Civic Affairs

Civic and economic well-being serves everyone

Akron Community Foundation believes all residents of Summit County can find prosperity and success in the region with the proper mix of money and community involvement.

Over the past decade, the community foundation directed more than $7.2 million in competitive grants that encourage:

• Economic development, employment and consumer rights, including support for the Fund for Our Economic Future
• Law enforcement, crime prevention and safety, including a grant to fund the Summit County re-entry coordinator, who helps ex-offenders become productive, law-abiding citizens
• Urban development, including a grant to the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to create a land bank of vacant and abandoned properties in Akron
• Energy conservation and environmental protection, including a grant to help Rebuilding Together Summit County make energy-efficient modifications and repairs to the homes of elderly and low-income residents

• • • • Are you a fundholder? We can keep you up to date on the community’s arts and culture landscape. Or, we can offer funding options in this and other areas of interest.

• Community service, civic engagement and neighborhood safety and beautification efforts, like the Neighborhood Partnership Program
• Parks and recreation, including funding for the new Grizzly Ridge exhibit at the Akron Zoo

Those are just a few. Donor advisors and designated funds contribute an additional $1.6 million in grants to support these and other civic affairs programs they identify.

See a list of our most recent Civic Affairs grants.