01.03.2010 -  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (December 28, 2009) – A program to help youth aging out of foster care with housing and life skills and an effort to reduce the displacement and homelessness of low income renters are among the many community programs receiving funding support through the latest round of grants from the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

This month, the Community Foundation awarded more than $285,000 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations that address community needs in two areas of priority: improving food collection and distribution; and increasing capacity to provide immediate shelter for homeless individuals and families (including prevention of homelessness among the near homeless). Several organizations receiving grants will help improve access for families to federal food assistance programs, effectively leveraging the grant dollars provided. Last year, nearly $95 million dollars in federal food assistance in Palm Beach and Martin Counties went unused. According to the USDA, studies have shown that an increase in food stamp benefit would generate $1.73 in economic activity for every dollar in cost.

In Hobe Sound, a $27,000 grant will allow The Whole Child Connection to hire an additional advisor to help families complete applications for food stamp assistance and connect to social services while gaining economic self-sufficiency.

In Lake Worth, C.R.O.S. Ministries will utilize a $42,265 grant to increase food distribution through its emergency food pantries which are located in the north, south, central, and western area of Palm Beach County, as well as Indiantown (Martin County). The food pantries help those awaiting food stamps, families facing unplanned hardships, single mothers with children and other low-income families. 

Two of the grants awarded will help provide housing and independent skills preparation to youth aging out of fostercare who may otherwise face homelessness. Vita Nova Village in West Palm Beach received $40,000 and Children’s Home Society of the Treasure Coast in Fort Pierce received $26,950. Both organizations will provide shelter through transitional living programs in Palm Beach and Martin counties.

According to the Foundation’s President, Leslie Lilly, the Community Foundation last year temporarily revised its Competitive Grantmaking guidelines to focus on programs that address the rising tide of urgent need among our area’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations: children, the elderly, the homeless and the unemployed. The priorities were changed in response to the enormous impact of the current recession on the South Florida economy.  Lilly added that the Foundation’s priorities for grant distributions remained unchanged for scholarships, small grants and its donor advised and other miscellaneous funds, but are restricted to specific and well-defined purposes.  

The majority of the new grants from the Competitive Grants Program are drawn from income generated by unrestricted funds within the Community Foundation’s endowment, while others are made from “donor advised” and “field of interest” funds designed to target a particular geographic location or community priority.  (A full list of grants is attached.) 

Since January of this year, the Foundation has received 350 applications requesting nearly $17 million in grant requests as compared to less than $1 million that was available for competitive grant making in the Foundation’s current fiscal year.  According to Lilly, more than 40 proposals were received requesting nearly $1 million in funding during just this latest Competitive Grants Cycle. 

Given the community’s extraordinary need and limited amount of discretionary funding available, the Community Foundation will regrettably suspend the second cycle of its Competitive Grant Making Program. Instead, the Foundation is seeking opportunities to effectively leverage the limited discretionary dollars remaining in order to maximize the impact of its discretionary grants, Lilly said. The Foundation will continue to sustain all outstanding  multi-year grant commitments and its scholarships awards. The Foundation’s Small Grants Program and Donor Advised Fund distributions are ongoing. 

The Community Foundation expects that nonprofits nationwide will face enormous challenges until the economy fully recovers. To better anticipate emerging needs and inform the Foundation’s future grant initiatives, the Community Foundation will again partner with Allegany Franciscan Ministries, another local  grant maker, to conduct its 2nd annual survey on the impact of the economy on area nonprofits.  The survey will be released after the New Year and the results shared with the community in early 2010. “Through the survey we hope to glean community insight into the challenges of the nonprofit sector now and in the months ahead,” said Lilly.  “We are committed to working with nonprofit leaders and our funding partners to identify solutions to help our community in these unprecedented circumstances,” the Foundation President said.

To learn more about the work of the community foundation, please read the annual report A Place, A Reason, A Season for Giving at www.yourcommunityfoundation.org/report.

About the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties improves communities through the power of giving. The Foundation accepts contributions from individuals, families, businesses, corporations and other foundations in support of community initiatives, special projects and permanent endowment. Income from endowment is used to make grants and award scholarships primarily in Palm Beach and Martin counties. Since 1972, the Community Foundation has awarded more than $81 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and over $4.5 million in scholarships to more than 1,200 students. For more information, contact the Community Foundation at (561) 659-6800 or visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org.

Full Grants List and Descriptions Follow:

Grants Awarded - December 2009
Total Amount: $287,575
Palm Beach County Projects: $196,925
Martin County Projects: $90,650     

Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Inc. (West Palm Beach) - For Rise and Shine, a family food co-op project. $28,800  (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund, Jane and Gene Guttman Fund)

C. R. O. S. Ministries (Lake Worth) - For support of the Comprehensive Food Pantry Initiative. $42,625 (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund)

Children's Home Society of Florida, Treasure Coast Division (Fort Pierce) - For the Transitional Living program, which provides housing and essential life skills for Martin County youth who have aged out of the foster care system. $26,950 (Hans and Mary Stratmann Intergenerational Fund)

Neighborhood Renaissance (West Palm Beach) - To stem the tide of low-income tenant displacement and homelessness. $50,000 (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund)

Renaissance Village (West Palm Beach) - For the Vita Nova Village transitional housing project which provides housing and essential life skills for Palm Beach County youth who have aged out of the foster care system. $40,000  (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund)

Treasure Coast Food Bank, Inc. (Fort Pierce) - To increase emergency food distribution to hunger relief agencies in Martin County. $36,700 (Jane and Gene Guttman Fund, Community Impact Fund)

The Village Baptist Church/Feed the Hungry (West Palm Beach) - To increase food distribution through the Community Food Truck Produce Recovery Project. $35,500  (John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund)

The Whole Child Connection (Stuart) - To improve access to federal food assistance programs for children and families in Martin County. $27,000 (Charles and Catherine Schmidt Fund, Robert A. Butler Estate and Dr. Richard H. Butler Fund, Community Impact Fund)