolving loan fund, which was launched in 2021 to increase capital available to underserved populations and geographic locations. Since inception, the loan fund has provided $5.2 million in flexible, low-interest small business loans and assisted in the creation of 173 jobs in the Mahoning Valley. In total, Valley Partners disbursed $14.4 million in loans and $728,000 in grants in 2024. More than 70% of its financial products went to small businesses in underserved geographies (46% in Youngstown and 22% in Warren), nearly 60% went to women-led small businesses and 44% to minority-led small businesses.
Teresa Miller, executive director of Valley Partners shared, “We are excited to be a part of the movement of economic growth here in the Mahoning Valley, which we have served for 47 years. We have always been an avenue for flexible lending solutions, but we have expanded over the last few years with a new mission to educate and empower small business owners, especially where economic opportunity is needed most.”
“These organizations play a critical role in the Mahoning Valley’s small business infrastructure and directly advance our priority of creating economic opportunities for residents in Warren and Youngstown neighborhoods,“ said Fallon Peterson, senior director of programs and operations at the Wean Foundation. “We’re grateful to have partners who are aligned with our mission of empowering residents to create a more equitable Mahoning Valley.”
For more information on the Wean Foundation’s grantmaking opportunities, visit weanfoundation.org/apply-for-grants/.
About The Raymond John Wean Foundation
Established in 1949, the Wean Foundation is dedicated to community building in the under-resourced communities of Warren and Youngstown in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. The Wean Foundation leverages a dynamic combination of grantmaking, capacity building, convening and partnerships to provoke new thinking, strengthen communities and disrupt the status quo to achieve its vision: empowered residents creating an equitable Mahoning Valley. Visit weanfoundation.org to learn more.