COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF BROWARD MAGAZINE
MATTERS
Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D. President/CEO
People Who Care, Causes That Matter
From the start, the Community Foundation of Broward has championed local philanthropy by connecting people who care to causes that matter. As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, this issue of Community Matters highlights how that simple mission has produced 40 years of BOLD impact and charts our exciting course for the future.
I’m so honored to lead the Community Foundation, which over four decades has become a trusted force for good in the community we love. I stand on the shoulders of our visionary founders and the leaders who came before me. Their hard work made sure the place they called home would have philanthropic resources to keep pace with Broward’s ever-evolving needs.
Through the years, the Community Foundation has led the way in support for education, the arts, economic mobility, social justice, the environment, seniors in need and so much more. We continue to evolve and grow to keep pace with the needs of our fast-growing community. Thanks to the power of endowed giving, we are just getting started.
It’s all made possible by the philanthropists who partner with us to create charitable funds that generate ongoing support for the community we all love. Today and for generations to come, the Community Foundation will ensure that the BOLD impact of local philanthropy never ends.
Frank Brogan, Barbara Brogan and Jack Deinhardt
COVER PHOTOS
Libby Deinhardt and Wil Greaton
Steve Hudson and Paige Hyatt
Ginny Miller and John Ruffin
Sally Robbins and George Allen
20th Anniversary Celebration
This issue of Community Matters explores our 40 years of BOLD impact, the community leaders and dedicated philanthropists who made it all possible, and the BOLD course we are charting for the future. (Shown left to right: Leonard Robbins, Jack Deinhardt, Jim Blosser, William Gundlach, Stewart Kester and Libby Deinhardt)
LEADERS
Our Founders and the leaders who followed shaped the Community Foundation you know today.
15
COLLABORATIONS
From the beginning, collaborating with professional advisors to help their clients achieve their charitable goals has been a top priority for the Community Foundation.
21
PHILANTHROPISTS
Forty years of partnering with philanthropists who want to be more strategic and impactful with their giving has shaped a brighter future for Broward.
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BOLD IMPACT
The Community Foundation’s impact will continue for generations to come, thanks to endowed charitable funds that ensure sustainable philanthropic support for Broward.
New ‘Spread the
As the Community Foundation of Broward turns 40, we want the community we love to benefit from our yearlong celebration of local philanthropy.
That’s why we are awarding special “40 for 40: Spread the Love Grants” –$400,000 total to help 40 nonprofits make a BOLD impact for Broward.
The new grants – up to $10,000 each – support 40 innovative, impactful opportunities for nonprofits to help our community. Made possible by the support of our generous fundholders, these special grants invest in projects and initiatives that make life better in Broward.
It’s another way for the Community Foundation to say “thank you” to the community that for 40 years has embraced our mission to champion local philanthropy that shapes a brighter future for Broward.
We have been overwhelmed with the creative, innovative proposals from local nonprofits ready to make a BOLD impact with a 40-for-40 grant.
Examples of the grants’ impact include:
• 40 families struggling with food insecurity will get help with groceries
• 40 students participating in art therapy
• 40 uninsured families receiving health care services
• 40 rain barrels spread across Broward to foster sustainable water management
• 40 weeks of enrichment activities for seniors in adult day care
• 40 bicycles for people transitioning out of a homeless shelter
• 40 seniors getting help with technology challenges
• And much more!
Those are just a few examples of the many different ways our 40th anniversary grants will invest in uplifting and enriching the community we love.
“We could think of no better way to celebrate our 40th anniversary than to provide a special infusion of support for opportunities to help people in the community we love,” said Community Foundation President/CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D. “This big milestone and our special 40-for-40 grants are all made possible by the dedicated philanthropists who partner with the Community Foundation to shape a brighter future for Broward.”
SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
the Love’ Grants
SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS
SUPPORT FOR SENIORS
SUPPORT FOR FOOD NEEDS
SUPPORT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Upper Left: Tom O’Donnell, Libby Deinhardt and David Miller Lower Left: John Bauer, Libby Deinhardt and Ed Hollbrook
Lower Middle: Jack Deinhardt Lower Right: Linda Carter and Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson
YEARS OF
BOLD LEADERS
In 1984, a small group of community leaders started a movement to champion local philanthropy in Broward County. Thanks to our visionary founders and the dedicated leaders who followed, the BOLD impact of the Community Foundation of Broward keeps growing.
Launching the Community Foundation: LIBBY AND JACK DEINHARDT
Something was missing from the community that Libby and Jack Deinhardt adopted as their home.
When they moved to Fort Lauderdale from Columbus, Ohio in 1979, Libby and Jack were surprised to learn that Broward County didn’t have a community foundation to champion local philanthropy.
As longtime supporters of The Columbus Foundation – where Libby once worked as grants administrator – they had seen firsthand how a community foundation could attract and grow much-needed, hometown philanthropic support.
• Community foundations across the country brought together generous residents to support struggling families, the arts, education, seniors and a host of other local needs.
