The Gay Community Endowment Fund of Akron Community Foundation awarded grants totaling $26,900 to nine greater Akron nonprofit organizations at its fourth-quarter meeting of 2012.
Several grants were awarded to programs that increase awareness about domestic violence and bullying in the LGBT community. Other will provide outreach to LGBT individuals and their families.
The recipients:
• Akron Parents Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, $1,000 to purchase educational materials.
• Battered Women’s Shelter, $1,500 for a community outreach program that educates teens and adults about same-sex domestic violence.
• Domestic Violence Project Inc., $1,500 to provide emergency shelter for victims of same-sex domestic violence.
• Fair Housing Contact Service Inc., $4,000 to study housing discrimination against LGBT individuals in Akron.
• Friends of 91.3, $2,400 to broadcast anti-bullying messages on KIDJAM! radio in Akron Public Schools.
• Fusion Magazine, $3,000 for a marketing campaign that will expand the reach of Kent State University publication.
• Jewish Family Service of Akron Ohio, $5,000 for counseling and support groups for LGBT senior citizens.
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Union, $5,000 to send University of Akron students to the 2013 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference.
• Weathervane Community Playhouse Inc., $3,500 for the production of Next Fall, a contemporary comedy about the issues that arise in the long-term relationships of gay men.
Founded in 2001, the Gay Community Endowment Fund is a permanent philanthropic endowment of Akron Community Foundation. 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.