The Beaches Community Fund, a collective giving initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, has awarded $368,268 to 22 nonprofits serving residents from Mayport to Guana. The grants are made possible by generous donors who pool their resources and collectively decide which nonprofits to support to address the area’s most pressing needs.
“Through the collective generosity of Beaches Community Fund members, we are able to invest in organizations that are creating real, measurable impact for Beaches residents,” said Bill Buckingham, chair of the grants committee. “Year after year, these grants continue to reflect our support and commitment to the Beaches community that we all share.”
Basic Needs
- Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry (BEAM) — $50,000 to provide general operating support to keep local families housed, fed and financially stable.
- Beaches Habitat for Humanity — $20,000 to support critical home repairs for lowincome senior homeowners.
- Emmanuel Project of Northeast Florida — $15,000 to expand mobile medical clinics and volunteer coordination for uninsured residents.
- Feeding Northeast Florida — $30,000 to replenish resources expended on food and transportation during the surge in demand for food in late 2025.
- I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless — $25,000 to provide case management for chronically homeless adults to secure disability benefits and housing.
- Mission House, Inc. — $30,000 to support day services and case management for adults experiencing homelessness.
- Seniors on a Mission — $15,000 to offer oneonone technology training that helps seniors navigate digital health and financial systems.
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul – Jacksonville Beach — $20,000 to support financial and other assistance for families facing extended income loss due to crisis.
K–12 Support
- Beaches Boys & Girls Club — $10,000 to renovate the Teen Room, where programs are offered to youth to strengthen leadership and workforce readiness.
- Betty Griffin Center — $4,000 to support workshops on healthy relationships and violence prevention at Ponte Vedra High School.
- Blessings in a Backpack, Inc. — $25,000 to provide food packs for food insecure students at four Beaches schools.
- Communities in Schools of Jacksonville — $20,000 to provide case management and academic support for students at Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School.
- Girl Scouts of Gateway Council — $3,000 to provide Girl Scout programming for girls facing barriers to traditional troop participation.
- The First Tee of North Florida — $15,000 to expand youth development programs at the Jacksonville Beach Game Changer Clubhouse.
Early Learning & Literacy
- Episcopal Children’s Services — $18,268 to provide training and classroom supports to meet rising sensory and behavioral needs in early learners.
- Literacy Alliance of Northeast Florida — $10,000 to expand adult literacy enrollment and volunteer tutor recruitment in the Beaches area.
- READ USA, Inc. — $15,000 to provide books and offer literacy activities to students at BEAM’s BacktoSchool event.
- WJCT, Inc. — $9,000 to provide PBS KIDS Family & Community Learning workshops for young children and caregivers at the Rhoda L. Martin Early Learning Center.
Nonprofit Capacity
- Beaches Council on Aging — $7,000 to help develop a new strategic plan to guide services for a growing senior population.
- Nonprofit Center of Northeast Florida — $18,500 to support continued delivery of the Eleanor Ashby Beaches Series, supporting nonprofit leadership and collaboration.
- PossAbilities Plus — $8,500 to expand the training space to increase program capacity and sustainability.
The Beaches Community Fund has grown to more than 35 families who pay an annual membership to support grantmaking and to contribute to an endowment to ensure the work continues in perpetuity. The fund has made more than $3.1 million in grants since inception in 2013.
For more information about the Beaches Community Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, go to jaxcf.org/beaches.
The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, Florida’s oldest and one of its largest community foundations, works to stimulate philanthropy to build a better community. The foundation helps donors invest their philanthropic gifts wisely, helps nonprofits serve the region effectively and helps people come together to make the community a better place.
Now in its 62nd year, the foundation manages more than $809 million in assets as of Dec. 31, 2025, and has made more than $925 million in grants since inception.
