Foundation Kicks Off 2025 Grantmaking Cycle

Grant recipient -- Roots and Wings

(Press Release) West Palm Beach, FL (September 24, 2024) – The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties today announced the kickoff of its 2025 competitive “Community Impact” grantmaking cycle. Applications open for nonprofit organizations in Palm Beach and Martin Counties on November 1, 2024 and close on December 20, 2024. Award recipients will be announced in late Spring of 2025.

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​Nonprofits can apply for year-round or summer grants that support programs or general operations. The Community Foundation offers competitive grant awards of up to $75,000. This year, the Community Foundation has a special pool of multi-year grants of up to $100,000 that are dedicated to organizations focused on literacy.
 
The competitive grantmaking cycle will prioritize the following areas:

• Economic Opportunity: Programs that focus on job training and workforce development that lead to greater economic success and an improved quality of life (e.g. financial literacy, vocational skills, life skills, etc.).
• Education and Youth: Programs that will lead young people to their fullest potential (e.g. early childhood literacy, mentoring, internships, etc.).
• Thriving Communities: Programs that address a broad range of issues aligned with current community needs (e.g., arts and culture, housing, hunger, mental health, the environment, etc.).

 
“Our competitive Community Impact grants are the heart and soul of what we do at the Community Foundation,” said Julie Fisher Cummings, Chair of the Community Foundation’s Community Impact Committee. “Identifying the greatest needs in our community and partnering with those nonprofit organizations that are equipped and capable to address them is at the core of our mission. At the end of the day, our rigorous grantmaking process should give confidence to both the donors who support it, and the nonprofit organizations who are selected to receive the grants.”
 
Those interested in learning more about the process are invited to attend grant-seeker sessions, which will take place in November. Registration is online at yourcommunityfoundation.org.
 
General Grant-Seeker Sessions include the following:

• Belle Glade: November 6, 2024 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Student ACES Center, 915 S. Main Street, Belle Glade, FL 33430
• Delray Beach: November 8, 2024 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33444
• West Palm Beach: November 12, 2024 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach, 411 Clematis Street, WPB, FL 33401
• Stuart: November 13, 2024 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Children’s Services Council of Martin County, 101 SE Central Pkwy., Stuart, FL 34994
• Virtual (Zoom): November 14, 2024 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Zoom link will be emailed to all registered attendees in advance

 
A special session dedicated to the pool of literacy-focused funds will be held on:

• Virtual (Zoom): November 18, 2024 from 10 to 11 a.m.; Zoom link will be emailed to all registered attendees in advance.

 
“Each year, we strive to allocate our donors’ dollars where there is the greatest need in our community,” said Danita R. DeHaney, President & CEO, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. “And through a comprehensive and thorough vetting process, we enusure that our competitive grants support the essential work of local nonprofit organizations with the resources they need to address our community’s most critical opportunity gaps.”
 
The Community Foundation follows a competitive grantmaking process each year designed to closely align the recipients’ work with the Community Foundation’s mission, vision and values. The careful selection ensures that donors’ dollars are directed to local nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated high standards of integrity and impact. The grantmaking dollars specifically come from charitable funds created by individuals, families, businesses and organizations.
 
In 2024, the Community Foundation awarded 136 grants to nonprofit agencies throughout Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The grants totaled over $5 million, which marked the highest amount ever distributed through the Community Impact Grants process. For a full list of 2024 grant recipients, please click here.
 
To learn more about the Competitive Grantmaking process, visit yourcommunityfoundation.org/the-competitive-grantmaking-process/