How Portage County nonprofits fund themselves to help others

It’s hard enough to manage a household budget that relies on regular income. 

Nonprofit organizations have to keep their doors open and services running with uncertain revenue, much of it arriving at the end of the year, said Axess Family Services Executive Director Mark Frisone. People feel generous during the holiday season, or maybe they’re looking for a tax break. 

Either way, it's a financial juggling act nonprofits face every year. The Portager spoke with Frisone and directors of two other leading area nonprofits to learn how they manage such uncertain money flows.

Axess Family Services

AFS (formerly Family & Community Services of Portage County) is the umbrella organization for 85+ programs and locations in 28 Ohio counties, and additional endeavors in Pennsylvania and Michigan. More than 40 of those programs and services are in Portage County.

That’s a far cry from the agency’s 1941 lofty beginning, when the Catholic Charities Bureau of the Ravenna Deanery rolled out Family & Community Services to provide a local adoption service and financial assistance to war-impacted widows and children.

AxessPointe Community Health Centers followed in 1995, when Akron City Health Department Director Bill Keck and Cleveland State graduate Ralph Faulkner set out to secure federal funding for a health center to help medically underserved communities in Akron.

Their coverage area expanded into Portage County, and in 2024, the two organizations merged to form AFS. It’s still based in Ravenna, now overseeing healthcare, behavioral health and supportive services, as well as veterans, shelter and housing assistance to more than 350,000 people.

Frisone oversees an annual operating budget that approaches $100 million. He’s not particular about when donations arrive, so long as they do.

“We will accept anyone’s generosity anytime, at any point during the year. I’m a big fan of letting the donor make those types of decisions. That’s how we operate,” he said.

Relying on donations makes budgeting challenging, but Frisone said his annual budget baseline is whatever came in the previous year. Individual donors provided AFS with $832,977 in 2024 and with $1,156,855 in 2025. Add in donations from foundations, churches and fraternal organizations, and the amounts more than double, Frisone said.

An unexpected, one-time $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund aside, Frisone said most of AFS’s revenue comes from modest donations, many of them arriving toward the end of the year. He’s okay with that, and hopes people continue to open their hearts and wallets.

“We’re in the people helping business. I’m always quick to point out that if people don’t help us, we can’t help others. We’re just a conduit, a vehicle to help people. We can’t do it without others assisting us. That’s real important for everyone to bear in mind. If donors don’t give money to the Center of Hope, no one’s getting fed. It’s really that simple,” he said.

AFS maintains a small social media footprint and an even smaller marketing and advertising budget. It doesn’t launch giving campaigns and doesn’t distribute flashy pamphlets.

“The only reason we get donations is because of the work that we do. The work speaks for itself, and that’s the best marketing I could ever buy,” he said. “People know that when somebody needs food and walks into Kent Social Services or Center of Hope, they're going to get fed. They know the good work that goes on at Miller House or Freedom House. They see that, they feel it, they touch it. It's right there. That's the best marketing in my mind you could ever, ever, ever have.”

Salvation Army

People are used to seeing the Salvation Army’s red kettles and bell ringers around the holiday season, but those donations, which in 2025 totaled about $36,000, don’t translate to a full year of services.

Relying 100% on individual and corporate donations, Major Paul Knickerbocker, the Salvation Army’s commanding officer for Portage County, oversees an annual budget of about $500,000. About 70% of it ($350,000) is earmarked for programming.

There’s no rent to pay because the Salvation Army owns its building at Main and Sycamore streets, but utilities need to be paid, supplies must be purchased and equipment needs to be repaired or purchased.

From its Ravenna headquarters, the Salvation Army arranges for 14 children to go residential summer camp each year, offers regular Sunday church services, a Bible school and a ladies fellowship group every Thursday, and runs a food pantry from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday.

It offers a year-round assistance program to help area residents stave off electric and gas service disconnections. The Ravenna office also runs a food pantry and free clothing distribution center at its satellite office in the Renaissance Family Center in Windham.

