Author: Josh Medore | Photos courtesy of the Arnett Family
From an early age, Diana R. Arnett was taught the importance of philanthropy. Her parents started trusts for Diana and her siblings with the proceeds from an investment in Cincinnati Insurance and set up accounts at Home Savings & Loan. All the while, Parker and Frances Arnett taught their children to give back to their communities whenever and however they could.
Although Diana eventually left the Mahoning Valley to live with her brother, David, in Kentucky, her love of the Youngstown area didn’t fade. Diana was known for calling Home Savings almost daily to check her account balances.
Diana’s trust grew to $1.1 million and when the Arnett Family Fund was created in 2018 from that trust and the remainder of Diana’s estate, the $9.5 million gift was – and remains – the largest gift the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley has ever received. With longtime family friend Attorney Joseph Houser serving as a temporary adviser, the fund focused on supporting projects in arts, education and underserved populations in the Valley, per Diana’s wishes.
Among the local organizations supported by the Arnett Family Fund over the years have been Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Beatitude House and Inspiring Minds. Since its creation, the fund has awarded $1.1 million in grants.
2022 marks the Arnett Family Fund’s transition to a CFMV discretionary fund, which allows the Community Foundation to use Diana’s gift to address the Valley’s greatest community needs while honoring her wishes for the funds. With the shift, Atty. Houser is no longer involved in advising the fund directly, but maintains his relationship with the Community Foundation and is always on call to give insight into the lives and interests of Diana and her family.
“Given Atty. Houser’s close connection with the family, it only made sense that we draw from his knowledge and experience,” explained Shari Harrell, Community Foundation presdent. “We have worked well together over the last few years to make gifts from the Arnett Fund, and he has graciously helped us learn about the Arnetts through him and his memories of the family.”
Additionally, Atty. Houser joined the CFMV family in a different way as the co-creator with his siblings of the Josephine A. Houser Memorial Fund, which honors the legacy of their mother.
Since becoming a discretionary asset, the Arnett Family Fund has supported many of the Community Foundation’s efforts to provide support to local nonprofits through means other than traditional grantmaking. Among those efforts have been providing scholarships to Philanthropy Ohio’s Summer Learning Series for nonprofit leaders, the Nonprofit Mentoring Network pilot program and, for the past three years, the Giving Tuesday And Beyond campaign to match donations to agency funds housed at the Community Foundation. The 2023 campaign, which ran from Nov. 27 through Dec. 31, saw more than 1,000 donors have their gift supported by additional contributions from the Arnett Family Fund.
