Winter 2024

Dear Fundholders,

For those whom I have not yet had the opportunity to meet, I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Laura Lederer and I have been a proud employee of the community foundation for more than 12 years. I was recently promoted to Vice President and Chief Development Officer following Margaret Medzie's departure, and I look forward to working with each of you as you continue making an impact on our community through philanthropy.

Each quarter, our team brings you Donor-Advised Insights, covering the latest in charitable giving trends and news from the foundation. Here’s what you can find in this issue:

Are you making the most of The Center for Family Philanthropy? Learn how we can help you take a more structured approach to your charitable giving.

Complete a quick questionnaire to help us plan fundholder-focused events that work best for your needs.

The foundation’s magazine was recently rebranded and is now called Foundations! This new iteration of the magazine will still include the same important information you value as a fundholder, but with an added emphasis on telling impactful stories of the donors and nonprofits who make our community better every day.

As always, you'll find co-investment opportunities, a link to your quarterly fund statement, upcoming events, and foundation news. We hope you enjoy this issue and welcome your questions about any of the resources outlined below.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me anytime.

Laura Lederer

Vice President and Chief Development Officer

Akron Community Foundation

330-436-5611

llederer@akroncf.org

Creating a meaningful structure for family philanthropy

In our Fundholder Spotlight in the fall issue of Foundations, Bill & Trish Steere shared some of the ways the foundation team helped them structure their giving as a family. The Center for Family Philanthropy is equipped to help your family use objective insights and tools to foster positive conversations.

Family philanthropy should be something that brings families together and establishes a culture of giving for generations to come. That process is impossible without a plan. That's why Akron Community Foundation provides philanthropic advising and allows fundholders to pass their fund down to successor advisors.

Ready to bring your family together to craft a personalized plan for generational giving? Contact Karen Hrdlicka, director of the center, at khrdlicka@akroncf.org or 330-436-5640.

Fundholder Spotlight:

Bill & Trish Steere

Quick Fundholder Questionnaire

From our Annual Meeting to Community Issues Sessions, Akron Community Foundation always strives to host events that are informative, inspiring and impactful for our fundholders. As we plan future events, we'd love to hear about the topics and types of events that would be most beneficial for you. We hope you'll take 2-3 minutes to complete this brief questionnaire to aid in our planning.

Complete Questionnaire

Donor-Advised Funds: The Hub of Your Philanthropy

When life gets busy, it's tempting to put your donor-advised fund on autopilot, but that would be a missed opportunity.

By now, you likely know that a donor-advised fund offers the convenience of a one-stop shop: You make tax-deductible contributions to the fund, and then recommend grants to your favorite charities. Make sure you're leveraging your donor-advised fund to execute the full range of your charitable giving each year.

Learn More

Check Out Our New Magazine: Foundations

Read all about our newest affiliate fund, the Black Giving Collective Fund, as well as profiles on our 2023 Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award recipient Theresa Carter, and Let's Grow Akron. Plus news from the foundation, information about tax-smart ways to give, and more.

Deadline approaching to submit your co-investment grants for the Education cycle!

As a fundholder, you have the opportunity to review Akron Community Foundation's competitive grant applications and support initiatives that align with your charitable interests through our online fundholder portal, DonorCentral. As our Education cycle comes to a close, we realize we simply cannot meet all the needs of our grantees.

Requests from nonprofits running programs that concentrate on key transition periods in a student's education – like kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, eighth grade math, and college and career readiness – have increased, making your support for these organizations more vital than ever. We typically award more than $600,000 per quarter to local nonprofits. Due to increasing needs in our community, your co-investment provides significant impact to these organizations. Please visit your fund portal to view our current Education grant applicants.

If you haven't registered your DonorCentral account yet, view our instructions to get started or reach out to your primary contact for assistance. All co-investment requests should be submitted by Feb. 5.

View Education Co-Investment Opportunities

Your quarterly fund statement is now available

Fund statements for the quarter ending Dec. 31 are now available through our online fundholder portal, DonorCentral. This document includes timely financial information, such as your fund balance, contributions, investment activity, grants and distributions, and more. For questions about your fund statement, please contact us at 330-376-8522. If you haven't registered your DonorCentral account yet, view our instructions to get started.

Need a refresher on your fund statement? Check out our guide to understanding your fund statement.