YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Foundation has awarded another round of grants to benefit 14 local organizations.

On Wednesday, the city-based philanthropic foundation issued a news release listing the recipients of over $450,000 in charitable support.

“These grant funds are important to the continued operation of nonprofits that do great work,” said Lynnette H. Forde, president of the Youngstown Foundation. “We have received an unusually high number of requests in recent months for general operational funding, and we are pleased to meet those needs for organizations with strong records of serving local residents and families.”

The largest grants — $100,000 each — will support the Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley and Meridian HealthCare.

Stacie Bacorn, executive director of the Autism Society, said the Youngstown Foundation grant will help the society meet growing needs. She said the society has seen higher enrollment at both 2025 sessions of Camp Friend, the weeklong summer camp the society organizes for school-aged children at the Jewish Community Center.

“These funds will enable us to work more strategically and effectively to respond to the increased needs we’re seeing across all of our programs and services,” Bacorn said.

The $100,000 Youngstown Foundation grant to Meridian HealthCare will enable the organization to add administrative staff with a goal of improving care.

“I think that the Youngstown Foundation and Lynette Forde recognize that programs like Meridian have a lot more administrative burden than in the past,” said Larry Moliterno, Meridian CEO and Boardman Township trustee. “And they recognize that they want to support us with that, and with engaging our local, state and federal legislators and educating them on the issues we face locally and in providing healthcare services,”

Also receiving awards from the foundation were:

• McGuffey Centre, operational funding, $50,000.

• Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, women’s health initiative, $50,000.

• Trumbull County Historical Society, Museum of Science Fiction, $50,000.

• Oak Hill Collaborative Inc, digital advantage initiative, $37,500.

• Veterans Outreach in Liberty, new vehicle, $30,000.

• Thrive Mahoning Valley, operational funding, $25,000.

• Clothed in Strength, programming support, $25,000.

• The English Center, operating support, $25,000.

• Finer Things Academy, One Church One Child project, $15,000.

• God’s Warehouse Inc., operating support, $10,000.

• Boulevard Park Block Watch, Pleasant Grove Peace Park, $5,000.

• Eversight, cornea donation and transplantation, $5,000.

This round of funding puts the foundation’s total giving at well over $2.76 million over the past year.

In January, the Youngstown Foundation distributed $983,250 in grants to 19 local organizations, including $200,000 for the Youngstown YMCA to support free memberships for Youngstown youth and kitchen improvements at the downtown branch.

In December, it released $839,866 for 15 organizations, the largest of which supported the operations and special needs programs led by Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS) in Youngstown. That program received more $180,000.

In July, the foundation handed out $466,320 for eight recipients, including $100,000 for upgrades to a Youngstown learning center for at-risk young people and individuals who have completed prison sentences.

The Youngstown Foundation has distributed more than $100 million since its inception in 1918. Its mission is to provide resources to ensure the quality of life and sustain a vital and prosperous community in the Mahoning Valley. The Youngstown Foundation has grown from $33,000 in assets at its origins to over $150 million today and has distributed over $100 million back into the community through grants to support nonprofit organizations. Further information is available at www.youngstownfoundation.org.