Women's Endowment Fund seeking grant proposals

The fund will award grants to programs that enrich the lives of local women and girls

The Women's Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation is now accepting grant proposals for programs that enrich the lives of local women and girls in the following areas:

Economic Empowerment, including entrepreneurship, asset-building and financial literacy programs; programs that create better jobs, better access to jobs, and quality affordable childcare for women; and programs that enable women with children to work more productively.
Safety from Violence, including programs that raise awareness about violence through education; programs that prevent the occurrence and reoccurrence of violence against women and girls; and programs that develop a consistent and coordinated response to violence against women and girls.
Health and Wellness, including programs that raise awareness about healthy lifestyles through education and prevention; programs that support reproductive health and prevent teen pregnancies; and programs that help women and girls address depression and other mental health issues.

Qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations can apply for a grant through Akron Community Foundation's new online grant management system by Nov. 1, 2025. Interested parties are encouraged to watch a tutorial outlining the new system at akroncf.org/watch/grantee-training. A link to the grant application is available at akroncf.org/applyWEF.

A committee composed of Women's Endowment Fund advisory board members, donors and community leaders will review the grant proposals. The committee may request an in-person or virtual site visit or interview during the grantmaking process.

During its latest grant cycle, the fund awarded 30 grants totaling $191,000, bringing the fund's cumulative grantmaking total to nearly $2.5 million. Recent grants from the Women's Endowment Fund have provided shelter for women and children experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, supported social-emotional learning opportunities for girls, and more. A complete list of 2025 grant recipients is available at akroncf.org/WEFgrants.

The next round of grants will be announced in spring 2026. Preference will be given to programs that involve collaboration with other agencies, and efforts to obtain matching funds are encouraged.

For more information about the application process, contact Cristina González Alcalá, Ph.D., Director of Community Investment at the Akron Community Foundation, at 330-436-5626 or [email protected].

About the Women's Endowment Fund
The Women's Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation was established in 1993 as a permanent endowment committed to encouraging the advancement of women and girls in Summit County. To date, it has grown to more than $5.6 million and awarded nearly $2.5 million in grants. Contributions of any amount are welcome and can be made online at akroncf.org/give/WEF or mailed to Women's Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307. For more information, call 330-376-8522 or visit womensendowmentfund.org.

About Akron Community Foundation
For 70 years, Akron Community Foundation has been our community's champion and generator of enduring philanthropy. 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.