Search Through Akron Grants for Nonprofits in Ohio

Charitable Contributions

Costco Wholesale’s primary charitable efforts specifically focus on programs supporting children, education, and health and human services in the communities where we do business. Throughout the year we receive a large number of requests from nonprofit organizations striving to make a positive impact, and we are thankful to be able to provide support to a variety of organizations and causes. While we would like to respond favorably to all requests, understandably, the needs are far greater than our allocated resources and we are unable to accommodate them all.

Warehouse Donations:

Warehouse donations are handled at the warehouse level - please consult your local warehouse for up-to-date information regarding their donations contacts and review process.

Grant Applications

If the request is under consideration, you may be contacted by staff for any additional information needed. Applications are reviewed within 4-6 weeks, and decisions are made based on several factors, including: type of program; identified community need not otherwise available; indication that evidenced based data will establish measurable results of intended outcomes; community collaboration; broad base of financial support; project budget and operating expenses.

Mission

The DanPaul Foundation will use its resources to help train teachers and parents in early childhood development, protect children from abuse and neglect, stimulate children's personal social responsibilities, and offer them opportunities for enrichment and growth.

The Foundation will also encourage children to be concerned and informed about the environment and the underprivileged, particularly with regard to clean air and water, and adequate housing and nutrition for all.

Beliefs

The DanPaul Foundation believes that children should have ample opportunities for enrichment in their lives, and thus strives to provide many different ways to enrich and expand children's minds through direct programs and monetary support to organizations doing similar work.

We have provided or currently provide grants related to the following program areas:

• Workshops, Conferences, + Seminars: We strive to offer educational workshops, conferences, and seminars for parents and teachers on topics related to early childhood development.
• Student Scholarships: We aim to help students attending post-secondary education institutions by providing need-based and academic scholarships.
• Scientific Endeavors: We desire to advance scientific endeavors which seek to improve the quality of life for everyone in the world.
• Clean Air + Water: We hope to pass on knowledge and practical life skills to youth regarding their personal responsibility to the environment, teaching them about issues surrounding clean air and water.
• Child Advocacy: We believe in protecting children from abuse and neglect and particularly love to support programs that provide education and assistance to children as well as organizations advocating or caring for vulnerable children.
• Homelessness: We want to encourage young people to take a personal interest in seeing that adequate housing and proper nutrition, especially for the underprivileged and homeless, are available.
• Poverty + Neglect: We seek to help those in poverty as well as educate youth about their responsibility to consider the underprivileged and take care of those most in need of life's basic essentials like adequate housing and proper nutrition.
• Refugee Enrichment: We wish to help refugee youth by supporting programs that provide them enrichment and help them transition to life in a new country.

The DanPaul Foundation provides grants to 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit organizations as defined by the IRS. The Foundation is interested in providing funding to programs that directly serve the health, education, development, and welfare of the world's youth.

Grants range from a few hundred dollars up to $15,000 per calendar year.

Global Impact Cash Grants

Identifying and incubating innovative early-stage solutions. We identify, incubate, and develop innovative early-stage solutions with the highest potential for impact. Global Impact Cash Grants go to nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that address a significant social problem. We're looking for programs that fit within our investment sectors, focus on the underserved, and use technology to improve the reach and efficiency of services.

We accept applications year-round from eligible organizations. A brief Letter of Inquiry (LOI) is used to determine whether your organization will be invited to complete a full application. Please expand and carefully review each of the three sections below to learn more

Our priority social impact sectors

We focus on investing in innovative, tech-enabled solutions to the challenges and opportunities that matter most to communities in need, prioritizing four social impact sectors:

Cisco Crisis Response

Mobilizing to provide essentials to communities in need and those in crisis, including food, housing, secure connectivity, and disaster relief

By leveraging Cisco’s people, technology, financial resources, and strategic partnerships, we help strengthen community resilience and drive long-term recovery from crises.

