AACF Springfield

✨ 2026 African American Community Fund Annual Gala ✨

🎟️ Tickets are still available!
Purchase tickets through the link
https://www.springfieldfoundation.org/

or stop by the Springfield Foundation
Monday–Friday from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.

📅 Date: June 11, 2026
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM
📍 Location: Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts & Conference Center

Join us for an evening celebrating community impact, leadership, and excellence while honoring those making a difference in our community. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

The African American Community Fund proudly invites you to our 2026 Gala Celebration, a night dedicated to honoring excellence, uplifting our community, and celebrating impact.

📅 Thursday, June 11, 2026
⏰ 6:00 PM
📍 Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center

This year, we are honored to celebrate two incredible women who have made a lasting impact in the Springfield community:
💛 Lisa Cole
💛 Wynette ‘Nettie’ Carter

We will also be highlighting our 2026 grantees:
🌟 Springfield Elite
🌟 Treyson’s Ausome Foundation

🎟️ Tickets: $60
🗓️ Deadline to purchase: June 5, 2026
🔗 https://www.springfieldfoundation.org/partnerships/aacf.html

Tickets and tables can be purchased through the Springfield Foundation:
• Online via their website
• In person with cash or check

🤝 Interested in Sponsorship?
We welcome businesses and community leaders to partner with us! Sponsorships can also be submitted through the Springfield Foundation online or in person.

✨ Join us for a powerful evening filled with celebration, connection, and purpose as we honor two phenomenal women and continue investing in the future of our community.

We can’t wait to see you there!

📣 Southside Exchange

In case you missed it—the Southside has been identified as one of the seven priority pillars of Springfield 2051.

Join us for our next Southside Exchange as we discuss what that means and how we begin activating this focus area. This session will center on community voice, offering space for residents to share input and help shape Southside priorities moving forward.

Be part of the conversation.

📅 Monday, May 4th
⏰ 5:30 p.m.
📍 Kore @ 608 W. Southern Ave
🔗https://tinyurl.com/2y9xjyat

Save the Date

Join us for an unforgettable evening at our Annual Gala hosted by the African American Community Fund.

📅 June 11, 2026
🕕 6:00 PM

Mark your calendars, we can’t wait to celebrate, connect, and make an impact together. More details coming soon!

✨ Community leaders deserve to be recognized.

Dale Henry was one of our past honorees, celebrated for the impact he’s made in our community. If you know someone doing great things like him, now is the time to recognize them.

Submit your nomination and help us honor those making a difference. 🏆

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1chB7LjMkl-VyFqpghnWJMgqAeneQ1Ud4/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104294215553835007713&rtpof=true&sd=true

The African American Community Fund transforms generosity into lasting impact investing in people, programs, and partnerships that build opportunity for generations to come.

Expanding access to education by supporting students navigating financial barriers because talent is everywhere, but opportunity must be intentional.

We received funding in June 2024, which supported our activities at the Detention Center (photographs cannot be shared). The youth there are a protected class so we cannot take pictures while we are there. We visit them more than once a week. We provide snacks, journals, and other items depending on the activity.

The grant also helped fund our October "Feeding the Soul" event in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, where the Chief of Police was a guest speaker. Additionally, your support covered printing costs for materials used in several trainings we hosted.

Grant applications are open, apply today !
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1chB7LjMkl-VyFqpghnWJMgqAeneQ1Ud4/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=104294215553835007713&rtpof=true&sd=true

Celebrating first-generation college students and the courage it takes to be the first. This fund honors Dr. Edna Jean Harper’s legacy of education as a pathway to change.

A tribute to family, service, and perseverance. This scholarship supports students pursuing higher education through multiple pathways to success.