Gay Community Endowment Fund to host 21st annual holiday home tour
Sugar Plum Tour will feature enchanting homes throughout Greater Akron
THIS IS A PAST EVENT
The Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation invites Greater Akron residents to save the date for its 21st annual Sugar Plum Tour of Holiday Homes. The Sugar Plum Tour is Akron's premier holiday home tour and the signature fundraiser of the Gay Community Endowment Fund.
This year's event includes both live and virtual tours, with the live tour taking place on Sunday, Dec. 4, from 1 to 5 p.m., and the virtual tour taking place the weekend of Dec. 10-11. The live tour will showcase five incomparable historic and contemporary homes, all festively decorated for the holiday season. Virtual tourgoers will get a peek into all five homes on the live tour, plus three additional bonus locations.
Corporate and individual sponsorships for the Sugar Plum Tour are available and start at $500. Sponsors will receive tickets to both the live and virtual tours, as well as the private Patron Party, which will be held after the live tour on Dec. 4 at another spectacular residence from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sponsors at the $2,500 level and above will also be invited to a special brunch and preview tour with this year's homeowners.
"Sponsorship of the Sugar Plum Tour is an opportunity for any organization or individual to positively impact LGBTQ+ people through the grantmaking of the Gay Community Endowment Fund," said Stephannie Garrett, Sugar Plum Tour Co-Chair. "The mission of GCEF is to achieve a lived equality for all LGBTQ+ people in Greater Akron."
Proceeds from the Sugar Plum Tour support the Gay Community Endowment Fund's grantmaking to programs that positively impact the LGBTQ+ community, as well as Greater Akron as a whole. In 2022, grants from the fund expanded outreach efforts to aging LGBTQ+ adults, provided gender-affirming health care services for LGBTQ+ youth, and supported inclusivity training seminars for small-business owners, among other initiatives.
Tourgoers who purchase their tickets before Nov. 1 will receive a special early bird discount. Discounted ticket sales will begin the day of the Akron Pride Festival on Aug. 27 and can be purchased online at www.sugarplumtour.org. To receive a reminder alert when tickets go on sale, sign up for the Sugar Plum Tour email list at www.akroncf.org/SugarPlumNews.
A complete list of sponsorship opportunities can be viewed at www.akroncf.org/SugarPlumSponsor. For more information, contact Deb Hoffman at 330-436-5614 or dhoffman@akroncf.org, or visit www.sugarplumtour.org.
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 advances a lived equality for all LGBTQ+ people in Greater Akron by investing in strategic and responsive grantmaking that empowers the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Since its inception, the fund has grown to more than $2 million while reinvesting more than $690,000 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 www.gaycommunityfund.org.
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 67 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. It is a philanthropic endowment of nearly $280 million with a growing family of nearly 800 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 nearly $209 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 https://www.akroncf.org.