• Community foundations were trusted to carefully invest and grow philanthropists’ gifts, directing grants that enabled their local impact to continue for generations.
• Through the power of endowment, a community foundation’s unifying leadership would always be there to identify emerging needs, grow philanthropic support and forge collaborations to shape a brighter future.
Libby and Jack decided Broward needed a local philanthropy champion of its own.
Libby and I always believed in the importance of bringing people together to tackle issues as one community.”
- Jack Deinhardt, Foundation Co-Founder
Many of the charitably minded people they had gotten to know since moving to Broward also came from somewhere else and that’s where many still did their giving. Libby and Jack wanted to change that. They knew the community they now called home needed more support. They believed people should give where they live. So, Libby and Jack started sharing the community foundation concept with their friends and local leaders.
In 1984, Libby and Jack formed a small group of volunteers to launch what would
Inspired by their experience with The Columbus Foundation, Libby and Jack Deinhardt in December 1984 launched what would become the Community Foundation of Broward.
Libby Deinhardt with fundholders
Former Board Member Jan Moran, Co-Founder Jack Deinhardt and former Board Member Sally Robbins attend a dedication at the Community Foundation in 2006.
become the Community Foundation of Broward. The visionary team included Frank Brogan, who donated legal work, and Jim Blosser, who became president of the first Board of Directors. Libby volunteered to serve as the first executive director, working out of office space donated by Jack’s real estate development firm.
As the face of the new Community Foundation, Libby spoke out to build support for her fledgling organization and she wasn’t shy about sharing her bold vision for what the Community Foundation could become.
“The time will come when a person of means will be embarrassed to die without leaving a gift to his community through a bequest to his community foundation,” Libby told the Fort Lauderdale News/Sun Sentinel in 1985. “To do this is to achieve a kind of immortality.”
Libby led the Community Foundation as volunteer executive director for nine years. During her tenure, she guided a community-wide information campaign to spread the word about the need to support the new Community Foundation, where she and Jack were among the first donors. She helped the Community Foundation lead the way on tackling tough issues, such as HIV/ AIDS prevention education. And, when she stepped down in 1993, the fledgling Community Foundation that initially produced $7,000 in annual grants had grown into a trusted local leader producing $1.7 million in annual support in Broward.
citizens of Broward County,” Libby wrote in the Foundation’s 1993 Annual Report. “They have embraced the concept of a community foundation ... a first-class organization ready and able to serve the people of Broward County.”
When Libby died in 2001, Jack carried on their deep commitment to helping the Community Foundation grow. He served as one of the Foundation’s early Board members and remained an outspoken supporter for the Foundation. Jack, who died in 2015, helped attract more people to partner with the Community Foundation for their local philanthropy.
Thanks to Libby and Jack’s foresight and commitment, the Community Foundation has become a trusted force for good in Broward. Together with our Fundholders, we provide community leadership, foster bold philanthropy and grow endowed resources able to tackle Broward’s biggest challenges — today and forever – just like Libby and Jack wanted.
Libby and Jack’s Enduring Impact
Libby and Jack have never stopped giving back to the community. Libby and Jack are among our “Community Builders” – philanthropists who create endowed charitable funds of $1 million or more to ensure permanent support for the community.
Through the years, grants made possible by their endowed funds have supported affordable housing, children in need, career readiness programs, cancer patients and so much more. Through the power of endowment, Libby and Jack’s support for Broward will never end.
The Community Foundation’s “Deinhardt Society” is another way we carry on Libby and Jack’s commitment to local philanthropy. Philanthropists join our Deinhardt Society with gifts that invest in the mission and operations of the Community Foundation. Support from the Deinhardt Society fuels our work to identify emerging issues, engage and connect civic leaders, strengthen nonprofits and support solutions to big community challenges – just as Libby and Jack envisioned 40 years ago.
“Much has happened to make this gratifying growth take place. Most important has been the wonderful support of the good
early days.
Learn more about the Deinhardt Society.
See Jack share stories about the Community Foundation’s
Augie and Melba Urbanek.
Growing Our Impact: THREE TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERS
We talk about filling a need today, we don’t know what the need is 10 years, 20 years, 100 years from now. We are the savings account. We’ll be there to meet those needs in the years to come.”
- Jan Crocker
JAN CROCKER
Jan Crocker became the Community Foundation’s first full-time president, recruited to take the helm after Libby stepped aside in 1993.
Jan’s leadership helped the Foundation build its grantmaking muscle, with assets growing from about $8 million to nearly $20 million during her tenure.
She modernized the Foundation by digitizing records and implementing a software database system that would become a key tool for Foundation staff. During Jan’s tenure, the Foundation broadened its focus to start providing training and other resources to bolster the work and sustainability of nonprofit organizations.
Jan also played a key role in championing the Foundation’s push to tackle the local effects of the AIDS epidemic. The Foundation was at the forefront of raising awareness about the growing health threat and supporting programs to help.
