Akron Community Foundation announced quarterly grants and distributions totaling $4,256,708, benefiting hundreds of nonprofits in our community and beyond. Grants approved this quarter include:

Health & Human Services grants totaling $755,000

Grants included in this round of funding will support programs that meet the basic needs of area residents, including those that address mental health, substance use disorders, housing and more. A grant to Love Akron for The Locker Room Experience will help mentor and empower high schoolers. According to Love Akron, the program has yielded increased school attendance for participating students, as well as decreased violence and vandalism. Learn more.

Proactive grants totaling $40,000

A $25,000 grant to the Humane Society of Summit County will pair aging adults with local pets in need of adoption as part of an initiative to boost the mental health of our aging senior population. The Akron Police Department will receive a total of $30,000, with half coming from our proactive grant cycle, to support a comprehensive health and wellness program that provides officers and other personnel with mental, emotional and physical wellness information and services. Learn more.

Bath Community Fund grants totaling $50,000

The fund has now distributed more than $250,000 since it began awarding grants in 2016. Grants benefit nonprofit organizations serving the Bath community, including the Summit County Astronomy Club, which received a grant this year to optimize the public viewing experience at the observatory in the Bath Nature Preserve ahead of the total eclipse in 2024. Learn more.

Millennium Fund for Children grants totaling $61,000

Also reaching a grant milestone this year is the Millennium Fund for Children, which has now distributed more than $1 million in grants to children's programs throughout the Greater Akron area. Established in 1999 as a partnership of the Akron Beacon Journal and Akron Community Foundation, the fund has awarded more than 650 grants to programs that meet children’s basic needs, teach important life skills, enrich students’ lives through visual and performing arts, and much more. Learn more.

Have you thought about how you will make a charitable impact this year? With input from our Professional Advisor Council, our Year-End Giving Guide  provides you with strategic tips to help maximize your tax savings through philanthropy. We accept gifts from the simple to the complex and are available to discuss your end-of-year plans. Don't forget that gifts must be made online or postmarked by 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31. Looking for more information or guidance? Contact Laura Lederer, vice president and chief development officer, at 330-436-5611 or llederer@akroncf.org.

Established in August with an initial $50,000 gift from Akron Community Foundation, the Black Giving Collective Fund is seeking donors as it nears its March 31, 2024, deadline to receive another $50,000 matching donation from the foundation. At its launch event in August, the fund announced that it would also be bringing The Soul of Philanthropy to Akron. The Soul of Philanthropy is a national touring exhibit that showcases the history of giving in the Black community.

Members of the Black community, as well as allies, are also encouraged to complete an application to be considered to join either the Black Giving Collective Fund Advisory Board or The Soul of Philanthropy Akron Steering Committee. Applications are due by Jan. 31, 2024. For questions or more info about these opportunities, contact Tracy Burt, vice president of marketing & communications, at 330-436-5619 or tburt@akroncf.org.

You can also help the fund meet its $50,000 match by making a donation today.

Akron Community Foundation recently welcomed three new charitable funds to our growing family, including a scholarship fund that will help students at Theodore Roosevelt High School pursue their educational dreams.