Community Foundation of North Central Florida in 2023 awarded $4.18 million to local groups

Cleveland Tinker, Gainesville Sun
·3 min read

Grants totaling $4.18 million were awarded to 205 organizations in 2023 by the Community Foundation of North Central Florida.

“Thanks to the generosity of our community, the Foundation was able to distribute more than $4 million this past year in support of organizations and causes addressing critical needs in North Central Florida,” Barzella Papa, president and CEO of the foundation, said.

Nearly 25 percent of the funding awarded by the foundation went to organizations that provide mental health services to youth in Alachua County, according to a foundation press release.“While the foundation funds a variety of local causes from animal services to education, we have focused on supporting organizations providing mental health services to the youth in Alachua County because the need has steadily increased in recent years,” Papa wrote in an email to The Sun. “We partnered with Alachua County Public Schools eight years ago and have provided more than $4 million in support.”The foundation recently provided $500,000 to the Child Advocacy Center (CAC)in Gainesville that provides a child-friendly, safe and supportive environment for children who have experienced abuse and neglect.Sherry Kitchens, president and CEO of the CAC, said the money will be put to effective use."The CFNCFL is filling a tremendous role in helping child victims in our community get services when they are most critical," Kitchens wrote in an email.

The CAC serves over 2,000 children in the Alachua County and surrounding counties annually, and it is incredibly grateful for the support of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida to help fill the gap that was created by the loss of Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) grant funding this year, Kitchens wrote in the email.

"The CFNCFL Mental Wellness Fund ensures that abused and neglected children receive the developmentally appropriate and trauma responsive services they need including: forensic interviews, case management and victim advocacy support, evidence based trauma therapy, and emergency response/crisis intervention services," Kitchens wrote in the email.

Last year was a pivotal year for the foundation as it celebrated its 25th anniversary, Papa said in the press release.“We are excited about the expertise our newest directors bring to the table, and we look forward to launching new resources for our community in 2024,” she continued in the press release.According to the press release, the foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exemptOrganization with a permanent charitable endowment developed and sustained by individuals from throughout the community. It assists donors, both individualsand organizations, with long-range planning of their support for local charities.Also, the Foundation manages more than 130 funds and more than $63 million in assets and planned gifts.Since its inception, the foundation has awarded more than $50 million in grants, according to the press release.

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“The foundation receives funding primarily from individual donations,” Papa wrote in an email. “People create charitable funds at the foundation, and we administer those funds with grants to the community. We do receive some funding from other foundations that go to support our work including The Philanthropy Hub and the Center for Nonprofit Excellence. For 2023, the Foundation received more than $5.7 million in contributions bringing the total assets under management to more than $29 million. Fourteen new charitable funds were created last year including the GACAR Giving Circle and the My Village Project. We also have $35 million in planned gifts.”

W.J. Rossi, right, board chair of the Community Foundation of North Central Florida, prepares to announce the donation total as Barzella Papa, left, president and CEO of the foundation, laughs during the wrap party for the Amazing Give, an annual one-day fund-raising event for nonprofit agencies in Alachua County, held at Swamp Head Brewery in 2017. The foundation last year awarded $4.18 million to organizations in the region.

The first step to be considered for funding is for local organizations to register and receive their verification in The Philanthropy Hub at www.thephilanthropyhub.org, Papa said.“We use that information to match needs with the interests of our fundholders,” Papa said.For more information or to make a contribution, call352-367-0060 or visitwww.cfncf.org.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: 205 organizations received money from Community Foundation of NCF