“Becoming involved in HIV prevention wasn’t a popular thing to do, but it was the right thing and the Community Foundation’s Board stood by its decision,” Jan said in a Community Foundation publication about local philanthropy’s role in tackling HIV/AIDS.
Jan stepped down from the Foundation’s top post after three years and remained a key part of our leadership team by serving on the Community Foundation Board.
During the Foundation’s 30th anniversary celebration, Jan called endowed resources, “the insurance for our community.” She made sure she would always be a part of that insurance by creating the endowed Jan and Ed Crocker Unrestricted Fund at the Foundation. Today, grants from Jan’s fund expand access to healthy food, tackle sea-level rise, plant trees, help young women develop career skills and much more. Through the power of endowment, Jan’s BOLD impact will go on forever.
AIDS walk in downtown Fort Lauderdale 1999.
The Community Foundation of Broward has proven that the power of philanthropy can deliver solutions to Broward’s biggest challenges. I have loved being a part of this important work to connect people who care to causes that matter.”
- Linda Carter
LINDA CARTER
Linda Carter elevated the Community Foundation to new heights during her 23 years as Community Foundation President/CEO.
Building off her predecessors’ work to launch the Community Foundation, Linda shaped the Foundation into a strong, innovative force for good in Broward –achieving a ranking among the top 100 community foundations nationwide thanks to her laser focus on growing Broward’s endowed philanthropic resources.
Linda’s legacy of BOLD impact can be found all over our community. Public art projects that inspire and unite our community. Career training and affordable housing opportunities that help struggling residents become self-sufficient. A greater safety net for former foster children and aging seniors alike. Thanks to Linda’s leadership, the life-changing effects of Community Foundation grantmaking and leadership are felt across Broward.
Under Linda’s guidance, the Community Foundation’s assets – the fuel for our community impact – grew from about $20 million when she started to more than $200 million when she retired. As a result, the Foundation went from providing $1 million grants a year to $1 million grants each month.
Throughout her 23 years, Linda empowered local philanthropists and worked as a community leader, uniting local organizations to work with the Community Foundation to get things done.
And, of course, Linda’s bold impact continues in retirement. She and her husband, Michael, are fundholders and Legacy Society members at the Community Foundation. Thanks to the endowed Linda and Michael Carter Fund, Linda’s support for the community she calls home will never end.
or
During Linda’s tenure, the Community Foundation:
• Championed foster care reform by forging a collaboration that created the FLITE Center – which connects 18-year-olds aging out of foster care to education, housing, financial support, jobs, life coaching and other tools for success.
• Galvanized community support for reauthorizing the Children’s Services Council, which brings a $60 million+ annual investment in support for Broward’s children.
• Targeted more philanthropic support for the arts, economic mobility, schools, seniors, animal welfare and more through the Community Foundation’s “Issues That Matter” grantmaking focus areas.
• Set a new standard for accountability and excellence by becoming the first community foundation in Florida to receive and maintain accreditation.
The Community Foundation is here to help people be great philanthropists and to elevate the world of giving across our community. What do you want your legacy to be? And how do you start doing that now? … We’re here to help.”
- Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson
JENNIFER O’FLANNERY ANDERSON
Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson came aboard as President/CEO at a pivotal time for the Foundation and the community we serve.
In August 2020, Broward and the nation faced the difficulties of a pandemic as well as a renewed call for social justice.
Jennifer’s deep community ties and two decades of local leadership experience – at Nova Southeastern University, Florida Atlantic University and United Way of Broward County – enabled her to hit the ground running as she guided the Community Foundation’s response to evolving challenges and opportunities.
Working closely with Linda to ensure a smooth transition, Jennifer pivoted the Community Foundation’s pandemic response from providing immediate, emergency aid to delivering grantmaking support to tackle the lingering health and economic effects of the crisis.
In addition, under Jennifer the Community Foundation launched new collaborations and initiatives to champion racial equity and LGBTQ+ support. This led to Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (which we call REDI) being included among our top grantmaking and leadership focus areas.
One of Jennifer’s top priorities as President/CEO was engaging the
Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Albert Miniaci and William Snyder with Chico.
neighborhoods across Broward – to learn what people love about our community, the big challenges we face and the role they think the Community Foundation should play. That valuable feedback led to a new strategic plan to guide the Foundation’s leadership, donor services, grantmaking, endowment efforts and much more through 2026.
One of the first actions of the strategic plan was creating the Broward Center for Nonprofit Excellence, which has quickly grown into a go-to resource to nurture and strengthen Broward’s charitable organizations. In just its second year, the Nonprofit Center served more than 2,400 participants with classes, mentoring and other critical resources.
Jennifer’s emphasis on fostering strategic collaborations is jump-starting Community Foundation efforts to transform Broward. For example:
• The Foundation now safeguards and manages endowed funds for 40+ Nonprofit Endowment Partners, including History Fort Lauderdale, Flamingo Gardens, New Mount Olive Baptist Church and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Broward County. Our experts handle investment and fiscal duties so our nonprofit partners can rely on a dedicated source of support to fuel their important work for generations to come.
