Spring 2023
For the fifth consecutive year, the fund awarded impact grants to programs that create safer environments for LGBTQ+ youth, combat phobias of the LGBTQ+ community, and support mental health and suicide prevention programs for LGBTQ+ people. Among this year's recipients is the Summa Health Pride Clinic, which received a $12,500 grant to purchase gender-affirming hormone therapy injection kits for transgender and nonbinary patients.
Summa Pride Clinic in a parade
Save the date for our annual celebration on June 2
This signature event celebrates the Gay Community Endowment Fund’s impact in the community and recognizes our most recent grant and scholarship recipients. Proceeds support academic scholarships for LGBTQ+ and allied students in Greater Akron. Tickets go on sale in April, but you can reserve your seats now by becoming a sponsor. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Deb Hoffman at dhoffman@akroncf.org.
Through April 30, the GCEF Scholarship Fund is accepting applications from LGBTQ+ and allied students who have positively impacted the LGBTQ+ community. Since 2016, the fund has awarded more than $45,000 in postsecondary scholarships to help area students secure a brighter future. Please consider investing in the next generation of LGBTQ+ students and allies by making a gift to support future scholarships.
In 2022, the Akron AIDS Collaborative received an impact grant to support the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ+ Resource Center. The center, which opened in January 2022, provides emergency housing referrals, job assistance, job readiness training, mental health services and more for LGBTQ+ people of color in Summit County. Read this grant update to learn more about the program's success and why it's important to continue serving this often overlooked part of the LGBTQ+ community.
In March, representatives from nonprofit organizations that have received grants from the Gay Community Endowment Fund gathered to discuss opportunities for collaboration, as well as how the fund can further support each organization's goals. By bringing a number of nonprofits with different focuses together, the fund is able to encourage new partnerships and identify more ways to serve Greater Akron's LGBTQ+ community.
In Other News
Mark Your Calendar
Join the Greenleaf Family Center every Wednesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. beginning March 29 for a support group led by licensed counselors. Participants will have opportunities to discuss the challenges associated with being LGBTQ+ in a safe environment, gain knowledge of local resources, connect with other members of the LGBTQ+ community, and more.

For more information, email Heather Finklestein, LPCC-S, at fheather@greenleafctr.org. This program is made possible by a 2022 grant from the Gay Community Endowment Fund.

Watch the most famous courtship in history unfold on stage at the Akron Civic Theatre on March 24, 25 and 26 at 7:30 p.m. Pride and Prejudice is a streamlined theatrical version of Jane Austen's classic novel involving manners, courtship and relationships.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online. The Gay Community Endowment Fund has been a proud supporter of the Millennial Theatre Project since 2016.
Giving Opportunities
The Circle of Inclusion was created to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Gay Community Endowment Fund. Donors to this giving campaign receive special recognition for their role in growing GCEF's endowment. The circle welcomes gifts and pledges of $1,000 or more, and all donations support the fund's mission of advancing a lived equality for LGBTQ+ people in Greater Akron.
You can support the Gay Community Endowment Fund forever by establishing a charitable fund in your name at Akron Community Foundation through your will or trust. After your lifetime, the fund will continue to support all your favorite causes, including GCEF, in perpetuity. It's a simple and tax-friendly way to leave a lasting legacy.
Thank you to the generous individuals, families and organizations who contributed to the Gay Community Endowment Fund or the GCEF Scholarship Fund from Oct. 1, 2022, to Feb. 28, 2023. Your gifts will positively impact our LGBTQ+ community for many years to come.