Then there’s the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Pantry. A semi-truck full of food is parked from 9 to 10:30 a.m. the first Wednesday of the month at Kent State University’s overflow parking lot just west of East Summit Street and Horning Road, and from 9 to 10:30 a.m. the fourth Tuesday of every month at the Renaissance Family Center in Windham.

Anyone with a photo ID proving they are a Portage County resident receives a full grocery cart containing canned and boxed goods, bakery items and — this is a rarity for emergency food pantries — lots of fresh produce, Knickerbocker said.

To raise funds, the Salvation Army distributes countertop kettles to area businesses, sends regular pleas to established individual and corporate donors and is participating in a national online giving campaign, complete with matching grants. Knickerbocker attends area service club meetings and encourages their members to pass along his message.

“I think most people already know that the need is there, but they just need somebody to remind them that no matter how bad we think we have it, there's always somebody that could use a little more help. We just try to make sure people realize that. This community has always been generous. They’ll continue to help their neighbors,” he said.

Careful budgeting is key. Knickerbocker and his staff create a yearly spreadsheet, but revise it after Christmas to reflect what actually came in. They frontload large payments like insurance at the beginning of each year and somehow make it all work.

The Salvation Army’s divisional office in Cleveland provides administrative support, and, on the rare occasions the Ravenna office needs it, sends money, as well, Knickerbocker said.

Ben Curtis Family Foundation

Golf pro Ben Curtis and his wife Candace Curtis launched the Ben Curtis Family Foundation in 2013 after viewing a documentary about hunger and food insecurity in the United States. They remain dedicated to fighting food insecurity in Summit, Stark and Portage counties.

From its Brady Lake Road headquarters, BCFF does what it can to ease food insecurity. Its Birdie Bag Program provides nonperishable foods to students in 15 school districts and about 60 schools in the tricounty region. Nine of those school districts and 27 schools are in Portage County.

The foundation also partners with area schools and the Community Action Council of Portage County to offer Sideline Summer Hunger. Kids who rely on school meals and Birdie Bags continue to get food during the summer. 

“A Very Merry Dinner” provides a holiday meal and gifts for food-insecure children: last year, 715 kids in 10 school districts in the tri-county area, 441 of them in Portage County, received the holiday baskets.

From January through March 2026, the foundation delivered 8,775 Birdie Bags in Portage County, serving about 1,804 kids each month. It provided 35,100 meals, 52,650 snacks and logged 830 school pantry visits.

Those food pantries allow students to stop in whenever needed to comfortably access food and snacks. During the first three months of the year, 195 youths availed themselves of this resource, many of them multiple times.

Somehow, the Ben Curtis Family Foundation does all this with an annual $600,000 budget, most of which appears as grants and as donations from individuals and businesses. The annual BCFF golf outing also brings in needed cash, last year raising $130,000.

To stretch dollars as far as possible, the BCFF buys about 80% of its food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, which provides discounted foodstuffs to regional nonprofits. The rest comes from wholesalers who charge going rates.

The bulk of BCFF’s money appears in the second half of the year, but Candace Curtis, her two fulltime employees and her parttime book keeper aren’t fazed. In 13 years, they’ve noticed giving trends and plan their programs accordingly.

“I just kind of forecast, and I know we're gonna maybe be a little drier in the start of the year, but we make sure that we've got that covered in reserve funds,” Candace Curtis said. “Our goal is to always have at least six months to a year in funds, just for when we’re a little bit drier.”

Like Frisone, BCFF Marketing & Event Coordinator Nicole Cross isn’t picky about when donations come in. Cross encourages contributions via social media and direct emails to established partners. BCFF staff also attend area events, including those held by Main Street Kent. Well aware that every dollar and every relationship makes a difference, Candace Curtis speaks to numerous community groups.

“We’re truly grateful for the continued support from our community that helps make our mission possible,” she said. “We take pride in the relationships we build with our donors and volunteers, allowing them to actively see the impact they are making in the lives of children facing food insecurity.”

Want to help?

• To contribute to the Ben Curtis Family Foundation, click on the following link: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E341709&id=1. 
• To make a donation to Axess Family Services, click on https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E159217&id=5. 
• To help the Salvation Army with its mission, click on https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ways-to-give/.