• As the Foundation’s community collaborations grow, so do our partnerships with philanthropists who want to be more strategic and impactful with their giving. Now in its final year, the BE BOLD Leadership Campaign has raised a total of $400 million in new gifts and planned gifts.
• In 2024 the Community Foundation set an annual grantmaking record for the fourth year in a row. The $20 million in grants from Foundation charitable funds this past fiscal year provided critical support for education, the arts, flood relief, health care, seniors, career readiness, environmental resilience, equity and social justice, empowering nonprofits and much more.
Under Jennifer’s guidance, the Foundation has launched training sessions available at the new Broward Center for Nonprofit Excellence (top photo), supported arts projects that champion social justice (middle photo) and expanded support for mental health services (bottom photo).
Guiding the Foundation: BOARD OF DIRECTORS
For 40 years, Broward’s top leaders have volunteered their time and talents to champion the power of local philanthropy.
Since 1984, more than 150 local executives, neighborhood leaders, policymakers, philanthropists and more have come together to provide their insights, guide our grantmaking and help us grow an endowment that ensures the Community Foundation’s impact lasts forever.
“It’s really awesome to see the quality and the type of people who have built up the Community Foundation over the years,” Board Vice Chair and Foundation Community Builder Mona Pittenger said at the 2024 Former Board Members Luncheon. “We’re standing on your shoulders right now, because you were the creators of a now $300-million asset organization.”
Board members come from all across Broward, bringing an invaluable mix of professional experiences and personal insights that help shape the Community Foundation’s mission and expand our impact. It’s a hands-on group of leaders who come to our events, work closely with the Foundation’s professional team and serve as ambassadors in the community for championing local philanthropy.
“This is probably the best board I was ever on,” said Albert Miniaci, a former Board Member who is also a Community Builder. “I learned so much. I was totally engaged. It kept you engaged. I think that’s one of the beautiful things about the Community Foundation of Broward.”
Early Board members worked hand-in-hand with our founders, Libby and Jack Deinhardt, to spread the word about the new Community Foundation and build trust in our ability to help philanthropists and nonprofits make life better in Broward.
“At that time, this was the largest metropolitan area in the country without a community foundation,” said Frank Brogan, a former Board Chair who was with Libby and Jack from the start, volunteering his legal expertise to help launch the Foundation. “It wasn’t immediate acceptance. It was a hard thing to get off the ground.”
Jim Blosser, our first Board Chair, played an instrumental role in building support for the fledgling Community Foundation. Jim was a prominent local attorney known for getting involved to help the community he loved. He and his wife, Nancy – who later also served on the Board – showed their faith in the Foundation by joining our first wave of “Founding Donors” and helping lead outreach efforts to raise awareness about the Foundation. “It is certainly time for us to recognize the strength such a foundation provides to enhance the quality of life for all our residents,” Jim wrote in 1986, in one of the Community Foundation’s first newsletters.
In the early years, the Board helped keep the Foundation’s team focused on building endowment to create sustainable community
I’m thrilled to be part Board, dedicated to championing and opportunity in the
Former Board Member Nancy Blosser attends the Former Board Members Luncheon in April 2024, where her husband and former Board Chair Jim Blosser was recognized for his lifetime of giving back to the community.
of such a talented championing innovation place we call home.”
- Board Chair Juliet Murphy Roulhac
support as well as collaborating with professional advisors to show how the Foundation could be a trusted resource to help them achieve their clients’ charitable goals.
Through the years, Board guidance has set the tone for our work to take on big challenges and invest in innovation. Championing foster care reform. Forging grantmaking collaborations to take on senior isolation. Targeting support for schools to boost graduation rates. Pivoting to emergency pandemic response. Launching the BE BOLD Leadership Campaign to build philanthropic resources to keep pace with growing needs. Through it all, the Board’s guidance has helped the Foundation create an enduring community impact.
“This is a leadership organization,” said William Snyder, a former Board Chair who is also on the Foundation’s Professional Advisors Council. “We’re more than just a clearinghouse for people’s funds. We want to figure out, what are the issues in the community and make sure that we are working towards those issues.”
FORMER BOARD CHAIRS
Juliet Murphy Roulhac current Chair
Kurt Zimmerman
James Donnelly
Steven W. Hudson
Ramon A. Rodriguez
William A. Snyder
Joan K. Crain
James B. LaBate
Wendy S. Masi
Richard A. Berkowitz
Raymond Leightman
Jan R. Cummings
Frank E. Helsom
Leslie C. Tworoger
Christine L. Lambertus
Carlos J. Reyes
Thomas O. Katz
Edwin A. Huston
John W. Ruffin, Jr.
D. Keith Cobb
Virginia I. Miller
Francis B. Brogan, Jr.
