Learn more about Bath Community Fund

In the midst of its “For Bath, Forever” endowment campaign, Bath Community Fund’s advisory committee will host two educational/informational sessions in March to spread the word about this permanent charitable fund created for and dedicated to the Bath community.

Coffee and dessert gatherings are scheduled for Tuesday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Tre Belle, 1911 N. Cleveland-Massillon Road, and Wednesday, March 18, at 6 p.m. in the Trustees’ Meeting Room at the Bath Administrative Complex, 3864 W. Bath Road. Both events will include a meet-and-greet opportunity, a brief presentation about Bath Community Fund’s creation and goals, and a chance for questions and answers. Light refreshments will be served.

The scope of these events is educational, and funds will not be solicited, said BCF Advisory Committee member Nancy Fay.

“We want to encourage any interested community members to meet with us – either at these sessions or individually – to learn more about Bath Community Fund and becoming a Founding Donor of the fund,” Fay said. “Created last year as a legacy dedicated to enriching Bath Township for generations to come, Bath Community Fund is a unique way to strengthen and benefit our community.”

Bath Community Fund, an affiliate of Akron Community Foundation, is a charitable fund that is dedicated to responding to community needs through grants to qualified nonprofit organizations in Bath. Future grantmaking may help preserve the historical and environmental legacy of the township; assist the less fortunate; provide educational and recreational opportunities to benefit all residents, from youth to seniors; and encourage and enrich local arts, cultural and civic programs.

Established in June 2014 by a group of local residents, Bath Community Fund initiated its “For Bath, Forever” endowment campaign late last year. Gifts from the fund’s Founding Donors have ranged from $25 to $50,000, growing the fund to more than $161,000, nearly 65 percent of its initial fundraising goal of $250,000.

“We are now working to match a $25,000 challenge grant from Judy and Roger Read by the end of March,” said BCF Advisory Committee Chair Jody Miller Konstand. “By securing that match to the Reads’ generous challenge, our $250,000 goal will be that much closer to reality.”

In addition to the informational sessions planned for March, BCF’s advisory committee will convene its first annual meeting on Monday, March 30, at 5 p.m. in the Trustees’ Meeting Room, 3864 W. Bath Road. The public is welcome.

“We want to invite the public, especially our Founding Donors, to our first annual meeting so they can learn what BCF has achieved so far and what our plans and goals are for the future,” Fay said. “This is ‘our’ community fund, and it will take ‘our’ community to grow and sustain it now and in the future.”

RSVPs to these events are requested for planning purposes. Please contact Jody Miller Konstand at 330-618-4477 or jmkmedia@msn.com to reserve your seat by March 2.

Bath Community Fund can accept a variety of charitable gifts, from the simple to the complex, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets. To learn more about Bath Community Fund and how to become a Founding Donor, visit www.akroncf.org/BCF or contact Jody Miller Konstand, advisory committee chair, at 330-618-4477 or jmkmedia@msn.com.

About Akron Community Foundation

Celebrating 59 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. Today, it is a philanthropic endowment of more than $185 million with a growing family of more than 480 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation and its funds welcome gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation’s funds have awarded nearly $121 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.