The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties hit record numbers in the last year, surpassing many of the goals it set in fundraising, connecting to new families, and funding high-impact community projects.
Leaders of the foundation and its Philanthropic Advisory Council highlighted many of these achievements at the Council’s recent annual meeting.
“With new strategic partnerships with advisors and staff, we’ve helped secure some of the most significant gifts in the foundation’s 53-year history,” said Lisa Schneider, Chair of Gunster’s Trusts & Estates practice, who stepped down as chair of the Council at the meeting.
She credited members of the Council with referring 21 clients to the foundation, nine of whom have finalized agreements to partner with the foundation, she said.
“Your leadership has not only benefited your clients, but also made a huge difference in our communities,” she said.
The foundation has granted back more than $17 million to local nonprofits so far this year. The money has gone to schools, housing, mental health programs, arts groups, and health services. The grants help people from South County to the Glades and Martin County.
Seven families put the Community Foundation in their wills and trusts this year. These planned gifts total about $11 million.
During Schneider’s two-year tenure as chair, the foundation has expanded the Council to 35 professional advisors from a cross-section of sectors. These advisors said they would refer clients when the time was right.
That sentiment was echoed by Joseph Robinson, a Wealth Advisory and Principal at Bernstein Private Wealth Management’s West Palm Beach office. He told the advisors at the meeting that as professional partners to their clients, they determine when it makes sense to introduce them to the Community Foundation.
In doing so, they can have an impact in many respects, including supporting the foundation’s growth, he said.
“The Community Foundation can definitely make a difference in our community,” he said. “It can make a difference with our clients, and it can also make a difference in our respective practices.”
He highlighted some of the foundation’s achievements through its history, including awarding over $250 million million in grants and scholarships to more than 19,000 nonprofit organizations and 3,200 students, many of whom are low-income youths who may not have had an opportunity to get an education otherwise, he said.
Mary Katherine Morales, who serves as the foundation’s Vice President of Philanthropic Services, said 28 families and nonprofit organizations opened new funds this year with the foundation, many as Donor-Advised Funds, Supporting Organizations, and Scholarship Funds.
The scholarship program has raised $5.6 million during a two-year campaign. The foundation gave awards to 115 students this year.
In a new initiative, the foundation is offering some of those scholarship recipients wrap-around services to help students stay in school, with coaching, mentoring, networking, health and wellness activities, and emergency money, if needed.
At the meeting, Schneider was honored for leading the Council over the last two years.
Tandy Robinson, who serves as a private wealth advisor at Goldman Sachs in West Palm Beach, where she co-leads a team focused on advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals on investment strategy and wealth management, is stepping in as the new PAC chair.
April Hicks with Carr, Riggs, and Ingram LLC, will serve as PAC Co-Chair in Martin County, and Stacey Hallberg with Northern Trust will serve as PAC Co-Chair in South County.
