Deadline: 01-Jan-22
The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley (CFMV) is seeking applications for the William Swanston Charitable Fund to improve the quality of life for all residents.
Focus Areas
- No child is the sum of the challenges and adversities they may have encountered, and all children deserve an equitable chance to pursue success. Reflecting on its commitment to fostering transformative change in the lives of children, The William Swanston Charitable Fund will prioritize grants that align with one or more of the areas:
- Immediate responses that address obstacles for children due to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or
- Innovative projects that prevent or reduce the risk factors that can create disparities and create opportunities for all children in Mahoning and Trumbull counties to thrive
- Proposals that align with category may address prevention and/or immediate needs, with priority given to proposals focused in the following areas:
- Health and Wellness – Initiatives, that by providing early intervention for physical, mental, emotional and/or behavioral health dependencies, can result in greater opportunities for children to excel
- Mental Health and Addiction – proposals that address anxiety, especially for low-income youth
- Chronic Disease – proposals that reduce asthma morbidity, especially for black children under age 18; and, promote healthy weight, especially for low-income youth
- Maternal and Infant Health – proposals that reduce infant mortality and preterm birth; and, promote prenatal care
- Education – Initiatives addressing the race and income disparities in education, especially for low-income youth and black and Hispanic youth, that exist in the following areas:
- Kindergarten Readiness
- 3rd Grade Reading Proficiency
- 8th Grade Math Proficiency
- High School Graduation/College & Career Readiness
- Children’s Services – Initiatives that address the intersection of child welfare and parental substance abuse and/or parental incarceration, or initiatives that address the needs of youth involved with the juvenile justice system.
- Health and Wellness – Initiatives, that by providing early intervention for physical, mental, emotional and/or behavioral health dependencies, can result in greater opportunities for children to excel
Priorities
In addition, the William Swanston Charitable Fund prioritizes proposals that:
- Address underlying social and economic challenges contributing to poor health outcomes in the communities served, such as poverty, lack of access to healthy foods and absence of parks/recreational centers.
- Extend past individual behavior or program-related services by modifying policies, systems and environments to help make healthy options practical and readily available.
- Demonstrate collaboration among sectors, including public health, government, education, healthcare, etc.
- Prioritize engagement of residents from the communities served.
- Adhere to existing, evidence-based best practices or promising practices.
- Leverage additional funding as well as community assets.
- Provide an established plan for evaluation including measurable outcomes.
Target Population
The William Swanston Charitable Fund is interested in transforming the lives of Mahoning Valley children confronted with challenges to equitable opportunity. Research shows that children in the below demographics have been most adversely impacted by societal neglect and community disinvestment over time, and is therefore the primary target for support from Swanston:
- Low-income
- Non-Hispanic black
- Hispanic
- Living in the cities of Youngstown and Warren, as well as a few select disinvested communities
- Children facing challenges based on their experience(s) with abuse, neglect, dependency, and/or their experience with Children’s Welfare or Juvenile Justice systems.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations eligible to receive grants from the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley are those determined by the IRS to be public charities. This encompasses most charitable, scientific, social service, educational and religious organizations described in 501(c)(3) of the tax code, as well as government entities and public schools.
- Organizations that are not public charities may apply through a fiscal sponsor.
- Activities proposed by the requesting organization must directly benefit residents of Mahoning or Trumbull Counties (or the surrounding area).
- Grants may cover organizations’ programmatic, general operating, or capital needs.
For more information, visit https://www.cfmv.org/grants-scholarships/apply-for-a-grant/