Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties

Grantmaking - Community revitalization, educational attainment, positive youth development and disaster reliefthe Community Foundation strives to make connections by inspiring and facilitating philanthropy to address our Community's most pressing needs, with the intention of creating a better quality of life for all residents. We invest in our nonprofit partners through confidence in their expertise and excellence of service. In 2021, the Community Foundation for the third consecutive year provided grants that supported three strategic focus areas: Community revitalization, post-secondary & career pathway, and positive youth development. A grant of $50,000 was awarded to neighborhood renaissance. The grant was used to help eliminate blight, preserve, and upgrade existing affordable homes, increase homeownership, and develop resident leadership for lasting change. A grant of $25,000 was also awarded to ejs project that helped students gain valuable workforce experience, advance their academic progress, and have a safe and productive way to spend out-of-school time. In total, 78 grants were awarded in the amount of $2,038,619.73.additionally, the Community Foundation continued supporting efforts in response to the covid-19 pandemic. With the assistance of the covid-19 relief and response fund, 35 grants were awarded to organizations in Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The total amount distributed was $1,350,865 in addition to setting up the covid-19 fund, the Community Foundation hosted a common relief application and funding process that brought the business, government, and philanthropic Community together to address Community needs.

Other servicesdonor-advised funds:the Community Foundation helps its donors achieve their philanthropic vision through financial stewardship and Community leadership. Together we address our communities' most pressing needs, while creating a better quality of life for all residents. This fiscal year, donor advised funds gave 840 grants totaling $12,529,989.49. Field of interest:as part of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties' mission, the Foundation seeks to connect the interest of donors to causes which they are passionate about. One unique way this wish is fulfilled is through our field of interest funds. The field of interest funds ensures that the donor's intent never changes. We ensure that the original intent of the donor's desires maintains its integrity and supports nonprofits to provide maximum impact in the Community. In 2021, our field of interest funds helped address pressing Community needs like transitional housing for individuals and families seeking permanent shelter; mental health therapy for women and children and lgbtq youth; vocational and job readiness training for an adult with intellectual development disabilities; created environmental focused job opportunities for youth living in low-income neighborhoods; provided a safe meeting space for youth transitioning out of foster care; assisted in the cleaning of blighted Community common spaces; provide education to marginalized communities on the importance of breast cancer screening.special initiatives:in the midst covid-19 and the great need to inform, educate and provide access to, the Community Foundation led the efforts to support a local Community health workers program. The chw program serves as a liaison between health and social services and the Community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. With the assistance of the covid-19 relief and response fund the Community Foundation awarded over $625,000 to the chw program. The Community Foundation supports Palm health Foundation's bewell pbc initiative, which focuses on the system of behavioral health. Its aspirational goal is to create a Community culture in which every person in Palm Beach county thrives because they feel empowered, hopeful, supported, and connected. As the number of mental health cases in our Community continues to impact residents of all ages, the Community Foundation recognizes how imperative it is to assist in building a robust system of care. A grant of $25,000 was awarded to provide continued support of bewell pbc initiative.as one of the initial supporters of the local college access network, achieve Palm Beach county, the Community Foundation sits on the operations team, a governing body for the group. Additionally, the Community Foundation has representation on the financial supports team. This strategy team focuses on developing ways to increase completion of the fafsa form for federal aid, creating content to help students navigate financial planning for post-secondary education, as well as communicating the various private scholarship opportunities unique to this area. Local giving circles within the Community provide large grants to our nonprofit partners. We are proud to partner with impact 100 Palm Beach county, impact the Palm beaches, and men giving back to assist with their grantmaking process.nonprofit endowment: one of the Community Foundation's core components is to help nonprofits build a sustainable source of income through endowment-building. We help local nonprofits build their endowments so that their programs and services can continue for years. We are committed to strengthening and serving our nonprofit Community. As part of that commitment, we manage assets and reserves for nonprofit organizations. We currently have 69 nonprofit endowments, and the number increases each year.

Scholarship programthis year approximately 300 students completed an application for the Community Foundation's scholarship program. With the assistants of dedicated volunteers and entrusted donors' resources, we granted $1,167,500 in scholarships to 107 deserving students in our Community. These students received awards ranging from $1,000 to $30,000 to use towards their college of choice. The average scholarship grant to recipients was $10,911. Recipients are attending major Florida universities, Massachusetts institute of technology (mit), howard university, and columbia university. The scholarship program is one of the largest distributors of scholarship funds in the Community. It creates opportunities that afford high school seniors from Palm Beach and Martin Counties to fulfill their goals of obtaining a degree or high credential certification that will prepare them for the workforce. We support a wide range of students based on the criteria of over 110 scholarship funds. Scholarship funds are often established to honor or memorialize a loved one. Each year fund holders are informed of the recipients and receive thank you letters from the students, allowing the fundholder to be part of the students' college journey. Since 1983, over $15 million in scholarships have been awarded to over 2,400 students.