Education

Supporting students, teachers, and schools by increasing engagement, building skills, promoting subject mastery, and expanding their capacity to thrive

Cisco is committed to inclusive access to digital skills training and supporting those who use technology to educate. Through programs like Cisco Networking Academy and social investments in education, we create new opportunities for individuals to thrive.

Economic Empowerment

Transforming communities through skill development, long-term career opportunities, entrepreneurship, and access to financial products and services

Strategic grants that unlock economic prosperity and growth for individuals and communities.

Climate Regeneration

Building an inclusive, regenerative, and resilient climate future through education, regenerative agriculture, conservation, protection, and clean energy solutions

Our efforts began in 2021, when the Cisco Foundation committed US$100 million over 10 years to fund nonprofit grants and impact investing in climate solutions. 

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

The Sidney Stern Memorial Trust is devoted solely to the funding of charitable, scientific, medical and educational organizations.

The Board endeavors to support soundly-managed charitable organizations that give service with a broad scope, have a substantial effect on their target populations, and contribute materially to the general welfare. The Board does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation collaborate with a wide range of nonprofit organizations that align with our strategic funding priorities. We prioritize our funding to activities and programs that have a broad reach and support the needs of underserved communities. We aspire to have a positive impact on the communities we serve by using our financial and volunteer resources and business expertise in collaboration with community organizations to help solve complex societal problems.

• Financial health
• Housing affordability
• Small business growth
• Sustainability

We may also support other local needs in eligible communities such as disaster relief, arts and culture, civic engagement, education, human and social services, and workforce development. However, opportunities are limited as our intent is to direct the majority of our giving within our major focus areas.

Investing in the Future of Summit County Students

Akron Community Foundation partners with local schools, education leaders, nonprofit innovators, parents and community members to identify the best opportunities for investing in our children's future.

Focusing on programs that align with Summit Education Initiative's Cradle to Career continuum, our board awards grants to programs that concentrate on key transition points in a student's education, including kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, eighth grade math, and college and career readiness.

In addition, we focus a portion of our funding specifically on early learning programs that prepare children from birth to age 5 to succeed. First Things First, a community coalition that formed in 2009 as a result of our early learning priority, has set the tone for that funding, encouraging a holistic approach to learning through collaboration.

Education Grants

Children's success in school and in life hinges profoundly on their capacity to learn. That's why Akron Community Foundation approaches learning from a holistic perspective. Preference for our education grants is given to programs that align with the Cradle to Career continuum, which focuses on key transition points throughout a student's entire education. In addition, we focus a portion of our funding specifically on early learning programs that prepare children from birth to age 5 to succeed.

Cradle to Career Focus

Summit Education Initiative’s Cradle to Career continuum has proved through research and data-validated efforts that educational success can be improved by focusing on key transition points throughout an educational career. 

Akron Community Foundation, along with other local funders, has made a commitment to focus its education grant funding on programs that align with the Cradle to Career continuum. This includes funding programs that focus on the key transition points, such as kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, eighth grade math, ninth grade success, and college and career readiness and persistence.

Vernon L. Odom Fund

People of every race, ethnicity and background deserve the opportunity to achieve their goals. That was the philosophy of Vernon Odom, one of Akron’s most recognized civil rights leaders.

As president of the Akron Urban League for nearly 30 years, Odom spent much of his career improving the lives of Akron’s minority communities through education, advocacy and mentoring.

Today, his legacy lives on through the Vernon L. Odom Fund of Akron Community Foundation. The fund accepts grant applications for programs that promote diversity and enrich the quality of life within local minority communities.

Since its founding in 1993, the fund has awarded nearly $245,000 in grants to programs that empower everyone from Bhutanese refugees to African American youth.

History

At the time of the last U.S. Census, approximately one-third of all Akron residents were in the city’s minority population. As this figure continues to grow, so do the needs of minority communities.

From a disproportionate rate of poverty to a lack of educational resources, minority groups often have specific needs that cannot be met with generalized funding. In light of this reality, board members at Akron Community Foundation began meeting in the early 1990s to brainstorm ways the foundation could reach out to Summit County’s minority groups.

