Vernon L. Odom Fund Grant

The Vernon L. Odom Fund, established in 1993 by the Akron Community Foundation, honors civil rights leader Vernon L. Odom. It supports programs that enhance diversity and improve the quality of life in local minority communities. With nearly $245,000 in grants awarded, the fund addresses specific needs of minority groups in Akron, promoting education and advocacy. As the minority population grows, the fund continues to play a vital role in fostering community empowerment and ensuring Odom's legacy endures.

That was the philosophy of Vernon Odom, one of Akron’s most recognized civil rights leaders.
The fund accepts grant applications for programs that promote diversity and enrich the quality of life within local minority communities.
Since its founding in 1993, the fund has awarded nearly $245,000 in grants to programs that empower everyone from Bhutanese refugees to African American youth.
From a disproportionate rate of poverty to a lack of educational resources, minority groups often have specific needs that cannot be met with generalized funding.
Thus, in 1993, the foundation established an unnamed minority fund with an initial endowment contribution of $50,000.
Odom Fund in 1997 and soon after awarded its first grants. Since that time, the fund has continued to improve the quality of life of local minority groups through annual grants to organizations like the Akron Inner City Soccer Club, Proyecto Raices, and Global Ties Akron.

Ineligibility

We do not make grants for:EndowmentsScholarshipsDirect financial support to individualsReligious organizations for religious purposesIn accordance with our grant-making priorities, we generally do not fund:Newly established nonprofit organizations that duplicate existing servicesCurriculum for schoolsDisease-specific programsEconomic development initiatives already being addressed by the Fund for Our Economic FuturePrograms at parochial schools that benefit only their studentsMulti-year grants