So much has happened since the Women's Legacy Fund met this past spring at the WLF Contributors Spring Luncheon. To recap: the 2018 Contributors to the Women’s Legacy Fund...
2018 Tribe Stories: this week we catch up with the girls and organizers of the Women's Empowerment (WE) Series. Keiser University is providing a series of workshops geared toward female high school...
by Jason Farrell, Director of the Academic Skills Center and Writing Studio Coordinator, Keiser University—Fort Myers The Women Empowerment (WE) Series launched on June 13, 2018 with the first group of...
Family Health Centers of SWFL, Inc. (“FHC”) is partnering with Ronald McDonald House Charities to bring southwest Florida children the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile (“RMCM” or “Care Mobile”) a “clinic...
by Angela Katz, development director, LARC People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are just like you and me. They have goals and dreams, and they want to work, live and play...
This grant will support the purchase of needed equipment (a Hoyer Lift and Changing Bed) for a renovated “changing room” in the ADAPT program. ADAPT provides Adult Day Training...
by Melissa Barlow, Director of Arts and Community Programs, The Heights Center The Heights Center is a 2018 recipient of a Southwest Florida Community Foundation Arts, Community and Culture Community Impact...
The Heights Center will develop programs for children and adults to promote opportunities for family and community development by providing various Music, Art, Theatre and Dance classes, which will increase...
The school-based program will provide dental screening, oral health education, preventative services of sealants and topical fluoride among children from low-income families and reduce racial and income disparities in sealant...
by Molly Murphy, Communications Specialist, Family Initiative Incorporated At the age of two and half Amanda Stachler was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Her parents, Julie and Matt suspected prior...
The "Autism Navigator" will provide guidance to families who are attempting to understand programs and resources offered by the school system, insurance benefits and coverage, government support, therapeutic providers, medical...
by Leigh Ann Drew, LCSW and Matthew Grambow, Communications Coordinator In January, Avow Hospice was awarded a grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation’s LGBT Community Fund of Southwest Florida. The...
2018 Tribe Stories: Avow Hospice - Avow LGBT. This grant from the LGBT Community Fund of Southwest Florida is to promote equality for LGBT community members by building on Avow...
by Trish Fancher, Executive Director, Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc. Mangroves are critical to the health of our waterways and ecosystems. As they grow they strengthen the shoreline decreasing the chance...
This STEM program for high school girls will provide authentic summer research opportunities at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). throught a daytime program that will run for 10 days over...
by Laura Perry, President, Glades Education Foundation, Inc. When you ask most middle and high school students what they want to do after high school, you often receive shrugged shoulders and...
The AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) About Success program brings research-based instructional methods to Glades County schools to improve student achievement through the use of organizational strategies, Socratic tutoring sessions,...
by Angela Melvin, Valerie’s House Founder and CEO My name is Angela Melvin and I am the founder of Valerie’s House, a special place for children in Southwest Florida to connect...
It’s easy to think charitable giving is just for billionaires. After all, we study and work in buildings named after rich philanthropists, peek at the sponsor lists at our favorite...
2018 Tribe Stories: Valerie’s House With help from SWFCF grant, Valerie’s House will begin a program specifically targeted at children and their caregivers whose family member has died from opioids abuse. Check...
The Matched Savings for Education Program (MSEP) helps low-to moderate income students achieve their college graduation goals and do so with little or no debt. MSEP works by combining student...
by Sr. Maureen Kelleher, Esq., Immigration Law Staff Attorney with Legal Aid Service of Collier County and facilitator of the ‘Legal Rescue and Empowerment Initiative’ Many thousands of immigrants and their...
We just passed the longest day of the year last week and our team and the recipients of our grants are energized by the summer solstice as evidenced in their...
2018 Tribe Stories: Legal Rescue and Empowerment Project. The Immigration Legal Rescue and Empowerment initiative will provide legal services to at-risk immigrant families through an initiative delivered by an experienced...
