A message from GCEF's board chair: Celebrating 25 Years of Impact, Growth and Community
It has been a year of milestones for the Gay Community Endowment Fund as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.
We began the year with a powerful grant cycle, distributing $84,000 across 10 grants, including a $25,000 impact grant to CANAPI — our largest award to a single organization since the Gay Games. With this historic gift, GCEF surpassed $1 million in cumulative grants awarded since 2001.
At exhALE, our annual celebration in June, we honored the founders of the fund and welcomed civil rights activist and LGBTQ+ icon Jim Obergefell as our keynote speaker. As part of the event, we commissioned a video featuring original founders, early champions of the fund, and grant recipients to tell the story of GCEF's creation. Through our grants, GCEF has continued to support the University of Akron Foundation's work to build Summit County's first LGBTQ+ digital archive, and a copy of the founders video has been donated to help preserve the history of the fund.
These are challenging times for our LGBTQ+ community, and we are proud to stand beside organizations providing essential, direct services. Thanks to the sustained generosity of our GCEF family, we achieved our ambitious goal of growing the fund by 25% for our 25th anniversary. As of Sept. 1, we have raised over $500,000 and increased our endowment to $2.9 million.
The best way you can help us reach our goal and continue our momentum is by joining the Circle of Inclusion as an annual donor or the Cornerstone Society through estate or beneficiary planning. And if you're already a Circle of Inclusion member, please consider ways to increase your donation to ensure we can continue strengthening the organizations that lift up our community.
And as summer gives way to cooler nights, we're excited for the Sugar Plum Tour of Holiday Homes. This year's Patron Party will be held on Saturday, Dec. 5, at a legendary Akron home to be revealed that weekend. It's going to be an unforgettable setting to celebrate 25 years of GCEF and 25 years of the tour, and I hope to see you all there! Sponsorship opportunities are available at a variety of levels, as well as individual Patron Party tickets that also include the live tour of five festively decorated homes on Sunday, Dec. 6, from noon to 5 p.m. Individual tickets for the live and virtual tour are also on sale now. I hope you're all looking forward to making the yuletide gay with us and being part of this beloved holiday tradition!
Thank you for your continued partnership and generosity. Together, we are building a stronger future for LGBTQ+ individuals across Greater Akron.
With gratitude and allyship,
Adam Besenyodi
Chair, Gay Community Endowment Fund