"It was important that we had diversity in all aspects of the foundation," said Judge James Williams, a board member who spearheaded the project.

A string of discussions about Akron Community Foundation’s role in recognizing challenges faced by minority groups led to talks about starting a new fund. The fund would support nonprofit organizations serving the minority population in Summit County and promote diversity.

"We were seeing a lot of requests that were to be used for minorities, and (starting a fund) just seemed like a more straightforward way," explained then-board chairwoman Ann Amer Brennan.

Thus, in 1993, the foundation established an unnamed minority fund with an initial endowment contribution of $50,000. A committee was immediately established to research the needs of minority groups and raise money for the endowment.

Shortly after that time in 1996, one of Akron’s most recognized civil rights leaders passed away. A classmate of Martin Luther King Jr., Vernon L. Odom spent most of his life serving the city’s minority communities and encouraging racial harmony. As president of the Akron Urban League for nearly 30 years, Odom improved the lives of countless people through education, advocacy and mentoring.

This long history of service and inspiration made Odom an ideal namesake for the foundation’s minority fund, Williams said.

"He devoted his life to the betterment of his community," Williams said. "It was appropriate that the fund be named after him."

The minority fund officially became known as the Vernon L. Odom Fund in 1997 and soon after awarded its first grants. Since that time, the fund has continued to improve the quality of life of local minority groups through annual grants to organizations like the Akron Inner City Soccer Club, Proyecto Raices, and Global Ties Akron. It’s a fitting way to ensure the legacy of Akron’s own civil rights pioneer is celebrated for generations to come.

Ameriprise Financial Grantmaking

At Ameriprise Financial, giving back is deeply rooted in our culture. We’ve initiated positive change in the communities where we live and work for more than 120 years. We believe our community involvement enables us to actively live our values. Through grant making, volunteerism and employee and financial advisor gift matching programs, we support a diverse group of over 6,000 nonprofits across the country.

Focus Areas

Awarding grant dollars to nonprofits is one way we strengthen our communities and help individuals on a path to financial independence. To ensure we're meeting the needs of our communities and making an even greater collective impact, we focus on three key giving areas when awarding grants.

Volunteer engagement is a priority across all focus areas:

The engagement of Ameriprise employees and financial advisors is a critical component of our philanthropy. Whether it’s serving on a nonprofit board, engaging friends, clients and community members in volunteering or providing skills-based support, our relationships with nonprofits go deep. For this reason, we give priority across all focus areas to applications where there is active volunteer engagement of Ameriprise advisors and employees. 

Meeting Basic Needs

At Ameriprise Financial, we help clients achieve financial security and peace of mind. That’s satisfying, meaningful work. We also help the people in our neighborhoods who struggle to meet basic needs such as where their next meal comes from, where they’ll sleep tonight or how they’ll find a higher wage job. We’re here to help them through the three platforms of our Meeting Basic Needs focus area.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Hunger
• Food banks, food shelves and food pantries, daily meal programs or meal services for the homebound
• Hunger-relief programs targeted to meet the special needs of children, ethnic populations or veterans
• Food programs run by nonprofits where hunger is not their sole focus, for example a youth meal program at the YWCA or a backpack program run by a Boys & Girls Club
• Shelter
• Emergency shelter, including youth homelessness
• Transitional housing, permanent supportive housing and efforts to end chronic homelessness
• Housing-first models (programs quickly providing housing and then addressing needed services)
• Achieving and maintaining home ownership, repair and maintenance efforts helping keep seniors, veterans and other populations in their homes 
• Adult Self-Sufficiency: Programs serving adults age 21 and older that help address the following areas:
• Basic hard and soft skills that help adults achieve economic and family stability
• Basic financial and budgeting skills
• Increase employability and wages, including work readiness and job transitions
• Employment of disabled adults

Supporting Community Vitality

We believe communities should be strong, healthy and resilient. We want livable places for all, where neighbors look out for one another, cultural events are well-attended and people pull together in times of crisis and joy. We work to create economic vitality and cultural enrichment through the following areas of focus.

