The Community Foundation of North Central Florida celebrated its 25th anniversary with a dinner at the Cade Museum Thursday evening.
Local philanthropists, Mayor Harvey Ward and all five members of the School Board of Alachua County were among about 150 attendees at the event, which included tributes and retrospectives on the foundation’s work.
“Philanthropy, at its core, is the desire to make a positive impact on the world,” said Ester Tibbs, vice chair of the foundation’s board of directors. “The power of philanthropy can change lives.”
The event included videos and interviews highlighting some of the foundation’s funding projects, including the Matheson Museum, GRACE Marketplace and the YMCA.
Veita Jackson-Carter spoke live to the audience about donor-supported mental health services provided in Alachua County Public Schools.
“I cannot begin to say how impactful, how important this work has been,” Jackson-Carter said, before telling several stories of students whose lives had been changed through the counseling services. “We thank you for your generosity.”
Since its founding in 1998, the foundation has grown from a board of volunteers sharing time and money to a non-profit organization with about $60 million under its management.
The foundation acts as a philanthropic “back office” for individuals, families, groups of friends, neighborhoods, businesses and nonprofits that want to create charitable funds. These individuals or groups entrust funds to the foundation, which then appropriates the money according to donor intent, while also handling the investing, accounting and IRS reports.
The concept of a community foundation originated in Ohio in 1914, with the aim of helping people with modest means collaborate to participate in philanthropy. In 1997, members of the Estate Planning Council of North Central Florida began talking about bringing the idea closer to home.
By 1998 the group, known as the Community Foundation of Gainesville, was recognized by the IRS, but it was still nearly penniless. Volunteer board members tried to spread the word about what the foundation was trying to do, fielding a few small funds until 2002, when Robert Cade made the foundation’s first major gift.
Cade, the inventor of Gatorade, established the Cade Family Fund and allowed the foundation to hire its first part-time executive director.
Four years later, in 2006, the organization had grown to a point where it could afford to hire a full-time president and CEO, Barzella Papa, and another staffer. When Papa joined the foundation, it had between $4 million and $5 million in assets and made about half a million dollars in grants each year.
By 2010, the foundation’s grantmaking passed the $1 million mark. Now, the foundation manages about $30 million in active funds and another $30 million in planned gifts from individuals who want to leave legacies in their wills to contribute to their favorite causes.
About 70% of the foundation’s funds are endowed, Papa said in an interview. Those funds are set up to generate more money for their causes forever. Other funds are given to address immediate needs.
“By growing our assets under management, we have been able to address the pressing issues that our community is facing,” Papa said. “The more assets we have, the more that we have that we can put toward improving our community for all.”
In 2012, the organization changed its name to the Community Foundation of North Central Florida, in order to include outlying communities. In 2013, the wife of the late Chuck Perry, Nancy, gifted the organization a building to aid in its vision of being a philanthropic hub for North Central Florida.
The foundation also started the first giving circle in the state when it launched the Women’s Giving Circle, which has generated $2 million for women and girls in Alachua County over 17 years. About 130 women contribute $1,000 each, or $500 if they are under the age of 40. Then, together they review grant applications to decide where the money will go.
The foundation is also helping the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors start its first giving circle this year.
Among its projects over the years, the foundation has helped Bread of the Mighty keep its building and allowed Peaceful Paths to buy property to expand.
“As we celebrate this milestone, we acknowledge the collective effort to this point,” Tibbs said at Thursday’s event. “Let us continue to embrace the power of philanthropy, knowing it has the power to transform.”
—With reporting from J.C. Derrick