By Sonya McCarter, Community Engagement Coordinator, Alliance for the Arts Four years ago, as an actress, my search for plays featuring compelling and interesting African-American characters in Ft. Myers came up...
2018 Tribe Stories: The Alliance for The Arts. The Alliance for the Arts project will spearhead conversations on equity and access to the arts in African-American communities, beginning with Dunbar....
2018 Tribe Stories: Gulf Coast Partnership. The goal of this project is to provide basic support, student enrichment, and increase parent/family engagement at The Academy high school in Port...
Preventing Dog Bites in Elementary Aged Children in Lee County By Nicole Ferguson-Morrison, DVM, MS, MPH, MRCVS Veterinarian, Lee County Domestic Animal Services Dog bites are a frightening experience for anyone, especially children....
20-year-old graduate of Evangelical Christian School and a junior at Florida State University, was killed two years ago in a car accident Four local nonprofits, a church mission trip and a high school senior were this year’s recipients of funds from the...
2018 Tribe Stories: Lee County Domestic Animal Services Rabies Vaccination. The "Learn what’s right, avoid the bite" campaign is a bite and scratch prevention program for the community in conjunction...
Scholars, veterans, entrepreneurs and philanthropists have been hard at work in the region these past few months creating exciting progress in the areas of scholarship funding, and designing pitches for...
135 scholarships awarded through 91 scholarships funds for high school seniors and undergraduate and graduate students The Southwest Florida Community Foundation recently granted $761,650 and 135 scholarships through a competitive process...
Several of the 111 volunteer scholarship reviewers for the Southwest Florida Community Foundation's 2018 scholarship season joined the Foundation team for the Scholarship Reviewer Thank You Reception on May 3...
Rosa was just 19 years old when she left Guatemala to start a new life in America. She has lived here since the early '90s, began working for a local...
When I was in elementary school report cards were handwritten and grades were recorded in blue or black ink. I remember this because of a few bad decisions I made in...
The Bonita Springs Community Fund, a fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, presented two $20,000 checks to the United Way to provide support to Habitat for Humanity and the...
More than 80 Women’s Legacy Fund contributors and Prima Donors recently attended the Southwest Florida Community Foundation Fund’s spring luncheon. The luncheon was exclusively for WLF contributors and Prima Donors....
by the Team of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation What on earth do you plan to do in honor of Earth Day this week? While the official Earth Day is April...
As we countdown to Earth Day, our foundation team is all about finding little ways that each of us can help save the planet. We have each made a pledge...
Women have made progress over the past several decades; there are, however, significant areas for improvement for women in Florida.Since the publication of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s 2004...
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund has invested $3 million in a Jacksonville nonprofit that promotes affordable housing, community facilities and small business development in Jacksonville’s urban core and surrounding areas....
Ardent community supporters Richard and Vicki Pitbladdo recently collaborated with the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to establish a virtual $1 million endowment. “This virtual endowment fund is reflective of the new...
Springtime. The season when days get longer and temps start to climb. But Spring isn’t the only thing heating up the Southwest Florida landscape. There’s a new type of heat...
HOME IS WHERE YOUR COMMUNITY IS…. Miami, Mexico City, Washington DC, Michigan, Immokalee, Fort Myers, Naples, LaBelle……. As you will see in Cause & Effect this month, members of my team and...
This is the fifth annual Southwest Florida workforce overview study providing key information about industries, occupations, employment gaps, and projected job growth. The study is divided into three major sections:...
Community Foundations and the Sustainable Development Goals. Community foundations, no matter where in the world they are based, share a major trait: they work with partners in their communities to solve...
U.S. taxpayers late last year poured money into charitable-giving vehicles known as donor advised funds that allow immediate deductions and gradual distributions to nonprofits, a sign that the new tax...
Help Us Rearrange the Stars: It's one of our favorite times of the year when our team at the Southwest Florida Community Foundation awards our annual Community Impact Grants to...