Consideration is given to applications addressing the following: 

• Community Development
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Economic development
• Strengthening and supporting small businesses and nonprofits through technical expertise
• Cultural Enrichment
• Arts education
• Access for underserved populations
• Diverse artists and performances that spark topical community conversations 

Volunteer Driven Causes: Ameriprise employees and financial advisors are outstanding volunteers who serve in teams and also as individuals bringing personal skill-sets to nonprofits. Volunteering is part of the culture at Ameriprise and we are proud to support communities through contributions of both service and financial resources. 

Funding for Volunteer-Driven Causes is determined by current Ameriprise volunteerism. In general, funding is in proportion to the size of the Ameriprise volunteer team supporting a nonprofit. A team may include employees, financial advisors and/or staff or a combination of any Ameriprise volunteers. 

About the Fund

Strengthening our city by supporting meaningful civic and community initiatives.

Known as a prosperous and progressive community, Green offers an exceptional quality of life for its residents. The city's thriving businesses, close-knit neighborhoods, and strong network of nonprofit organizations make the community a place where everyone can flourish.

The Green Community Fund was established in November 2022 by a group of committed residents who wanted to create an enduring source of support for the community they live in and love. The fund was created to enable generous individuals, families and businesses to enhance the lives of all Green residents far into the future.

• Grants: On an annual basis, up to 5% of the fund’s assets can be reinvested into the community through grants and distributions, providing support for meaningful civic and community initiatives.
• Growth: As the endowment grows through the gifts of generous donors, the Green Community Fund will increase its annual grantmaking to the nonprofits serving the Green community.
• Gifts: Gifts to the Green Community Fund are fully tax deductible, as the fund is an affiliate of Akron Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Gifts can be made online at akroncf.org/give/GCF. The fund can also accept more complex gifts, like appreciated stock, retirement assets and personal property.
• Expenses: The Green Community Fund’s advisory board and committees are composed entirely of volunteers. The only operating cost is a small administrative and investment fee of approximately 2%, which allows the fund to take advantage of Akron Community Foundation’s array of services and large investment pool.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

In addition to our quarterly Community Fund grants, Akron Community Foundation offers issue-specific grant opportunities.

Parent Coalition Heritage Fund for Adults with Special Needs 

The Parent Coalition Heritage Fund for Adults with Special Needs was established in 2011 to educate residential providers who care for adults with developmental disabilities to help improve their quality of life. Qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations can apply.

Our Mission

Our mission is to continue and further the philanthropic legacy of Gardner Cowles, Jr. and the Cowles family, which includes promotion of education, social justice, health, and the arts.

The Founder

The Cowles Charitable Trust was first established in 1948 by Gardner “Mike” Cowles, Jr. (1903-1985). Born into the Cowles publishing family of Des Moines, Iowa, Mike was the youngest of Gardner Cowles and Florence Call Cowles’ six children. A newspaper editor and publisher by trade, he was committed to his family’s traditions of responsible, public-spirited, and innovative journalism as well as philanthropy. 

The Cowles Charitable Trust supports the arts, education, the advancement of ethical journalism, medical and climate research.

What We Do

The community foundation is like the community’s charitable savings account. We pool resources from community members, invest them and then use them to make grants for the betterment of the entire community.

We exist to serve donors, nonprofit organizations and the community as a whole.

Donors to ACCF enjoy tax advantages not available to private foundation donors. They also receive professional services without hiring staff.

Nonprofit organizations receive grants from community foundations to support their programs and projects. Many nonprofits also establish their own endowment funds with the foundation as a means of investing for the future.

We’re also engaged as a community leader. We help set the vision for Ashland County while ensuring charitable gifts are used effectively to meet the community’s present needs and to build a brighter future.

