Before his passing in 2022, Richard Shale, an English professor at Youngstown State University began planning what's been described as gifts for local organization's benefitting the community.

At the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley (CFMV), the Rick Shale Fund was established at the end of June with a distribution from the Rick Shale Trust of just over $3.7 million.

The foundation will begin making grants in the first quarter of 2024, with open applications being accepted through CFMV's general grant cycle.

Shale laid out five broad areas of interest for the fund – local history, the arts, parks, education and social services.

"Rick Shale was a remarkable man," says Dr. Louis Zona, executive director and chief curator of The Butler Institute of American Art. "Generous and proud of his Youngstown associations, Rick's good work can be revealed in so many community projects. No project was too small for Rick's guiding hand. He loved the Butler and was a member of the Butler Docent program, an organization that he loved so much. But most of all he was a friend to so many of us. We miss him greatly."

Previously, his trust donated $6 million to four local organizations: Butler Institute of American Art, Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, Mahoning Valley Historical Society and Youngstown State University Foundation.