Suzanne Y. Allen
Wilson B. Greaton, Jr.
Leonard Robbins
Walter E. Howard
James J. Blosser
Top: Former Board Members Maj. Gen. James W. Monroe, Katherine Eggleston,Margarita T. Castellon, Raymond Leightman and current Board Member Jonathan Allen attend the Community Foundation’s Former Board Members Luncheon in 2023.
Current Board Chair Juliet Murphy Roulhac made history in 2023 by becoming the first Black woman to lead the Community Foundation’s Board.
Bottom: 2015 Board Members (standing) Ramon Rodriguez, Cynthia-Borders-Byrd, Alan Levy, (seated) Bacardi Jackson and Michael Landry.
YEARS OF
COLLABORATION BOLD
40 years of partnering with PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
Upper Left:Thomas Katz Bottom Left Photo: Chuck Zalakar, Christy Lambertus, Debra Vogel and Kurt Zimmerman Upper Middle: Adam Goldberg & Marianela Collado Upper Right: Mary Margaret Toole & Greg Medalie
Building trust with the attorneys, CPAs, financial planners and other professional advisors who work closely with charitably minded clients has always been essential to the success of the Community Foundation of Broward.
Our founders envisioned creating a Community Foundation that would serve as a go-to resource for advisors – ready to team up and help them craft giving strategies to achieve their clients’ charitable goals.
By collaborating with the Community Foundation to help philanthropists make a lasting impact, advisors would enhance their value to their clients and our community would benefit from more strategic and sustainable charitable giving.
“Early on the Foundation tried to partner up with all the professional advisors in town, tried to offer support to them. Tried to be clear as to what the Foundation could do for their clients. And it really paid off,” said attorney Frank Brogan, who volunteered to serve as the Foundation’s first legal counsel and later became Board Chair and a fundholder. He has also referred clients who have created charitable funds at the Foundation. “A lot of the largest gifts we have ever gotten … came off the advice or the recommendation of professional advisors.”
Through the years, professional advisors have learned that creating a charitable fund at the Community Foundation can help their clients be more strategic and impactful with their giving. With a variety of types of charitable funds, we work with advisors to create personalized giving strategies best suited for their clients. Instead of dealing with the administrative burdens of creating a private foundation, their clients can establish an enduring legacy of support by creating an endowed fund at the Foundation. And
I know I can trust the Community Foundation to help my charitably minded clients make the most of their philanthropy,”
-Thomas Katz PAC member and former Community Foundation Board Chair
our ability to pool resources enables philanthropists to amplify their impact on causes that matter most to them. It’s a true partnership when advisors recommend their charitably minded clients get involved with the Community Foundation. Advisors are invited to meetings between their clients and the Foundation. They receive updates on Community Foundation news and are invited to our events. And advisors whose clients create charitable funds at the Foundation are invited to join our Professional Advisors Council. PAC members:
• Hear from leading wealth, tax and estate planning experts at informative Community Foundation breakfasts and luncheons
• Earn continuing education credits through Community Foundation events
• Participate in exclusive networking opportunities
The PAC – which launched in 2003 with 19 members – has grown into an elite group of 90 tax and estate attorneys, accountants and financial advisors who understand the important role philanthropy plays in achieving their clients’ goals – and shaping a brighter future for Broward.
Back in the Community Foundation’s early days, attorney Christy Lambertus would join Co-founder Libby Deinhardt on visits to spread the word about the new Foundation. Christy, a longtime PAC member who recently retired, has helped 18 clients establish charitable funds at the Community Foundation – more than any other advisor.
“I have seen it from the beginning. I have confidence in it,” said Christy, a former Community Foundation Board Chair. “I know that everyone’s money will be secure and that (my clients) will be happy. … I’m thrilled with everything they are doing.”
MILEST YEARS OF
1984
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOUNDED
Libby and Jack Deinhardt were surprised to learn when they moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1979 that the new place they called home didn’t have a community foundation. So, they started talking to other charitably minded people they got to know about the value of creating a community foundation to serve as a champion for local philanthropy. In December 1984, Libby and Jack and their small team of dedicated volunteers launched what would become the Community Foundation of Broward. Libby volunteered to serve as the first executive director and the new Community Foundation was off and running.
1988
ASSETS TOP $1 MILLION
The Community Foundation’s assets – our grantmaking muscle – topped $1 million for the first time in June of 1988. We crossed this important financial milestone less than four years after our founding, signaling to residents and local leaders that we were here to stay. Thanks to the generosity and foresight of the philanthropists who have partnered with us through the years, the Community Foundation now has $300 million in assets and, since 1984, we have produced $195 million in grants that make life better in Broward.
1990
CHAMPIONING HIV/AIDS EDUCATION AND PREVENTION
The Community Foundation became the first non-government funder in Broward to lead the charge for education and understanding of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic. By championing HIV/AIDS education and prevention, the Community Foundation’s leaders showed they weren’t afraid to take a position on an important issue that affected lives in our community. The Community Foundation landed $1 million in a matching grants program through the National AIDS Fund, which supported local education and prevention efforts. In addition to bringing much needed philanthropic support to tackle a critical issue, the Community Foundation established itself as a local leader, able to rally support and take on big challenges.
