June 8, 2023 (Warren, Ohio) – During the June 7 meeting,The Raymond John Wean Foundation Board of Directors approved Community Investment grants totaling $360,0000 to three organizations:
Ohio Transformational Fund (OTF) – A collaborative fund led by an Advisory Council that seeks to transform the criminal legal system through collective grantmaking in support of Ohio based organizations committed to addressing the harms created by the criminal legal system.
Policy Matters Ohio (PMO) – A policy research institute seeking to make Ohio more equitable, sustainable, vibrant and inclusive for all through research, coalition building, strategic communications and policy advocacy.
Valley Economic Development Partners, Inc. (Valley Partners) – A Mahoning Valley organization seeking to utilize its combined economic development expertise with their specialized flexible lending solutions to grow the region’s economy.
Both OTF and PMO received general operating grants. Valley Partners, a new grantee for the Foundation, received a planning and implementation grant for a program that will provide startup businesses in the Mahoning Valley with funds for accounting/legal support.
In advancing its race equity and inclusion work, the Foundation considers whether its efforts can be categorized as awareness, learning or practice. The meeting included more discussion of the Foundation’s acknowledgement of Indigenous People’s Day. Since its initial conversation in March, the Foundation has crafted its land acknowledgment statement which can be found at weanfoundation.org/about-us/#land.
To learn more about their race, equity and inclusion efforts, grant opportunities or how you can engage with The Raymond John Wean Foundation, visit weanfoundation.org.
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About the Wean Foundation: The Raymond John Wean Foundation is dedicated to community-building in underresourced communities of Warren and Youngstown in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. The 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.