June G. Patton Memorial Graduate Scholarship

This scholarship was originally established by the Ashland University Rho Nu at Large chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the honor society of nursing, and named in 2010 in the memory of Dr. June G. Patton, Associate Professor of Nursing at Ashland University (AU). June received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1967 from The University of Maryland. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing in 1985 and PhD in Curricular and Instructional Studies in 1996, both from The University of Akron. She was inducted into the Delta Omega Chapter of STTI in 1984 and served as Chapter President. June was a faculty counselor for Rho Nu at large and was an STTI Distinguished Lecturer from 2000-2003.

Her long career in nursing education included teaching diploma students at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing; traditional prelicensure and graduate students at The University of Akron; and from 1998 to 2010, RN to BSN completion students at Ashland University. June was a passionate teacher and received several notable awards during her career in nursing education, including the University of Akron College of Nursing Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty Award in 1993 and 1994; the AU Faculty Mentor Award in 2011; and the Nurse Week Excellence Award in Teaching, Great Lakes and Midwest Regions. While at AU, she helped many working registered nurses to achieve a BSN degree and encouraged many to pursue graduate education in nursing. The Rho Nu at Large chapter is pleased and proud for the opportunity to continue the legacy of June Patton – beloved wife of Reverend Douglas Patton; mother of Christy and David; grandmother of 11; and scholar, teacher, mentor, and friend to many.

What We Fund

• Early Childhood through Higher Education
• Economic, Workforce, & Community Development
• Arts & Culture
• Basic Needs

Our Approach

GAR Foundation is committed to connections that allow people and organizations to work together across sectors and subject areas to leverage their strengths. We understand that the strategic areas where we work are all deeply connected. The best community solutions often arise from connected people and organizations working together across sectors and subject areas to leverage their strengths. We know that people are at their best when they are connected to others. We believe that we can foster and support connections that will make Akron smarter, stronger, and more vibrant.

We pledge to use all of the tools in our toolbox – grantmaking, convening, listening, research, advocacy, information-sharing, and communications – to connect Akron.

Background

Akron Community Foundation funds four carefully chosen and equally vital issues through our quarterly competitive grantmaking program. Community Fund grants do more than simply meet residents’ immediate needs; they address the root cause of a problem to create lasting and systemic change for future generations.

Each quarter, our board requests applications to meet the community’s most pressing needs in Arts & Culture, Civic Affairs, Health & Human Services, and Education. Then we study, vet, and award grants to the nonprofits best equipped to tackle these important issues in Summit County. Funding for these key areas comes from board discretionary and field-of-interest funds, as well as donors who give specifically to the Community Fund.

Community Fund Grants

Arts & Culture

A vibrant cultural landscape enriches our community's quality of life. The artistic and cultural offerings Akron Community Foundation supports appeal to diverse audiences throughout Summit County. Examples include performing and visual arts programs, historical societies and museums, and multimedia storytelling.

What We Fund

It is the unique responsibility of a community foundation to fund a range of quality-of-life programs throughout a geographic location.

​Thus, Akron Community Foundation’s grants are as diverse as Summit County itself. While unique in their programming, all Akron Community Foundation grantees have things in common:

Organizational strength

We support efficient and effective nonprofit organizations with the capacity to significantly improve the community. We value organizations that demonstrate sustainability, honesty and transparency, and those that remain true to their mission.

Systemic impact

We support collaborative efforts that help individuals, families and neighborhoods thrive by addressing immediate needs while creating holistic improvement within Summit County. We prefer to fund organizations that address the underlying cause of a problem and make a lasting improvement.

Accountability

We serve as stewards of our donors’ community investments. We honor the charitable intentions of these donors to help them meet current and future needs of our community. As a result, we hold ourselves and our grantees to the highest standards of ethics, integrity, service and fiduciary responsibility.

Strengthened capacity of the nonprofit sector

We support efforts that build governance, management, financial and organizational capacities of nonprofit agencies and the sector as a whole. We also strive to create partnerships that reduce duplicative and ineffective programs.

