Tickets on sale for the Gay Community Endowment Fund's 25th Anniversary Celebration
Activist Jim Obergefell to participate in Q&A
Tickets are now available for the Gay Community Endowment Fund's 25th Anniversary Celebration, "exhALE: Advancing Lived Equality." The event will take place from 6-8:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5, 2026, at House Three Thirty. General admission tickets start at $85 and can be purchased online at akroncf.org/exhale.
In celebration of the fund's 25th anniversary, activist Jim Obergefell will speak and participate in a Q&A with guests. Mr. Obergefell draws from his unique experience at the heart of the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling to move and empower audiences to stand by their beliefs – and prove that love always wins.
The fund's leadership will also honor the Founders of the Gay Community Endowment Fund with the 2026 Paul Daum Award. The award honors those who have demonstrated a significant commitment to LGBTQ+ causes and whose involvement has benefited the Greater Akron community at large. Created in 2016, the award pays tribute to Paul Daum's generous estate gift to the Gay Community Endowment Fund, which left a legacy that will forever meet the needs of Greater Akron's LGBTQ+ community.
Major sponsors of this year's event include Raymond Dental Group – Dr. Kate Raymond & Michelle Krocker, and Michelle Ryba & Scott Read. Sponsorship opportunities are still available and range from $500 to $7,500.
Proceeds from the event support the GCEF Scholarship Fund, which annually awards scholarships to LGBTQ+ and allied students in Northeast Ohio. Sponsors receive complimentary tickets and recognition in event materials, among other benefits. A complete list of sponsorship opportunities can be viewed at akroncf.org/exhALE-sponsorship. For more information, contact Affiliate Fund Event & Volunteer Coordinator Malia Rivera-Speer at 330-436-5649 or [email protected].
About the Gay Community Endowment Fund
Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. The fund supports the Greater Akron LGBTQ+ community by providing grants and scholarships that enhance the right to live safely, openly and authentically. Since its inception, the fund has grown to more than $2.8 million while reinvesting more than $1 million into the community. Contributions of any amount are welcome and support future grantmaking. Checks should be sent to Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307, with Gay Community Endowment Fund in the memo line. Donations may also be designated for the GCEF Scholarship Fund. For more information, or to contribute, call 330-376-8522 or visit gaycommunityfund.org.
About Akron Community Foundation
For 70 years, Akron Community Foundation has been our community's champion and generator of enduring philanthropy. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of $350 million with a growing family of more than 900 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation's funds have awarded $271 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit akroncf.org.