Akron Community Foundation

About Akron Community Foundation

A large share of Akron Community Foundation’s grantmaking reaches organizations working in Akron and across Summit County, with 95% of grants going to recipients in Ohio. The foundation’s recent awards show a mix of operating support, program support, and targeted investments in education, arts, health, and community services. Among the larger recent grants, it gave $1,042,750 to the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition to support free student nights and pay-what-you-will performances of classical theatre programming, and $655,484 to Summit Education Initiative to support readiness coalitions that promote community collaboration and kindergarten readiness. The foundation also funds multi-purpose community institutions. It awarded $631,898 to United Way of Summit and Medina for general program support and $435,602 to The University of Akron Foundation to support Developing Heroes, an in-school group mentoring program for urban adolescents in Akron. Other recent grants point to support for local infrastructure and public life, including arts organizations, neighborhood partnerships, and health providers. Its donor-advised grantmaking sits alongside community fund cycles and affiliate funds, so the portfolio includes both broad local support and more targeted efforts for specific populations and places.

What Akron Community Foundation Funds

Education is a clear theme in the foundation’s grantmaking. It gave $655,484 to Summit Education Initiative to support readiness coalitions that promote community collaboration and kindergarten readiness, and $348,203 to The University of Akron Foundation to support Summit County K-3 teachers in evidence-based reading instruction for at-risk readers through an equity-informed multi-tiered system of supports. Arts and culture also appear in recent awards. The foundation granted $333,247 to Art Resources Transformations to support public art in vacant storefront windows and buildings in downtown Akron, and $1,042,750 to the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition for free student nights and pay-what-you-will performances of classical theatre programming. In health and human services, it awarded $400,229 to Access Inc for general program support and $309,250 to Summa Health for general operations. Youth-focused support includes $435,602 to The University of Akron Foundation for in-school group mentoring for urban adolescents in Akron.

How Akron Community Foundation Gives