Competitive Grants Program
With regret, The Community Foundation has determined that it must suspend its Competitive Grantmaking Program (originally scheduled to begin January 15, 2010) during the second half of the current fiscal year which ends June 30, 2010. The first grant cycle was recently completed with $287,525 awarded in grants to eight nonprofit organizations in Palm Beach and Martin Counties for projects that specifically address issues of food and shelter.
It comes as no surprise that the current recession, has taken its toll. For one of the few times in the Foundation’s history, the value of a portion of the Foundation’s endowment funds has fallen below the historic value of the contributions that initially established the funds. Retaining a fund’s principal ensures that endowed funds will weather economic downturns and therefore the Foundation does not by policy invade principal.. Thus the fund will grow over the long term, in more prosperous times, and produce the income and earnings from which distributions are prudently made. Endowment is our promise to the local communities we serve: the Community Foundation is here for the long run.
On a positive note, the Foundation’s funds have begun to receive the benefit of “bounceback” as the economy recovers. Income and earnings are improving fund balances upon which future competitive grant making depends. In the interim, donors are being encouraged to give now to meet urgent needs. The Foundation’s Scholarships awards, Small Grants Program, and Donor Advised Distributions are on-going.
In the short term, with fewer grant dollars available for distribution, the Foundation is committed to making strategic choices in its funding priorities and sharpening its focus. Funds will be allocated to making a significant difference when that difference is measured by the breadth of positive change, impacting many lives. In a climate of financial recession, our mandate as a community institution is and must be the highest and best use of limited dollars to leverage the potential impact of our grants. In these times of great community need, this means extending the safety net as broadly as possible to those facing economic crisis. Our immediate objective continues to be addressing the rising tide of urgent need among our area’s most vulnerable and at-risk populations: children, the elderly, the homeless, and the unemployed.
We have begun the process of assessing opportunities for positive change, revising the Foundation’s grant strategies to guide future grant making. This course of action includes collaboration with area grant makers and programs. Our goal: to encourage and solidify donors together to address issues of common concern, such as the Safety Net Challenge initiative earlier this spring that raised $1.3 million in local funding to meet critical family support needs.
You, of course, can also help. In the near future, we will be inviting nonprofit participation and comment to help shape the future direction of our discretionary grant making. This will be accomplished largely through participation in the second Nonprofits & the Economy survey. This survey, conducted in partnership with Allegany Franciscan Ministries, will assess how the economic recession is affecting nonprofit organizations in our region. The survey provides participants with a confidential assessment of the challenges and issues they and their constituents are facing. Your comments and observations from the “frontlines” are a critical part of the data that will be used to inform the Foundation’s decisions regarding its future grant making priorities. Please stay tuned for that announcement.
At the Community Foundation, we are keenly aware that the entire South Florida region is experiencing stressful economic times. For most of us, the breadth of the issues affecting families and children is unprecedented in our lifetimes. However, we are hopeful that we will see continued economic improvement in the long term.
In these trying times, we also know that all of us can do more by working together. With your support and help, we are deeply grateful that this collaborative spirit is strong and growing. |
