Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

What Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley does

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley (CFMV) is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1999 and headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, with a satellite office in Warren. The foundation operates as a regional charitable fund management platform serving Mahoning and Trumbull Counties in Northeast Ohio, connecting individual donors, families, companies, and financial advisors with nonprofit grantees, students, and community causes. Its core offering is the administration of 250+ charitable funds across six fund types — Donor Advised, Designated, Agency, Field of Interest, Scholarship, and Unrestricted — with minimum opening contributions ranging from $5,000 (Agency) to $25,000 (Scholarship), and an Acorn Agreement allowing new funds at $2,500 with a five-year build plan.

The foundation's technology stack is built on standard nonprofit SaaS infrastructure rather than proprietary platforms: Stripe for online donation processing, Foundant's Grant Interface for nonprofit grant applications and management, and the fsuit fund portal for fundholder account access and quarterly statements. Its distribution model combines self-serve online portals with direct staff engagement for fund establishment, grantmaking, and advisor collaboration. Grantmaking is executed through quarterly competitive cycles (Q1 2025: $640,000 to 53 nonprofits; Q2 2025: $722,414 to 55 nonprofits), emergency grants, scholarship administration ($174,000 to 95 students in 2025), and agency/designated fund distributions ($1.67 million to 25 nonprofits in 2025).

CFMV generates operating revenue through three principal streams: donor contributions and gifts to charitable funds, fees on fund management and administration services, and investment returns on endowed funds managed through institutional partners including Huntington, KeyBank, PNC, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Stifel, and Clearstead Advisors. The foundation operates complementary community initiatives including the Healthy Community Partnership (launched 2018), the Fund for Women & Girls, the Young Philanthropist Fund, the Emergency Response Fund, and a Racial Equity Initiative. Three supporting organizations operate under its umbrella — Western Reserve Health Foundation, Trumbull Memorial Health Foundation, and William Swanston Charitable Fund — with the Mahoning Valley Historical Society Foundation added in 2023. CFMV holds accreditation from the Community Foundations National Standards Board and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Name

Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

Legal name

Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley

Website

https://cfmv.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1999 that manages 250+ charitable funds across six fund types, connecting donors in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties with local nonprofits, students, and community causes through grantmaking, scholarship administration, and strategic community initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Charitable fund management
• Grantmaking administration
• Donor advised funds
• Scholarship administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Youngstown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions and Gifts: The foundation receives charitable contributions from individuals, families, companies, and organizations to establish and grow charitable funds. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, contributions are tax-deductible.
2. Fund Management and Administration: The foundation manages charitable funds on behalf of donors and nonprofit organizations, providing administrative services, investment management, and grant distribution.
3. Investment Returns on Endowed Funds: Endowed funds are invested to generate returns that support perpetual charitable giving. Investment partners include Huntington, KeyBank, PNC, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Stifel, and Clearstead Advisors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley is a 501(c)(3) public charity that manages more than 250 charitable funds for individuals, families, companies, and nonprofit organizations across Mahoning and Trumbull Counties. It administers six fund types (Donor Advised, Designated, Agency, Field of Interest, Scholarship, and Unrestricted), provides competitive and emergency grantmaking to nonprofits, administers scholarships for local students, and offers planned giving services. Since 2000, the foundation has delivered more than $60 million to local causes through its pooled fund management and grantmaking infrastructure.

Product overview

The Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley is a 501(c)(3) public charity that operates as a charitable fund management platform. Its core offering centers on managing over 250 charitable funds across six fund types (Donor Advised, Designated, Agency, Field of Interest, Scholarship, and Unrestricted), which together facilitate philanthropic giving and grantmaking across Mahoning and Trumbull Counties. The Foundation provides grantmaking services through competitive quarterly cycles and emergency grants, administers scholarship programs via a universal application portal, and offers planned giving options including bequests and trusts. Complementing these fund services are strategic community initiatives including the Healthy Community Partnership, Fund for Women & Girls, Young Philanthropist Fund, Emergency Response Fund, and Racial Equity Initiative, which direct resources toward specific community impact areas. Since 2000, the Foundation has delivered more than $60 million to hundreds of causes in the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Healthy Community Partnership: A flagship collaboration engaging partners from all sectors to improve local health outcomes in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties.
• Fund for Women & Girls
• Young Philanthropist Fund

