Akron Community Foundation’s board of directors recently approved grants totaling $2,814,419, including $2,305,419 in grants from 113 designated, donor-advised, agency endowment and scholarship funds, and $509,000 in competitive arts and culture grants chosen by the organization’s Community Investment Committee.
Of the competitive arts and culture grants, $65,500 will specifically fund dance programs throughout the community, including the annual Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival, which brings national and regional dance companies to perform for free in local parks.
“Programming such as this is a huge part of what makes Akron such a vibrant place for people to enjoy the arts,” said Steve Strayer, chairman of the Community Investment Committee. “This grant in particular really does give back to the entire community, because everyone has the opportunity to enjoy – for free – performances from professional dance companies.”
Three grants will leverage Knight Arts Challenge funding to provide big-city entertainment in Summit County. Open Tone Music’s Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival will take place Aug. 27 and feature local and international musicians, and a grant to Akron Creative will enable Akron’s Nightlight Cinema to live stream talks from directors around the world. Wandering Aesthetics, a local theater troupe, received funding to conduct cabaret-style performances at venues throughout Akron neighborhoods.
Donor-advised fundholders recommended an additional $60,500 to arts and culture programs through the community foundation’s grant co-investment program.
The program enables fundholders to review the board’s competitive grant applications and, if they choose, to fund grants that align with their charitable interests. Their funding joins that of the following field-of-interest and unrestricted funds, which were created by charitable residents to support emerging needs in our community: Adam Fund, V.E. (Tom) Atkins Fund, Board of Directors Annual Giving Fund, Charles C. and Dorathea S. Dilley Fund, GAR Foundation Fund for Dance in Summit County, C. Colmery Gibson Polsky Fund, Arthur Kelly Fund, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund for Dance, William C. Krisher Fund, Polsky Fund, Helen S. Robertson Fund, James G. Robertson Fund, Roush Memorial Fund, Shaw Foundation Fund, George Stevens Fund, Jean P. Stevens Fund, Emma Vioran Fund, Muriel A. Zodrow Fund and the Community Fund.
Their grants will support the following 45 arts and culture programs:
Akron Area Arts Alliance, to provide a nurturing environment for artists and encourage participation in the arts through education and outreach, $15,000
Akron Art Museum, to provide operating support and enhanced programming, including events in the museum’s new public space, the Bud and Susie Rogers Garden, $60,000
Akron Civic Theatre, to support the 2016-17 season of community-based and in-house programming, and for the All Access Program, which provides 6,000 free tickets for social service agencies to give to economically disadvantaged individuals and families, $30,000
Akron Creative Inc., to share experiences of The Nightlight’s cinemagoers and offer Skype-based question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers alongside movie screenings, $7,500
Akron Public Schools – Project Rise, for the Performing Arts Can Teach (PACT) program, which gives children and families who are experiencing homelessness access to musicals, plays and dance performances, $9,000
Akron Symphony, for a summer music camp, youth orchestra coaching, Concerts for Kids series, and the annual Gospel Meets Symphony production at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall, $25,000
Akron Woman’s City Club/Coach House Theatre, to support 2016-17 programming, including free Elder Theatre productions for Akron-area senior citizens, $2,500
Apollo’s Fire, to support the 2016-17 season of baroque and crossover programming in Summit County, including concerts and pre-concert talks, and a new collaboration with the Akron Art Museum to offer concerts throughout the museum, $14,500
Art Sparks, to expand a dance-focused kindergarten readiness program in Summit County Head Start locations and a dance curriculum focused on health and self-confidence in Akron Public Schools, $7,500
ArtsNow, to build the arts and culture sector by connecting arts groups and individual artists to the broader community, $20,000
Ballet Excel Ohio, for the Reach Out and Dance program, which embeds professional dance instructors for year-long sessions, workshops and after-school classes in Akron Public Schools’ elementary and middle school classrooms, $5,000
Ballet Theatre of Ohio, for “Take Me Out to the Ballet,” a 16-year collaboration with Akron Public Schools to bring grade school students to an in-theater performance of “The Nutcracker,” $5,000
Big Love Network, for Akron City Repair, which will conduct creative placemaking projects, like public art and community gardens, in neighborhoods throughout Akron, $5,000
Cascade Locks Park Association, for the redevelopment of the Mustill Store Museum along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail north of downtown, $12,000
Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture, for performances, workshops and educational activities during the Balch Street Theatre’s 2016-17 season, $5,000
Central Summit County Choral Society, to support the Summit Children’s Choir, a vocal and musical education program for students in first through 12th grade, and for Masterworks Chorale, a multi-generational singing ensemble, $10,000
Children’s Concert Society, for the In-School Concert Series, which introduces more than 30,000 students to diverse types of live music, $10,000
City of Akron, for the annual Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival, which offers free dance performances in Akron parks, $50,000
Crafty Mart, for Cottage Mart, a three-week pop-up market of local artisans using the cottages in Lock 3 during Winter Fest, $2,500
DANCECleveland, to bring the world-renowned Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to Akron for a public performance and community residency that will feature company members in master and college classes, receptions, open rehearsals and more, $10,000
Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio, for a ballroom dancing program for fifth- and eighth-grade students that teaches teamwork, self-confidence and respect, $5,000
Friends of 91.3, to continue the development and implementation of community-service programming, such as Rock and Recovery and KIDJAM!, as well as a new streaming channel, The 330, which will feature exclusively local and regional music, $12,500
GroundWorks DanceTheater, for Summit County performances at the Akron-Summit County Public Library and E.J. Thomas Hall; appearance at the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival; educational programs for children; master classes; and other outreach activities, $10,000
The Illusion Factory, to support free theater productions in Akron-area schools, $10,000
Keepers of the Art, for the 2016 Keepers of the Art Music Concert Series at the Akron Art Museum, $10,000
Longwood Manor Historical Society, to restore Longwood Manor in Macedonia and convert it into a historic museum, $3,000
Magical Theatre Company, to engage young people in theater through community-wide performances, student script writing, after-school and summer workshops, and interactive study guides, $12,500
Master Singers Inc., for the all-volunteer, non-audition chorale’s 2016 concert season, $5,000
The Musical Arts Association, to support the 2016 Blossom Music Festival & Sound for the Centennial Campaign, $35,000
The Musical Theater Project, for Kids Love Musicals!, a four-week in-school artist residency program for students in special education classrooms at Akron Public Schools, $5,000
None Too Fragile Theater, for its 2016 Off-Broadway series of plays, $5,000
Ohio Shakespeare Festival, for outdoor productions of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and “Macbeth” at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, as well as an original play called “Robin Hood: An Adventure, with Music,” $5,000
Open Tone Music LLC, for the Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival that will take place in downtown Akron in August, $3,000
RED Company real.edge.dance, to support the modern dance company’s sixth season of performances, $5,000
Rubber City Shakespeare Company, to engage local residents in classical theater through acting workshops and touring productions, $2,500
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, for general operations to help preserve and share the historic estate, which serves as a resource for educational, cultural and recreational enrichment, $40,000
Summit County Historical Society of Akron, Ohio, to support the organization’s work in preserving and interpreting the history of Summit County and Akron, $20,000
Tuesday Musical Association, to support the 2016-17 main stage season opening-night concert featuring the Emerson String Quartet, $12,500
Urban Vision, for a free after-school ballet program that offers technique classes to elementary and middle school girls in North Hill, $3,000
Verb Ballets, for the company’s 30th anniversary performances, including the spring 2017 performance at Akron Civic Theatre, $5,000
Wandering Aesthetics, for “Bigger Than a Breadbox,” an open mic-style cabaret performance series that will tour neighborhoods throughout Akron with performances that reflect the uniqueness of each location, $5,000
Weathervane Community Playhouse, for the 2016-17 season of plays, musicals and young actor productions, $10,000
Western Reserve Historical Society, to support educational programming at Hale Farm & Village, $10,000
Western Reserve Public Media, to support cultural arts and performance programming such as “Austin City Limits,” “Great Performances,” “Masterpiece” and “PBS Arts Showcase,” $15,000
Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop, to introduce minority youth to the arts through after-school, weekend and summer enrichment programs, $15,000
Celebrating 61 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. As of March 31, 2016, it is a philanthropic endowment of more than $182 million with a growing family of nearly 530 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome 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 $130 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.