MILEST NES
1996
STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS
The Community Foundation has long served as a go-to resource to help nonprofits sustain and strengthen their missions. In the late 1990s, we started providing training sessions that grew into the creation of our Nonprofit Resource Center, which later became the Leadership Institute at the Community Foundation. For two decades, we provided training and other resources to help nonprofit leaders and supporters bolster skills to help their organizations prosper. Then in 2022, after a series of community focus groups revealed a need for more nonprofit help from the Foundation, we launched the Broward Center for Nonprofit Excellence. In its second year, our Nonprofit Center served more than 2,400 participants with classes, mentoring and other resources to strengthen nonprofits’ role in our community.
1997 CREATED ENDOWED FUND DEDICATED TO LGBTQ SUPPORT
In 1997, the Community Foundation created an endowed charitable fund to ensure a permanent, sustainable source of support for initiatives and services benefiting Broward’s LGBTQ residents. More than $364,000 in grants from the LGBTQ Community Impact Fund have supported health care equity, social-emotional support for students, sensitivity training for first responders, outreach programs to promote understanding and equality, artistic exhibits, and much more. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis (left) – an early contributor to the LGBTQ Community Impact Fund – joined us last year for a celebration of the fund’s 25th anniversary. Along with support from this groundbreaking endowed fund, the Community Foundation has awarded nearly $10 million in grants to support the LGBTQ community on a wide range of issues, including education, outreach, the arts, and more.
2000
WINNING THE KRESGE FOUNDATION CHALLENGE GRANT
After undergoing a rigorous, competitive application process, we were one of just six community foundations in the nation to receive an endowment challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation. The matching grants program encouraged smaller nonprofits to raise money toward building endowments of their own, with the Community Foundation matching a portion of what was raised with support from The Kresge Foundation. Our push to win this endowment challenge included rallying community support, getting Board members more involved in fundraising and showing The Kresge Foundation that the Community Foundation could make a lasting difference. Winning The Kresge Foundation challenge grant resulted in raising $12 million in endowed support for Broward nonprofits.
MILEST YEARS OF
2000
LEGACY SOCIETY ESTABLISHED
In 2000, we created the Legacy Society to say “thank you” today to the philanthropists who shape a brighter tomorrow by committing to an estate gift to the Community Foundation. Each year, we honor these philanthropists at our Legacy Society Luncheon and we invite them to other special events. Their future gifts launch endowed charitable funds at the Foundation, so during their lifetime we work with Legacy Society members to create specialized plans for their bequests to support their charitable priorities forever. The Legacy Society began with 19 members pledging a total of $2 million in future gifts to the Community Foundation. Today, our Legacy Society includes 180 members who have pledged a combined $400+ million in planned gifts.
2009
CREATED A FOSTER CARE SAFETY NET
Concerned that teenagers aging out of foster care were ending up homeless, the Community Foundation in the early 2000s helped lead the way on foster care reform in Broward. After several years of community discussions and fact finding, we teamed up with the United Way of Broward County, the Children’s Services Council of Broward County and the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale in 2009 to create the FLITE Center – which connects former foster kids to education, housing, financial support, jobs, life coaching and other tools for success. Today the FLITE Center serves more than 2,000 young people a year. Grants from charitable funds at the Community Foundation have provided more than $1 million to support the FLITE Center’s mission. In 2023, we partnered with the FLITE Center to create an endowed charitable fund that provides sustainable support to help young people pay their bills while pursuing higher education or career training.
2016
SUPPORT FOR ‘ISSUES THAT MATTER’
After a year of reaching out to fundholders, local leaders, residents and others to learn about Broward’s big challenges, the Community Foundation in 2016 unveiled 10 “Issues That Matter” that would become the focus of the Foundation’s leadership and grantmaking. Since then, we have directed millions in support for critical issues such as economic independence, healthier living, dignity in aging, the arts, youth work, fighting cancer, LGBTQ support, helping the environment and animal welfare. In 2021, our new strategic plan evolved the 10 “Issues that Matter” into six grantmaking and leadership focus areas that include: Education & Youth Enrichment; Healthy & Thriving Communities; Strong Nonprofit Community; Social & Economic Mobility; Arts & Culture; and Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
NES
2020
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
When the coronavirus pandemic hit in March of 2020, the Community Foundation sprang into action to help residents face an historic health and economic crisis. Thanks to the power of endowment and our partnerships with philanthropists stepping up to help, the Community Foundation provided more than $6 million to tackle emergency needs and invest in long-term solutions. Our support for front-line nonprofits helped feed people in need, bolster access to health care, stabilize families facing homelessness, expand online mental health support, help students overcome distance learning hurdles, break through senior isolation, and much more. At a time when many nonprofits couldn’t hold their usual fundraisers, Community Foundation support helped keep them going. The pandemic showed how, thanks to endowed philanthropic resources, the Community Foundation will aways be there to face Broward’s big challenges.
