Mahoning County Land Bank Wins Funding Award

Last week, EfficientGovNow announced that Mahoning County will be awarded with $61,420 for its Collaborative Land Bank Program. The cities of Youngstown, Campbell, Struthers, and Austintown Township worked together with Lien Forward Ohio to submit a funding proposal. EfficicentGovNow is an initiative sponsored by the Fund for Our Economic Future which provides competitive grants for public projects in Northeast Ohio that involve government collaboration. Winning projects are chosen by popular vote, and all residents of Northeast Ohio may participate in the voting process via the web, phone, or paper ballot.


The Mahoning River Mayor's Association, Mahoning County Treasurer's Department, Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative, and Lien Forward Ohio helped raised awareness in order to get residents of the Mahoning Valley to vote in this competition. Their efforts were a major success. Only four out of the total number of projects in the competition received funding, and of those projects, the Mahoning County Land Bank topped the list.


The funding will cover 80% of the project's proposed start-up budget. This is the second year in a row that the Mahoning Valley has won funding from EfficientGovNow for collaborative government projects. The community's strong voting response demonstrates the Valley's commitment and desire to see governments work together for the benefit of the entire region.