What We Offer

At Akron Community Foundation, we honor your family traditions while engaging every generation.

Our highly trained staff can be as involved or behind-the-scenes as you wish them to be. Their only goal is to help you create and implement a shared charitable vision that lives long beyond your lifetime.

Choose only the services you need, and bring your legal or financial advisor if you like. There’s room around the table for everyone.

Donor-Advised Fund: The Family Foundation Alternative

If you’re serious about involving your family in philanthropy, a charitable fund in your family’s name may be a timely consideration. A donor-advised fund offers your family the benefits of a private foundation but with greater tax deductibility and less cost and administration.

Already have a private family foundation? By transferring your foundation or a portion of it to start a family fund at Akron Community Foundation, you can meet your 5 percent payout and maintain your family’s charitable legacy with little to no administration.

Read more about this charitable option in our free Guide to Donor-Advised Funds.

Strategic Charitable Giving Plans

When it comes to philanthropy, strategic planning can bring clarity, focus and passion to your giving. What are your charitable values and goals? Who do you want at the table, and how will they contribute to your family’s legacy? Our staff has tools to help you create a family giving plan that is personalized to you.

Family Meetings

Family dynamics can be tricky, especially when it comes to money. Let us facilitate your family’s charitable giving conversations so there’s less pressure on you to guide and more opportunity to engage. For decades, we have convened on- and off-site meetings with multiple generations of family members, working with family leaders ahead of time to ensure their goals and values are preserved.

Nonprofit Research and Impact Opportunities

Akron Community Foundation’s community investment team has more than 60 years of experience and the region’s best knowledge about the nonprofits and issues you care about. Which organizations are collaborating? Which are meeting a service gap? Where can your charitable gift have the most impact? We can give you options in your family’s areas of interest and take you behind the scenes to see a nonprofit’s work in action.

Family Philanthropy and Planned Giving

Some of a family’s toughest conversations involve finances. No matter where family members are in their giving journey, they, too, can contribute to your shared legacy. From helping younger family members use celebrations and milestones to raise money for a cause, to using appreciated property (including closely held stock) to grow your charitable nest egg, our donor services experts can help you perpetuate your family’s impact far into the future. We also manage a variety of planned gifts like charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities. We’re happy to work with you and your professional advisors to help determine the best opportunities for charitable gifts in your tax and estate planning.

To learn more about our family philanthropy services, please contact Margaret Medzie, vice president and chief development officer, at 330-436-5610 or medzie@akroncf.org.