2020
CHAMPIONING RACIAL EQUITY AND LGBTQ SUPPORT
Heartbreaking events during the summer of 2020 brought renewed attention to injustices that have plagued our nation for generations. To increase our efforts to champion social justice, we launched a work plan to support Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. We call this effort “REDI” and it is one of our grantmaking and leadership focus areas. Through REDI, we provide support for scholarships, “arts and social justice” grants, “No Place for Hate” student programs, training to help local leaders avoid implicit bias, efforts to make local institutions more inclusive, health and resource hubs for underserved neighborhoods, and much more. In addition, in 2021 we added to our longtime LGBTQ support by forming a new grantmaking collaboration with The Our Fund Foundation. The collaboration has provided additional grants to tackle discrimination and disparities faced by LGBTQ residents. We are committed to doing more to help our community be a place where all residents feel welcome and have the opportunity to succeed.
2024
ANNUAL GRANTMAKING RECORD
During our 2024 fiscal year, we set an annual grantmaking record for the fourth year in a row. The $20 million in grants from charitable funds at the Community Foundation provided critical support for education, the arts, flood relief, health care, seniors, career readiness, environmental resilience, equity and social justice, empowering nonprofits and much more. It’s all made possible by the dedicated, generous philanthropists who partner with us to be more strategic and impactful with their giving. Since 1984, charitable funds established at the Community Foundation have produced $195 million million in support that transforms lives and makes Broward a better place to call home. Thanks to the power of endowment, Community Foundation support will always be there to shape a brighter future.
PHILANTHROPISTS
Ed Hashek, James Donnelly, Cathy Donnelly and Juliet Murphy Roulhac.
Runette Williams
Collette Herman and Gene Herman.
Mary and Fred Ruffner
YEARS OF
PHILANTHROPISTS
Forty years ago, a few charitably minded Broward County residents decided to team up to do more for the community they loved. That simple idea launched what would become the Community Foundation of Broward.
Through the years, more and more individuals, families and organizations have partnered with the Community Foundation to be more strategic and impactful with their giving. By creating charitable funds at the Foundation, our “fundholders” ensure ongoing support for their charitable passions, enlist our expertise to find innovative ways to make a difference and amplify their impact through our ability to pool resources.
Since 1984, the more than 570 charitable funds established at the Community Foundation have provided $195 million in support for: student achievement, the arts, career readiness, seniors in need, HIV/AIDS prevention, equity and social justice, environmental resilience, health care, affordable housing, disaster relief, empowering nonprofits and so much more.
Thanks to the power of endowment and the generosity of our fundholders, the Community Foundation is just getting started!
First Fundholder: YOLANDA MAURER
When Ohio transplants Libby and Jack Deinhardt set out to launch Broward’s new Community Foundation, they turned to a local leader – whose name and face were familiar to their adopted home – to create the first charitable fund at the Foundation.
With a $5,000 donation, longtime Fort Lauderdale newspaper columnist, society editor and magazine publisher Yolanda Maurer became the Community Foundation’s first “fundholder” – setting an example that hundreds of individuals, families and organizations would follow in order to become more strategic and impactful with their giving.
In addition to creating a charitable fund that provided support for helping people overcome homelessness, Yolanda led the “Foundation Council” – a group of more than two dozen Foundation supporters who spread the word about the fledgling organization and raised money to help cover administrative costs.
Slowly but surely, their message took hold. In the first year, the Foundation awarded $7,000 in grants. Three years later, the Foundation awarded its first grants from unrestricted funds – $14,700 total to support the work of 13 front-line nonprofits. By 1988, the Foundation’s assets – our grantmaking muscle – exceeded $1 million. Today, the Foundation’s assets have reached $300 million and this past fiscal year we set an annual grantmaking record with $20 million invested in opportunities to transform lives and make Broward a better place to call home. It’s all thanks to fundholders, like Yolanda, who partner with us to shape a brighter future.
THE FOUNDERS CLUB
During its first decade, the Foundation launched “The Founders Club” to give special recognition to philanthropists who helped us build momentum for growing Broward’s endowed resources. The Founders Club included the “Founding Donors” – who created endowed charitable funds of $25,000 or more – and the “Founding Benefactors” – who created endowed charitable funds of $100,000 or more.
Early members of The Founders Club include civic leader Blanche Buck, who created an endowed charitable fund to provide ongoing support for seniors and the disabled. Citizens and Southern Bank created an endowment to support people in need. Frederick and Mary Ruffner’s endowed fund supports after-school programs, the Museum of Discovery and Science and more. Leonard and Sally Robbins created an endowed fund that supports arts programs, education, cancer patients and more. And in addition to jump-starting Broward’s movement to grow endowed resources, Libby and Jack Deinhardt led by example and created endowed charitable funds ensuring they would forever be a part of The Founders Club.
