The Foundation favors applicants, programs, and projects which benefit Akron, Ohio organizations, residents, programs, and projects; advance the strategies in the areas of education, basic needs and independence, civic enhancement, and arts and culture; demonstrate the likelihood of success in attracting financial support from other sources, and in satisfying present and future funding needs; communicate and cooperate with other projects, programs, and organizations pursuing similar or complementary goals, and demonstrate measurable outcomes.
GAR grants are awarded to organizations and programs that help Akron, Ohio become smarter, stronger, and more vibrant. In June 2017 the foundation narrowed its focus with the goal of deepening their community.
Systemic Solutions: Focus is on root causes to seek long-term solutions at the intersections between these three systems:
- Early Childhood Education: Goal: 80% of Akron children are Kindergarten ready by 2022. Strategies:
- Improve transitions from early learning to Kindergarten settings
- Strengthen high quality adult-child interactions
- Empower and engage families to be their child's first and best teacher
- K-16 Education: Goal: Akron Public Schools students experience high-quality teaching and engaged learning to be college and career ready. Strategies:
- Support the development of College and Career Academies of Akron
- Support quality out-of-school-time learning experiences
- Support school investment in high-quality teacher professional development
- Economic & Workforce Development: Goal: Improve Akron's economic health as evidenced by a decrease in poverty, and an increase in the median household income and family-sustaining jobs. Strategies:
- Help to design a high-functioning network of economic and workforce development providers whose work is driven by shared goals, defined roles, accountability for outcomes, and a single data platform
- Support implementation of the network design for economic and workforce development in Akron
- Encourage Akron's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, as evidenced through population-serving businesses, creative placemaking, and neighborhood development
Community Programs: GAR remains invested in well-led, high-functioning organizations that are working at scale in the following areas:
- Basic Needs: Grantmaking Focus: The most basic human needs of Akron residents in crisis. GAR supports high-functioning organizations that are working at scale to:
- Distribute food from the regional hub to food pantries and to other organizations who serve the hungry.
- Provide emergency shelter and services to people in crisis.
- Meet the basic needs of Akron's immigrant and refugee population.
- Arts & Culture: Grantmaking Focus: The contribution of arts and culture to Akron's identity as a vibrant, unique, and creative community. Strategies:
- Support high-quality, relevant anchor arts and culture institutions across a diverse range of art forms that will appeal to Akron's population
- Allocate some resources to emerging artists and innovative arts and cultural initiatives.
- Invest in the overall health and growth of the arts and culture sector by supporting quality sector infrastructure.
- Nonprofit Sector Advancement: Grantmaking Focus: The leadership capacity and effectiveness of Akron's nonprofit sector. Strategies:
- Support initiatives that build skills of nonprofit leaders and volunteers.
- Support information-sharing efforts that increase knowledge and understanding of the nonprofit sector.
Educator Initiative Grants: GAR's Educator Initiative Grant (EIG) Program is an annual program that supports teacher-initiated, classroom-based projects in Summit County