PHILANTHROPY — The Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley awarded $99,897 in 2025 Community Impact Grants and Field of Interest Fund Grants on Tuesday, with $21,500 of those funds going toward initiatives in Steubenville. -- Contributed

WHEELING — More than $20,000 in grant funds is coming to local nonprofits, furthering three targeted initiatives to address community needs.

On Tuesday, the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley announced recipients of its 2025 Community Impact Grants and Field of Interest Fund Grants. Made possible through the generosity of donors, the grants total $99,887 and aim to support programs and services in the Ohio Valley, according to a release.

Of those funds, $21,500 is being shared between Aim Women’s Center, Urban Mission Ministries Inc. and LaBelle Neighbors Who Care Inc., all of which are based in Steubenville.

“We are honored to support these incredible organizations that are meeting critical needs across the Ohio Valley,” stated CFOV Executive Director Susie Nelson. “The Community Impact and Field of Interest grants reflect the generosity of donors who believe in the power of philanthropy to create positive change. These funds enable nonprofits to continue their vital work, and we look forward to seeing the impact they will make.”

Established in 1972 and headquartered in Wheeling, CFOV is a nonprofit organization “created to facilitate philanthropy in the Upper Ohio Valley,” according to its website. The nonprofit manages a variety of charitable funds, built through hundreds of donor partnerships.

CFOV has awarded more than $30 million in grants and scholarships across Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, Ohio, Tyler and Wetzel counties in West Virginia, as well as Belmont and Jefferson counties in Ohio.

The Community Impact Grant program operates through CFOV’s unrestricted funds, which allow for “responsive and flexible grantmaking based on local needs,” according to the release. Field of Interest Funds are created by donors with a passion for particular causes or geographic areas.

This year’s grants center around various key areas: Substance abuse prevention and treatment; next-generation leadership and mentoring; youth recreation, economic and workforce development; and assistance for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed households — those that struggle to afford basic necessities.

Nelson expressed gratitude for the donors who make the grants possible and organizations working in the community.

Aim Women’s Center received $9,000 from CFOV’s Community Impact Fund to expand its doula classes, which educate women and support them through pre-birth or postpartum concerns or issues.

“We’re really excited about the Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley generously supporting our childbirth classes that are led by a certified doula,” said Aim Executive Director Rebekah Cohen Morris. “In addition to the childbirth classes, she’s also helping moms with postpartum issues, breastfeeding, all the different aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and then postpartum.”

A pregnancy resource center located on North Fifth Street, Aim has been hosting classes for local mothers through a volunteer doula — a certified professional who provides clients with emotional, physical and instructional support before, during or after childbirth.

Popular with expecting mothers, the doula’s presence at Aim also drew the attention of many postpartum mothers with unique questions about their stage, Cohen Morris said. That postpartum period can be filled with anxiety and potentially trauma-inducing if mothers are unprepared to care for their newborn babies’ needs, she added.

To combat that, Aim plans to expand its classes, increasing availability to the doula so mothers can have their questions answered and be ready for the challenges of early child rearing.

Grant funds will allow the doula to spend more time at Aim, Cohen Morris said. In addition to the existing childbirth classes from 10 a.m. to noon every Thursday, the doula will be present for drop-in visits between noon and 2 p.m., when mothers can speak one-on-one about issues related to postpartum or lactation.

Classes are entirely free and come with free childcare, so mothers and fathers can focus on the class. Cohen Morris said she’s “just thrilled” about the new opportunity through CFOV, which she hopes will draw parents into a “network of empowered, informed mothers.” The goal is to serve as many as 300 mothers through the classes this year, she added.

Urban Mission Ministries Inc. received $7,500 from CFOV’s Community Impact Fund to host a leadership training course for its volunteers and the community at large.

Grant funds will finance the Urban Mission’s new LIFT Program — Leadership Initiative Focused Training — a mentorship program that will engage staff, volunteers and clients in projects that “encourage them to take initiative and demonstrate leadership behaviors,” according to Tiffany Beckwith, manager at Urban Thrift and Opportunity Center, who submitted the application for the grant while serving as the Urban Mission’s interim executive director.

“We noticed that we have a lot of individuals who volunteer for us who are looking to take the next step, and this gives them a way to go from just volunteering to actually being in a program they’re being taught leadership skills, preparing them to head out into the workforce with a couple little tools in their belt.”

The free program will take place during a six-week course, wherein participants will meet twice weekly for service and leadership development projects. Classes will tackle goal setting, emotional intelligence, communication, team leadership, strategic thinking and team building.

Participants will be matched with a mentor and create an individualized learning plan with tangible goals for the program. Individuals interested in being mentors should reach out to Beckwith by email at tbeckwith@urbanmission.org.

There will be two LIFT sessions in 2025, with the first beginning in mid-March. Twenty-five openings are available for each session, Beckwith said, adding that the goal is to reach 50 individuals by year’s end.

Tuesday’s grant announcement marked yet another point of collaboration between the Urban Mission and CFOV, Beckwith noted. The Urban Mission is wrapping up its Health Food for All program, an initiative addressing health inequality in the Ohio Valley’s low-income population that was funded by CFOV last year.

LaBelle Neighbors Who Care Inc. received $5,000 from CFOV’s Community Impact Fund, Jefferson County Fund and Douglas Naylor First Family Legacy Fund to finance its various community- and youth-centered programs.

Established as a small community organization in 1998, LNWC sought to improve conditions in Steubenville’s LaBelle Neighborhood through initiatives like streetlight advocacy and after-school programs, according to Asantewa Anyabwile, who’s served as LNWC’s director since 2010.

Since becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Anyabwile said, LNWC has constructed a community garden on Wellesley Avenue, hosted free summer camps with an emphasis on education for kids ages 6 to 12, organized field trips throughout the Tri-State Area, revitalized the Belleview Pool, presented health programs and much more.

LNWC has been working with foundation since 2014 to support its diverse range of programs, Anyabwile said, and this year proved to be no exception.

“We try to stretch the money out a lot with fundraisers and any sponsorships we get,” Anyabwile said. “I’m glad we’re a mainstay in the community, and they know who we are, and they do support our program each year.”

Anyabwile added she’s particularly excited about this year’s historically Black college and university tour.

Since 2014, LNWC has been organizing student trips to HBCUs, occasionally sponsoring students who couldn’t pay for the trip otherwise, with help from Steubenville High School.

“Some of these kids, economics won’t allow or the household can’t afford things like this, and the kids don’t get a chance to travel,” Anyabwile said. “So, us having this trip is such a life-changer.”

This year’s trip is for young women only and will occur April 13-18. Those interested should contact Anyabwile at (740) 325-4610.