Gay Community Endowment Fund, animal welfare fund seek grant proposals

AKRON, Ohio (Aug. 15, 2013) – Two charitable funds of Akron Community Foundation are currently seeking grant applicants: The Gay Community Endowment Fund, which funds programs that positively impact local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents, and the Rosalie and Cecil Smith Fund, which helps to spay and neuter feral cats. 

The Gay Community Endowment Fund accepts operational, programmatic and capital requests from 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. It also encourages collaborations between applicant organizations. Last year, grants from the fund provided emergency shelter for victims of same-sex domestic violence, supported anti-bullying broadcasts in schools, and provided counseling groups for LGBT senior citizens, among others.

The Rosalie and Cecil Smith Fund accepts requests from applicants with experience in, or a firm understanding of, feral cat spay and neuter methods. Local organizations may be affiliated with regional or national organizations, but their programs must be executed in Summit County. Last year, $10,000 was awarded to support spaying and neutering efforts in Summit County.

All requests are due Friday, Sept. 13, at 4 p.m. A link to the Gay Community Endowment Fund application is available at www.akroncf.org/applyGCEF. Or, to access the Smith Fund application, visit www.akroncf.org/applysmith. Applicants unfamiliar with the community foundation’s new online application system may attend an information session on Aug. 22 at 2 p.m. at Akron Community Foundation’s office, located at 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307. To RSVP for the information session, contact Kim Nott, grants administrator, at 330-436-5625 or knott@akroncf.org. 

Questions about the application process should be directed to John Garofalo, vice president of community investment, at 330-436-5624 or jgarofalo@akroncf.org.

About the Gay Community Endowment Fund
Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. It facilitates and perpetuates philanthropy by supporting programs and services that support or positively impact the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, as well as the entire greater Akron community. The fund has reinvested more than $183,000 in the community since its inception. Contributions of any amount are welcome and support future grant-making. Checks may be sent to the Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation, 345 W. Cedar St., Akron, OH 44307-2407. For more information, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.gaycommunityfund.org.

About the Rosalie and Cecil Smith Fund
The Rosalie and Cecil Smith Fund of Akron Community Foundation was established in 2007 by Cecil Smith in honor of his wife, Rosalie, to help reduce Summit County’s feral cat population and to spay and neuter animals living in low-income households. To date, it has awarded grants totaling almost $60,000. For more information or to contribute, visit www.akroncf.org.

About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 58 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. Today, it is a philanthropic endowment of more than $150 million with a growing family of more than 430 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation welcomes 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 more than $106 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 www.akroncf.org.