Inclusiveness

We honor the diverse strengths, needs, voices and backgrounds within our community, and we support organizations whose missions promote equality and inclusiveness.

At TE Connectivity (TE), our goal is to have a meaningful impact in the communities where we live and work. Organizations may request funding from TE Connectivity. 

TE evaluates proposals based on the following criteria, among other factors:

• Alignment with TE Connectivity purpose and values.
• Alignment with community giving focus areas of
• Education and technology OR
• Health and human services.
• Opportunities for employee engagement.
• Proximity to a TE facility.

In the US, TE Operates the following Ambassadors Programs: 

• Akron, OH
• Andover MN
• Ashaway RI
• Berwyn PA
• Culpeper VA
• Fairview NC
• Fuquay-Varina NC
• Hampton VA
• Harrisburg/Middletown/Tower City/Mechanicsburg PA
• Hemet CA
• Kettering/Mundelein OH
• Landisville PA
• Lickdale PA
• Mansfield OH
• Menlo Park/Redwood City/Fremont CA
• Mount Joy/Manheim PA
• Plymouth/Eden Prarie MN
• Troy MI
• Tualatin OR
• Tullahoma TN
• Waynesboro PA
• Wilsonville OR
• Winston-Salem/Greensboro NC

Outside the US, TE Operates the following Ambassadors Programs:

• Australia
• Bangalore/Pune
• Basel
• Bensheim
• Bioggio
• Blomsterdalen
• Braganca Paulista
• Brno/Kurim
• Bydgoszcz
• Castletroy Limerick/Cork/County Clare
• Chengdu (Sensor)
• Ciudad Juarez
• Collegno Torino
• Costa Rica
• Darmstadt
• Den Bosch
• Dinkelsbuhl
• Dongguan (Data & Devices)
• Dortmund
• East Sussex/Hastings
• Empalme (Auto)
• Empalme (Medical)
• Essex
• Esztergom
• Evora
• Evreux/Dreux
• Galway
• Gevrey-Chambertin
• Great Yarmouth
• Gyeongsan
• Hermosillo (ADM)
• Hermosillo (Automotive)
• Hermosillo (DnD)
• Hermosillo (Industrial)
• Hong Kong
• Ivanko-Frankivsk
• Juarez Chihuahua
• Kakegawa/Shizuoka/Osak
• Kunshan (ADM)
• Kunshan (Energy)
• Lemans
• Markham
• Montcada
• New Zealand
• Niederwinkling
• Oostkamp
• Ottobrunn
• Pointoise/Les Claves Sous-Bois/Fonteney Tresigny
• Qingdao (Appliances)
• Qingdao (Data & Devices)
• San Salvo
• Schaffhausen
• Shanghai (Corporate)
• Shanghai (Data & Devices)
• Shanghai Raychem Cables (Appliances)
• Shenzhen (Appliances)
• Shenzhen (Sensor)
• Shunde (Data & Devices)
• Singapore (Cregana)
• Singapore (TE HQ)
• Speyer
• Steinach
• Suzhou (Automotive)
• Suzhou (Industrial)
• Suzhou (Medical)
• Swindon
• Taiwan
• Tangier
• Tecate
• Thailand (Automotive)
• Thailand (Sensors)
• Tijuana
• Tijuana Baja
• Tlalnepantla (Mexico City)
• Toulouse
• Trutnov (2 sites)
• Turkey
• Waidhofen
• Woert
• Wohlen/Rotkreuz/Au
• Xiamen (Industrial)
• Zhuhai (Data & Devices)

Capital Grants

Equipping nonprofits to operate, grow and thrive.

Every other year, the community foundation offers capital grants to organizations that need funding to renovate or repair their facilities, or to purchase essential equipment. These grants range from $2,500 to $25,000 and are available to current recipients of the foundation's competitive grant cycles, as well as to organizations with agency endowment funds at Akron Community Foundation. It is strongly recommended that at least 50% of the funds needed for the project are secured before applying for a capital grant.

