SitemapLeaders of charitable foundations in the Mahoning Valley see a bright future for philanthropy in the area as they not only contribute money to worthwhile causes and organizations, but also work to bring groups and people together to grow and improve the area.
“The Wean Foundation serves as a connector to leverage resources, create partnerships and build capacity as well as a grantmaker,” Jennifer Roller, president of the 74-year-old organization, said. “Inasmuch as we encourage our nonprofit partners to collaborate and work together, we seek to work with nonprofits, business, government and funders — sometimes following and other times leading — to ensure the community’s well-being.”
Casey Krell, director of donor services and supporting organizations at the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, said: “Philanthropy provides the opportunity to use our resources and capacity to pull people together to start imagining a community and developing a vision for what we want for our community and then begin to talk about what that change looks like.”
Lynnette Forde, president of the Youngstown Foundation, said: “Philanthropy partners with government and nonprofit institutions and corporations to ensure that folks can get an education and have jobs and get support for the goal of better health and impact their quality of life.”
Paul McFadden, president of the Youngstown State University Foundation, said the area “has a rich tradition and history of philanthropy. Volney Rogers gifted Mill Creek Park, Reuben McMillan Library is an original Carnegie Library, YMCA Camp Fitch, the Canfield Fairgrounds and the YSU campus are dotted with philanthropically-funded buildings. I see signs (that) this tradition will not only continue, but grow in the future as past philanthropists will encourage future philanthropists.”
YSU FOUNDATION
The YSU Foundation received a record $24.1 million in financial support in 2022, including $5 million to Kohli Hall, home of YSU’s Excellence Training Center, $1.5 million from Richard and Susan Sokolov to name the Sokolov Honors College and $600,000 from the annual fall appeal. The foundation is an independent organization that supports YSU student scholarships, student development and career opportunities, McFadden said. The foundation’s endowment started in 1966 with $13.5 million and exceeded $300 million in 2021. It is the sixth largest public university foundation in the state and the largest in northeast Ohio, McFadden said. It had four employees in 2012 and now has 20, he said. The foundation’s goal this year is to raise the $20 million needed to replace the Kilcawley Student Center, McFadden said.
The Bruce Zoldan family made the lead $5 million gift to name it the Zoldan Family Student Center Campaign. Overall, $7.5 million has been raised toward the campaign goal.
Another goal for this year is the acquisition of endowed scholarships, McFadden said. “Scholarships directly impact students by providing access to their education while supporting YSU through the tuition those scholarships pay to YSU,” he said. The foundation’s future goals tie to its increased staff and the use of research tools and data analytics as it allows it to “identify and connect with potential investors” at a rapid rate, McFadden said. “This has been especially vital in reaching out to donor prospects who do not reside in the Youngstown area,” he said. “The YSU Foundation is positioned to acquire significantly more philanthropy to bring back revenue to impact our university and our region.”
WEAN FOUNDATION
The Wean Foundation accomplished a lot in 2022, Roller said, including the launch of the Strategic Partners Fellowship with Trumbull Neighborhood Parntnership and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. with a long-term goal to promote leadership development and racial equity in the nonprofit sector.
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