Today, Akron Community Foundation released an assessment of the most pressing quality-of-life issues facing Summit County. “Creating Measurable Community Impact” is a 16-page report that examines the issues of employment, early childhood poverty, food insecurity and transportation, as well as an emerging issue, the growing senior population. It provides data on each issue, examines how they impact one another, and suggests opportunities for improvement.
“Understanding the interconnectedness between key community issues like this helps us better target our funding,” said John Garofalo, vice president of community investment at Akron Community Foundation. “For instance, research indicates that poverty in early childhood can impact eventual employment success, so we prioritize a portion of our educational funding on early childhood initiatives knowing that these initiatives can have positive effects on the children involved for years to come.”
The report was the result of a study Akron Community Foundation commissioned from The Center for Community Solutions, a Northeast Ohio nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank specializing in applied research, public policy and advocacy. Akron Community Foundation will share this report with other area funders, nonprofits, local leaders and philanthropists to help target funding and encourage collaboration on these prevalent and emerging issues.
“Work to address some of these issues is already well underway at Akron Community Foundation and throughout the community,” said John T. Petures Jr., president and CEO of the organization. “We are eager to collaborate around these issues with fellow leaders, funders, nonprofits and philanthropists so we can make systemic, enduring improvements that benefit all Summit County residents.”
The report, “Creating Measurable Community Impact,” is free to download at www.akroncf.org/CommunityReport.
About Akron Community Foundation
Celebrating 59 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 $185 million with a growing family of more than 450 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 nearly $118 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.