Since 2018, Akron Community Foundation has invested $880,000 into capital improvements for our community's nonprofit organizations.

Arts Grant Program - Knight Art + Tech Expansion Fund

The Knight Art + Tech Expansion Fund seeks to support artists and arts organizations in Knight communities by equipping them with the tools they need to expand the use of technology in their work and engage audiences in innovative ways.

About the Fund

Arts and culture are essential for healthy, thriving communities. Increasingly, technology is becoming an essential component of the arts, both for individual artists and organizations. With each advancement in technology, artists leverage new tools to enhance the way their work is created, viewed, shared and experienced. Across artistic genres, facility with technology and digital tools is no longer an optional skill set.

Grants made from this fund are not tied to specific projects. Instead, they are designed to support long-term digital capacity, helping artists and organizations gain the tools, systems and support they need to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

Funding decisions for the Knight Art + Tech Expansion Fund will be made based on the applicants’ demonstrated capacity to use technology to increase the impact and reach of their work.

Categories eligible for funding are:

• Purchase and installation of hardware and/or software (e.g., licensing of archiving software, installation of live streaming equipment, purchase of cloud storage)
• Build-out or installation of technology infrastructure (e.g., installation of networking equipment, outdoor projections)
• Staff or contract support (e.g. contract videographer, full-time web developer, digital content manager)
• Website design and development
• Mobile application development
• Digitization, archiving and digital preservation (e.g. digital collection photography, media conservation/preservation, archives records management)

Funding

Individual artists may ask for up to $25,000. Organizations or collectives may ask for up to $100,000.

If you are a for-profit organization or a nonprofit organization with a projected annual operating budget greater than $1,000,000, you may be required to raise a dollar-for-dollar match to your Art + Tech Expansion Fund award.

Akron Community Foundation’s competitive grantmaking combines local resources with community knowledge to help nonprofits improve life in Summit County.

Community Fund Grants

Civic Affairs

We believe our community’s well-being hinges on citizen involvement. We make grants to strengthen our neighborhoods, infrastructure and economy through programs that engage residents, improve our environment, promote recreation, and attract people and businesses to our region.

What We Fund

It is the unique responsibility of a community foundation to fund a range of quality-of-life programs throughout a geographic location.

​Thus, Akron Community Foundation’s grants are as diverse as Summit County itself. While unique in their programming, all Akron Community Foundation grantees have things in common:

Organizational strength

We support efficient and effective nonprofit organizations with the capacity to significantly improve the community. We value organizations that demonstrate sustainability, honesty and transparency, and those that remain true to their mission.

Systemic impact

We support collaborative efforts that help individuals, families and neighborhoods thrive by addressing immediate needs while creating holistic improvement within Summit County. We prefer to fund organizations that address the underlying cause of a problem and make a lasting improvement.

Accountability

We serve as stewards of our donors’ community investments. We honor the charitable intentions of these donors to help them meet current and future needs of our community. As a result, we hold ourselves and our grantees to the highest standards of ethics, integrity, service and fiduciary responsibility.

Strengthened capacity of the nonprofit sector

We support efforts that build governance, management, financial and organizational capacities of nonprofit agencies and the sector as a whole. We also strive to create partnerships that reduce duplicative and ineffective programs.

Inclusiveness

We honor the diverse strengths, needs, voices and backgrounds within our community, and we support organizations whose missions promote equality and inclusiveness.

Community Partnership Award

The Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award recognizes outstanding nonprofit organizations in the United States that have shown exemplary leadership by facilitating partnerships with public, private or social sector leaders who are working together as equal partners, not as donors and recipients, to build a cohesive community that serves as a model for collaborating with others for the greater good.

Each year, the Mutual of America Foundation sponsors a national competition in which hundreds of organizations demonstrate the value of their partnership to the communities they serve, their ability to be replicated by others and their capacity to stimulate new approaches to addressing significant social issues.

