Vernon L. Odom Fund Grants

In 2026, the Vernon L. Odom Fund awarded grants totaling $10,300 to 14 nonprofit organizations:

Urban Vision received a grant to provide dance classes and uniforms for girls in the Set On Success after-school program.

• Akron Black Artist Guild, to support the Outlined in Black Art Exhibition, an annual program that uplifts Black artists across Northeast Ohio by providing an opportunity to exhibit and sell their work, $500
• Akron Children's Museum, to provide discounted admission for families who qualify for EBT or SNAP, $500
• Akron Inner City Soccer Club, to support a year-round soccer program for families of low socioeconomic status in Akron, $1,000
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Zeta Theta Omega Chapter, to support Perfecting Our Pearls, a one-day youth leadership program that provides girls from diverse backgrounds with education and mentorship, while improving their self-esteem, $1,000
• Citizens Akron Church (The Vincent House), to provide boxing lesson scholarships through Popeye's Boxing Gym for children in the Middlebury neighborhood, $1,000
• Curated Storefront, to support the visiting artist program at the I Promise School, $450
• DANCECleveland, to present Akron choreographer Dominic Moore-Dunson's new work, "Black by Nature," in the Summit Metro Parks, $1,000
• Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio, to support a ballroom dance program that promotes social development and confidence, $400
• Girls on the Run Northeast Ohio, to provide financial assistance to Akron-area girls for a program that combines physical activity with discussions about self-confidence, stress management and healthy relationships, $1,000
• Limitless Ambition, to support community engagement events designed to strengthen relationships between parents and their daughters, $1,000
• Marion F. Walker Queens Project, to support summer literacy programming and community engagement events, $500
• South Street Ministries, to provide reentry services and peer-to-peer support groups for returning citizens, $1,000
• Summit Artspace, to support an exhibition in the Main Gallery by an emerging local artist, $500
• Urban Vision, to provide dance classes and uniforms for girls in the Set On Success after-school program, $450