Akron, Ohio (November 14, 2011) – During its final quarterly meeting of the year, the Distribution Committee of GAR Foundation approved $1,205,450 in grants to 28 area nonprofit organizations serving Summit County residents. Grants awarded will help defray programming and operational costs for area organizations and include several challenge grants to promote increased institutional giving. These awards bring GAR Foundation’s total annual giving to over $4.6 million for the 2011 calendar year.
Included in this quarter’s grants was an award of $135,000 to Summit Education Initiative (SEI), an organization that builds collaborative efforts with education stakeholders that impact results in improvements to students across Summit County. SEI, under the leadership of its new executive director, Derran Wimer, will use the grant toward shaping and advancing an effective Cradle-to-Career Alliance in Summit County and toward implementing a strategy recently approved by SEI’s board of private sector and education leaders. “By uniting business leadership in support of our education system, SEI provides great leverage and advances the good of the entire community,” says Rob Briggs, President of GAR Foundation. “We are proud to make this grant.”
The Foundation also approved a grant of $75,000 to the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) to support a unique planning effort to build nonprofit capacity for multi-agency collaboration. AMHA received funding from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to build the Summit Lake Family Opportunity Center in Akron’s distressed Summit Lake neighborhood; GAR’s grant will advance collaboration and coordination of various neighborhood organizations and service providers at the site. Rather than fund direct programming at this pre-building stage, the effort is a pilot to advance the Foundation’s strategic priority in nonprofit enhancement and capacity building. Ultimately, Summit Lake residents will be able to go to the Center for early childhood learning programs, afterschool activities, recreation, job training, and more.
The following organizations received grant awards during the Distribution Committee’s November 10, 2011 meeting:
Organization Amount Purpose
ACCESS, Inc. $50,000 Operations
Akron Civic Theatre $50,000 Operations
Akron Community Health Resources, Inc. $50,000 ACHR-NEOMED Pharmacy Program
Akron Council on World Affairs $5,000 Global Scholars Program
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority $75,000 Independent consultant to facilitate
collaboration for Summit Lake Family
Opportunity Center
Akron SCORE $25,000 Operations
Akron Urban League $50,000 Operations
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit & Medina $20,000 Operations
Counties
Boys and Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve $100,000 KidsNOW capacity-building
campaign for afterschool programs
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Northeast Ohio $25,000 Summit County Hope Prep scholars
Foundation Center $6,000 Operations
Girl Scouts of North East Ohio $100,000 100-year anniversary campaign
Habitat for Humanity of Summit County $75,000 Operations
Invent NOW $70,950 Camp Invention sites in Akron Public
Schools
Leadership Akron $15,000 Operations
Let’s Grow Akron, Inc. $20,000 Operations
Mature Services, Inc. $15,000 Homecare Services
MAPS Air Museum $7,500 Operations
Northeast Ohio Dance, Inc. $6,000 Scholarships for needy students*
Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges $50,000 Scholarships for Summit County
students and Akron Bridges Program
Oriana House, Inc. $20,000 Summit County Office of Re-Entry
Project Learn of Summit County $45,000 Operations
Rebuilding Together Summit County $65,000 Operations*
Summit Choral Society $40,000 Operations*
Summit Education Initiative $135,000 Strategic plan implementation
Truly Reaching You $20,000 Transitional Housing Program
Waiting Child Fund $40,000 Summit Permanency Collaborative
Western Reserve Land Conservancy $25,000 Summit County land bank
*Indicates that part of the award is in the form of a challenge.
GAR Foundation is the largest private nonprofit foundation in Summit County with assets of approximately $140 million. Founded in 1967 as a charitable trust by Galen J. Roush, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Roadway Express, and his wife, Ruth, the foundation has distributed nearly $200 million to date to local nonprofit organizations. GAR Foundation primarily funds five strategic areas: education, health and social services, civic enhancement, the arts and arts education, and nonprofit enhancement with a preference for funding programs and organizations which directly serve Summit County residents. For more information on GAR Foundation, go to www.garfoundation.org or call 330-576-2916.