Six organizations are selected by an independent committee to receive the Community Partnership Award.

• The Thomas J. Moran Award is given to the national award-winning program and includes $100,000 and a documentary video about the program.
• The Frances R. Hesselbein Award is given to a partnership that is addressing social challenges in more than one community, or which demonstrates the potential to be replicated in other communities. This recipient receives $75,000.
• Four other organizations are named Honorable Mention recipients for their programs, and each receives $50,000.

Since its inception in 1996, the Community Partnership Award has recognized 262 partnerships from cities and towns across America. Like so many of our clients working in the nonprofit community, Mutual of America is dedicated to having a direct, positive impact on society.

Gupta Family Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. Our mission is to support organizations that provide focused intervention in the lives of people who have been disadvantaged in some way to help them become self-reliant. We take a very broad view of “disadvantage” to include anything that holds a person back from realizing their potential, such as poverty, physical or mental disability, social alienation, etc. The foundation also supports relief agencies that serve people affected by emergencies such as natural disasters.

The foundation evaluates and awards annual and multi-year grants ranging from $5,000 to over $250,000 (USD). Our focus is on funding smaller organizations all around the world that are led by individuals with a deep personal commitment to their missions. 

Our selection criteria include:

• Mission alignment
• The organization is run by the founder or, if not, by a successor who embodies the original inspiration, passion and commitment of the founder.
• At least 90% of grant monies reaches the intended beneficiaries.
• The organization is non-sectarian, i.e.,
  • It does not, directly or indirectly, support or condone the proselytization of any religion,
  • It is not supported by or affiliated to a religious organization.

Our Vision

We are our community's champion and generator of enduring philanthropy.

Our Mission

To identify, activate and support informed and passionate philanthropists who strive to improve the quality of life in our community.

We accomplish this by:

Building a permanent source of charitable funding.

Cultivating strategic relationships with diverse charitable individuals, professional advisors and community organizations.

Inspiring new donors by capturing and sharing compelling examples of the positive impact of philanthropy in our community.

Educating and connecting donors to nonprofit organizations whose needs match the donor's interests.

Millennium Fund for Children

A partnership of Akron Community Foundation and the Akron Beacon Journal, the Millennium Fund for Children supports arts, civic, education, and health and human services programs for children throughout Summit, Medina, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties. It makes grants where even a small amount can make a big difference. 

It is the unique responsibility of a community foundation to fund a range of quality-of-life programs throughout a geographic location. Thus, Akron Community Foundation’s grants are as diverse as Summit County itself.

What We FundWhile their programming differs, all Akron Community Foundation grantees have things in common:

• Organizational strength: We support efficient and effective nonprofit organizations with the capacity to significantly improve the community. We value organizations that demonstrate sustainability, honesty and transparency while remaining true to their mission
• Systemic impact: We support collaborative efforts that help individuals, families and neighborhoods thrive by addressing immediate needs while creating holistic improvement within Summit County. We prefer to fund organizations that address the underlying cause of a problem and make a lasting improvement.
• Accountability: We serve as stewards of our donors’ community investments. We honor the charitable intentions of these donors to help them meet current and future needs of our community. As a result, we hold ourselves and our grantees to the highest standards of ethics, integrity, service and fiduciary responsibility.
• Strengthened capacity of the nonprofit sector: We support efforts that build governance, management, financial and organizational capacities of nonprofit agencies and the sector as a whole. We also strive to create partnerships that reduce duplicative and ineffective programs.
• Inclusiveness: We honor the diverse strengths, needs, voices and backgrounds within our community, and wesupport organizations whose missions promote equity and inclusiveness

Akron Community Foundation: Health & Human Services Grant

In caring for the neediest among us, we improve life for us all. We invest in a spectrum of services for Summit County's most vulnerable residents, from basic needs like food, shelter and medical treatment to programs designed to increase self-sufficiency and wellness.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities