It takes a village to raise a child, and the Millennium Fund for Children is enriching the lives of children far and wide.
A partnership of Akron Community Foundation and the Akron Beacon Journal, the Millennium Fund accepts grant applications for grassroots children’s programs where even a small amount can make a big difference. Grants support children’s programs throughout the Beacon Journal/Beaconjournal.com’s audience coverage area, which includes Summit, Portage, Medina, Stark, Wayne and Cuyahoga counties.
The fund started in 1999 when generous people all over Northeast Ohio donated their last hour’s pay of the millennium to create a permanent endowment that would benefit children in the 21st century and beyond. Each year, people continue to contribute gifts of all sizes, from a few quarters earned at a lemonade stand to thousands of dollars from corporate leaders.
Today, the fund has grown to more than $1.1 million and generated nearly $850,000 in grants for local programs that deeply impact children, including backpacks filled with food for hungry students and holiday gifts for children in foster care.
Read our latest newsletter | Learn about the history of the fund
Our Recent Grants
By the Numbers
Committee
Committee members serve without pay to help the fund impact the lives of area children.
Shaun Schweitzer
Chair
Lou Albertson
Career Consultant/Virtual Trainer, Lee Hecht Harrison
Connie Collins
Photographer/Videographer, Connie Collins Creative
Getta Kutuchief
Outreach and Education Coordinator, Summit County Juvenile Court
Jan Leach
Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kent State University
John T. Petures Jr.
President and CEO, Akron Community Foundation
Shirley Simon
Owner, Shirley A. Simon, Attorney at Law
Laurie Zuckerman
President, Zuckerman Consulting Group Inc.
News & Events
News
As Akron Community Foundation’s Millennium Fund for Children wrapped up its 20th anniversary year, it recently awarded 30 grants totaling [...]
By: Shaun Schweitzer, Chair As the 20th anniversary of the Millennium Fund for Children came to a close at the end of November, our grantmaking committee has been reflecting [...]