For the members of the Beaches Community Fund, a collective giving circle at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, philanthropy takes place close to home.
Created in 2013, the Beaches Community Fund was born out of a need – to support Beaches-area neighbors from Mayport to Guana. Research and more than a decade of grantmaking have shown that Beaches-area neighbors have a variety of basic needs that philanthropy can help address: food, housing, emergency assistance, student supports, care for aging adults, and health and healthcare.
“Because the Beaches are generally considered to be relatively affluent, Beaches community needs are more obscured than in other parts of Jacksonville,” said Leslie Brotman, a member of the giving circle. “Therefore, regional grants may miss the Beaches non-profits.”
Collective giving brings people together to make a greater impact than any one individual could alone. A research study from the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy projects that this form of philanthropy will double in the next five years across the United States. Between 2017 and 2023, nearly 4,000 collective giving groups mobilized approximately 370,000 philanthropists to donate more than $3.1 billion, the report found.
Through the Beaches Community Fund, each household gives an annual membership contribution of $10,000, which is pooled for grantmaking. Members work together through a grants committee to craft the grant opportunity for nonprofits, solicit applications via The Community Foundation’s website at jaxcf.org, and decide on the final grants.
This year’s grantmaking process is well underway, with 35 applications received. In May, the membership will meet to vote on the final grants, and nonprofits will be notified shortly afterward. One of the signature pieces of the grantmaking process is site visits, where members can meet the nonprofit’s staff and see programs in action.
“I’ve loved the opportunity to tour local projects and hear from the people doing the work,” said Kimmie Winston, a member of the Fund. “It’s inspirational.”
Last year, the Beaches Community Fund conducted two rounds of grantmaking. In May, they issued $319,000 in grants to 19 nonprofits to address critical needs facing their Beaches-area neighbors, part of their regular, annual grantmaking process. Then, during the SNAP benefits freeze later in the year, when local nonprofits saw a dramatic spike in the need for food, the giving circle responded with three new grants: $15,000 to Blessings in a Backpack, $20,000 to BEAM, and $20,000 to Feeding Northeast Florida.
“Over the years, our grants committee has built strong relationships with nonprofits and developed a deep understanding of community needs,” said Dr. David Loeb, a Fund member. “That long-term commitment allowed us to respond rapidly.”
Since inception, the collective giving circle has invested more than $2.8 million in grants to nonprofits. It now comprises more than 35 families.
“The Community Foundation’s mission calls for us to stimulate philanthropy to build a better community, and that’s what we have done,” said Martha Baker, a member of the Fund. “Looking back, we are very proud.
