Summit Health and Safety Innovation Fund
Forecasted
Summit Health and Safety Innovation Fund supports community nonprofits pursuing innovation to improve Summit County residents’ long-term health and safety as local challenges evolve.
Funder: Akron Community Foundation
Due Dates (Anticipated): January 2027 (First grant cycle application deadline)
Funding Amounts: More than $1 million annually anticipated for community nonprofits once fully operational
Summary: Supports innovation benefiting the long-term health and safety of Summit County, Ohio residents.
Description
The Summit Health and Safety Innovation Fund is a charitable supporting organization of Akron Community Foundation, created to benefit the long-term health and safety of Summit County residents. Announced by Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in 2024, it responds to a public health and safety crisis fueled by prescription opioids and compounded by newer, more complex threats.
The fund supports innovation and is designed to adapt to the county’s evolving health and safety challenges for generations to come. By keeping opioid litigation settlement resources local and permanently endowing them, it pairs a response to an urgent crisis with enduring support for community nonprofits. The fund exists as a separate Ohio nonprofit corporation, with its own governing board responsible for management and grantmaking.
