Opportunity Overview
Akron Community Foundation Health & Human Services Grants – Fall 2026 are open for applications from September 1 through October 1, 2026. The Community Fund Health & Human Services cycle supports nonprofits serving Summit County residents, with emphasis on basic needs, medical treatment, preventive healthcare, health education, self-sufficiency, wellness and systemic improvements that address root causes.
Funding and Deadline
The deadline is October 1, 2026. The controlling Foundation page does not publish a deadline clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer either. The current application questions state that organizations receiving Health & Human Services funding receive an average award of about $8,000. The Foundation does not publish a universal minimum or maximum award for this cycle, so the average should not be treated as a ceiling or guaranteed amount.
Eligibility and Geography
Applicants should be nonprofit organizations serving Summit County, Ohio. Registration in the Foundation’s online system is designed for approved 501(c)(3) organizations, and the application expressly allows use of a fiscal sponsor. First-time applicants are requested to complete the Foundation’s Tell Us About Your Program form before starting a grant application. The Foundation favors effective, sustainable and transparent organizations with capacity for systemic impact, collaboration, accountability and inclusive service.
Allowable Uses, Restrictions and Match
The Health & Human Services application explicitly accepts program/project and operating requests, with an additional ‘other’ request type available for explanation. The Foundation’s public guidance does not state a mandatory match or cost-share percentage. Program/project budgets must show all revenue sources and expense line items and distinguish cash from in-kind support, and applicants must identify other funders and the status of those requests.
Community Fund grants do not support endowments, scholarships, direct financial support to individuals, religious organizations for religious purposes, private non-operating foundations, giving circles for grantmaking, newly established nonprofits that duplicate existing services, school curriculum, disease-specific programs, certain duplicative economic-development initiatives, programs at parochial schools that benefit only their students, or multi-year grants. Because Akron Community Foundation has a separate capital-grant process, applicants considering a significant equipment purchase should confirm that the cost belongs in the Health & Human Services cycle before budgeting it.
Submission Rules and Required Materials
Applications are submitted through Akron Community Foundation’s online GOapply system. The application requires proposal amount and name, a concise proposal description, number and description of people served, key partners, community need and evidence, inclusion/belonging/diversity/equity approach, success definition, implementation strategy, community impact, organization funding sources and sustainability. Program/project applicants must provide a project budget; operating or other requests require a previous-year profit-and-loss statement.
Required attachments include the organization’s current approved or upcoming proposed operating budget, a one-page list of key staff, board members with affiliations, and officers, plus a financial audit or, if no audit exists, a Statement of Financial Position for the most recently completed fiscal year. Fiscal-sponsored applicants must also upload the fiscal sponsor’s organizational budget and a letter describing fund management and oversight. First-time applicants may be invited to an in-person office interview on the fourth Wednesday of October from 3 to 5 p.m. The optional elevator-speech video may be used, but applicants should not include sensitive or confidential client information.
Contacts and Amendments
Foundation community-investment contacts listed in the current application materials include Brian Reitz at 330-436-5628 / breitz@akroncf.org and Mariana Silva at 330-436-5612 / msilva@akroncf.org. Kim Nott is listed at 330-436-5625 / knott@akroncf.org for application-system support and related questions. Atlas did not identify a separate 2026 amendment notice; applicants should rely on the current competitive-grants page, linked application questions and online portal for any later changes.
Strategic Fit
Atlas Opportunity Score: 86/100. The opportunity is open, locally targeted, directly relevant to healthcare and wellness, and has clear application materials and a recurring competitive cycle. The absence of a universal award ceiling and a stated deadline clock time creates modest planning uncertainty.
N9+ Fit Score: 56/100, conditional applicant-led. A credible N9+ pathway exists only where an eligible Summit County nonprofit owns a broader medical-access or wellness project and connected examination capability is a necessary program expense. The Foundation is not a telehealth or clinical-device funder, disease-specific programs are generally excluded, and significant equipment costs may be better suited to the Foundation’s separate capital process. Dr. Miltie/QC Healthcare is not the natural direct grantee and should be considered only as an applicant-selected vendor or partner after cost allowability is confirmed.
Potential Applicant Profile
AxessPointe Community Health Centers is a realistic applicant profile. Its first-party materials describe it as a federally qualified community health center serving Summit and Portage counties, with multiple Akron-area sites and medical, dental, women’s health, behavioral-health and pharmacy services. It also states that uninsured patients are not turned away and that fees are adjusted by income and family size. A Summit County access-to-care project could align with this cycle if the organization confirms its current eligibility, prior-funding timing and a specific applicant-owned project.
Controlling Sources
Akron Community Foundation – Competitive Grants
Health & Human Services Application Questions
Akron Community Foundation Funding Guidelines
How to Apply for a Grant