Products and services

• Donor Advised Fund The most flexible fund type, allowing donors to recommend grants to 501(c)(3) organizations they care about while receiving immediate tax deductions, growing donations tax-free, and distributing over time. Targeted at individuals and families seeking tax-advantaged charitable giving with personal involvement in grantmaking.
• Designated Fund Allows donors to choose one or more specific 501(c)(3) organizations to receive ongoing annual support year after year. The foundation handles ongoing grant distribution to the designated nonprofits.
• Agency Fund Established by nonprofit organizations to provide an additional permanent source of income, with the foundation handling all administrative and investment responsibilities. Requires a minimum opening contribution of $5,000.
• Field of Interest Fund Allows donors to choose general interest areas (such as youth services, homelessness, environment, or education), and the foundation evaluates and awards grants to nonprofits meeting those interest areas.
• Scholarship Fund Established by individuals, organizations, or families to allow deserving students to pursue their academic goals through a universal scholarship application process. Requires a $25,000 minimum opening contribution.
• Unrestricted Fund Gives the foundation's team flexibility to direct funding where it is most needed based on community knowledge and emerging needs. Supports the foundation's most pressing community priorities.
• Grantmaking Services Competitive and emergency grantmaking for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, religious organizations, schools, and government entities through quarterly grant cycles, emergency response funds, and affiliate foundation grants supporting health, education, social justice, and community development. In 2025, $2.8 million in competitive grants was awarded.
• Scholarship Administration Universal scholarship application portal that facilitates hundreds of local student scholarships through funds established by donors. In 2025, the foundation awarded $174,000 in scholarships to 95 students across the Mahoning Valley.
• Planned Giving Legacy giving options including bequests, life insurance donations, charitable remainder trusts, retirement account transfers, charitable lead trusts, and life estate arrangements for donors planning long-term philanthropic impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than $60 million delivered to community causes since 2000
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mahoning Valley Historical Society FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Joined CFMV as a supporting organization in 2023. Established to encourage, promote and support the mission of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
• Raymond John Wean FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborative partner in the Mahoning Valley Community Response Fund and COVID-19 response. Together with The Youngstown Foundation, CFMV created a common COVID-19 Response and Stabilization Application and leveraged joint funding. By end of 2020, the three foundations had jointly invested more than $2.4 million through 150 grants.
• The Youngstown FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborative partner in the Mahoning Valley Community Response Fund. Worked jointly with CFMV and Raymond John Wean Foundation on COVID-19 response and stabilization efforts.
• Western Reserve Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Supporting organization of CFMV focused on improving the health and well-being of Mahoning County residents. Provides funding for health-related grants through CFMV's grantmaking infrastructure.
• Trumbull Memorial Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Supporting organization of CFMV focused on supporting the healthcare needs and education of Trumbull County residents. Provides funding for health-related grants through CFMV's grantmaking infrastructure.
• Healthy Community Partnership (HCP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018CFMV's flagship collaboration initiative. A cross-sector partnership created to improve health outcomes in the community, working to create equitable opportunities for residents to eat healthier and be more active. Led by a community-based steering committee and supported by the foundation and its supporting organizations.
• Any Given Child, Warren, OhiominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CFMV represents philanthropy in this cross-sector collaborative, holding funds for the program and providing technical assistance. The program uses the collective impact model to integrate arts into K-8 education.
• Robert Wood Johnson FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CFMV staff participated in the Foundation's Roadmaps to Health coaching program in 2016, which led to the development of the Healthy Community Partnership strategy.
• Philanthropy OhiominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999CFMV is a member of this association of foundations, corporate contributions programs and other grantmaking organizations. Membership provides access to resources on innovative and best practices within the world of foundations.
• Fund for Our Economic Future (FFEF)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1999A regional collaborative of funders working together to promote economic development in Northeast Ohio. CFMV partners to make a combined $100,000 investment in FFEF every three years, gaining a seat at the table where strategies and priorities are developed.
• Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab (Donor-Advised Fund Partners)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 1999The foundation can receive gifts from donor-advised funds held at these major financial institutions, allowing donors to recommend grants to CFMV from their DAFs.
• William Swanston Charitable FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1919Supporting organization of CFMV established in 1919, committed to supporting children in Mahoning and Trumbull counties who have experienced crises, including abuse, neglect, or dependency.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Philanthropy Ohio: Ohio-based association of foundations and grantmaking organizations; CFMV is a member. Provides peer benchmarking, advocacy, and best-practice resources rather than direct grantmaking, but is a useful thematically connected organization in the sector.

Direct peers

• Toledo Community Foundation: Another Ohio regional community foundation with a similar donor-advised fund, grantmaking, and scholarship model. Comparable in scale and structure to CFMV.
• The Youngstown Foundation: Local Mahoning Valley community foundation and direct collaborator with CFMV on the COVID-19 response. Operates a near-identical charitable fund management and grantmaking model in the same geographic market.
• Akron Community Foundation: Regional community foundation serving Summit County, Ohio, with a comparable operating model — donor-advised funds, competitive grant cycles, scholarships, and supporting organizations. Closest in size, scope, and geography to CFMV among Northeast Ohio community foundations.
• Dayton Foundation: Regional Ohio community foundation with comparable charitable fund, grant, and scholarship programs. Mid-sized and similarly positioned to CFMV, with overlapping competition for Ohio-resident donors.
• Raymond John Wean Foundation: Mahoning Valley-focused foundation that partners with CFMV and The Youngstown Foundation on community grantmaking. Operates overlapping grant cycles and serves the same nonprofit ecosystem in the region.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: Largest national donor-advised fund sponsor; the dominant non-local alternative for philanthropic giving. Competes with CFMV for the same donor dollars but offers scale, low-fee digital experience, and national investment access rather than local community expertise.
• The Cleveland Foundation: Largest community foundation in the nation, also serving Northeast Ohio. Competes for high-net-worth donors and provides grants across Cuyahoga County, but at materially greater scale and broader geographic reach than CFMV.
• The Columbus Foundation: One of the largest community foundations in the U.S., based in central Ohio. Comparable fund management, donor-advised, and grantmaking model, but operates at a much larger scale and in a more economically robust region.
• Schwab Charitable: Major national donor-advised fund sponsor backed by Charles Schwab. Competes directly with community foundations for DAF dollars, especially among investors already engaged with Schwab's brokerage platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CommunityFoundationMahoningValley
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-foundation-of-the-mahoning-valley

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments69 records

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Frequently asked questions about Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley