Summit County Opioid Healing Fund opens grant submissions for fifth round of funding
Akron Community Foundation and Summit County will partner for a fifth round of grants from the Summit County Opioid Healing Fund, to help residents directly impacted by the opioid epidemic. Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro announced an additional investment of $500,000 into the fund at the recent State of the County address. Grant submissions will open Nov. 1, with a Dec. 1 deadline. Awarded grants will be announced in March 2026.
The Summit County Opioid Healing Fund was established by the Opiate Abatement Advisory Council using settlement funds that Summit County received from a federal lawsuit against prescription drug manufacturers and distributors.
"Akron Community Foundation remains an outstanding partner in our work to combat the opioid epidemic and its ripple effects in Summit County," said County Executive Shapiro. "This fund allows us to strengthen smaller, grassroots organizations that deliver vital services to residents facing substance use challenges and to the families and friends who support them on the path to recovery."
The program provides grants of up to $25,000 to nonprofits supporting Summit County residents directly impacted by the opioid epidemic. A total of nearly $1.2 million has so far been awarded, and grants from this fund are targeted primarily to organizations not currently being funded by the Summit County ADM Board, and for programs that offer peer support services, recovery-oriented services, and community-based recovery events.
"The drug addiction crisis is everchanging, and Summit County has been a key partner in helping to identify these trends in order to have the most impact we can in the community," said John F. Garofalo, President & CEO of Akron Community Foundation. "We appreciate the county's continued investment in the safety and health of our residents."
Past funded projects from the Opiate Healing Fund include peer support, care coordination, transportation, permanent supportive housing, recovery groups, and advocacy services, among other initiatives.
For details, visit www.akroncf.org/grantmaking-initiatives/overview/competitive-grants/.
For a grant informational sheet, visit www.akroncf.org/wp-content/uploads/summit-county-opioid-healing-fund-2025-for-county-council.pdf.
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 70 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 $330 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 $263 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.