In 1989, Wayne and Marti Huizenga showed their belief in the Community Foundation by becoming our first Founding Benefactors. Today, one of the charitable funds they created – the endowed Huizenga Fund For Children – provides grants to support Junior Achievement of South Florida, Do Good 4-1, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County, local schools and more. “It’s just a great way to give,” Marti Huizenga said in 2014, while hosting the Community Foundation’s 30th anniversary at her home.
Yolanda and Bill Maurer
Wayne and Marti Huizenga
Mary Porter’s BOLD Legacy Gift: $43 MILLION of
Mary Porter did much more than make Community Foundation of Broward history in 2012, when her $43 million bequest became our largest gift ever.
By partnering with the Community Foundation to safeguard and manage her estate gift, Mary ensured her endowed support would transform lives in the community she loved for generations to come.
Today, kids at the new L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center on Sistrunk Boulevard can learn to swim, take a class or play basketball in a safe, nurturing place, thanks to Mary’s gift.
Hardworking families moving into affordably priced homes at Habitat for Humanity’s new neighborhood in Pompano Beach are becoming first-time homeowners, thanks to Mary’s visionary help.
And in Sunrise, adults with special needs are launching new culinary careers, thanks to skills they are learning in a teaching kitchen at Arc Broward that Mary’s support made possible.
These are just a few examples of the powerful results of Mary’s BOLD estate gift, which launched several endowed charitable funds at the Community Foundation and ensured her ability to help her adopted home would never end.
Mary Porter was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Her father, Dr. J. Elmer Porter, was a prominent physician and successful businessman who helped build the town’s first hospital. He and Mary’s mother, Annilla Porter, instilled a commitment to philanthropy that Mary brought with her when she moved to Florida and made Broward her home.
Mary was a longtime supporter of the arts whose charitable giving also helped at-risk teens and struggling families. Mary wanted her giving to go on long after she was gone, so she joined the Community Foundation’s Legacy Society – philanthropists who shape a brighter future by committing to estate gifts that will launch endowed funds at the Foundation.
As a Legacy Society member, Mary was invited to Community Foundation events where she learned more about Broward’s challenges, the Foundation’s work and the powerful impact of local philanthropy. She also shared her charitable goals with our team, which helped chart a plan for how her future endowed funds would be put to use.
Mary trusted the Community Foundation to become her “eyes and ears” and carry on her legacy of community support through the endowed charitable funds launched by her historic gift. One of her
Endowed Support
endowed funds, the Mary N. Porter Legacy Fund, established a dedicated source of support for construction, renovations and other major capital projects that make life better for Broward residents.
Now, on Mary’s behalf, the Community Foundation finds innovative opportunities for her support to make a lasting difference. We go on site visits and meet with project planners to find out how it will impact lives and enrich the community. After our Board approves a grant, we follow up to make sure recipients meet their commitments. Through careful investment, we shepherd and grow Mary’s endowed funds so they can fuel future grants and increase Mary’s impact, for generations to come.
All across Broward, you can see Mary’s name on the buildings, parks and other community facilities her support makes possible. Because of Mary’s endowed gift to the Community Foundation, her legacy of BOLD impact will go on forever.
Mary Porter (top left photo) partnered with the Community Foundation to create an endowed fund that supports capital projects, such as Flamingo Gardens’ new learning center and the new L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center (above).
Our BOLD ‘COMMUNITY
“Community Builders” are fundholders at the Community Foundation who take their philanthropy to the next level by partnering with us to create endowed charitable funds of $1 million or more.
Community Builders transform Broward by creating permanent sources of support to tackle big challenges, fuel innovation and champion causes important to them. Through the power of endowment, our Community Builders ensure that their impact will never end.
Community Builder gifts, totaling more than $150 million, account for about half of the Community Foundation’s assets –our grantmaking muscle.
“From the start, the Community Foundation has championed endowed giving as the best way to create sustainable, permanent philanthropic support to tackle Broward’s big issues and invest in a brighter future,” said Community Foundation President/ CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, Ph.D. “Thanks to the bold commitment of our Community Builders, we can forever provide support for hardworking families, for the arts, for isolated seniors, for the environment and for all the things that we don’t even yet know will come to the surface in the future.”
Jim and Jan Moran were among the first fundholders to become Community Builders. Their gifts to the Community Foundation created numerous charitable funds, including the endowed Jan Moran Unrestricted Fund, which today provides support for Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida, JAFCO Children’s Ability Center, the Museum of Discovery and Science and more. “Endowment is essential to any thriving community,” Jan Moran said in the Community Foundation’s 2003 Annual Report. “It’s insurance for the future and an ideal means of protecting a donor’s intent, in perpetuity.”
Community Builders Jan and Jim Moran
Community Builders Beatriz Miniaci & Dara Levan
Community Builder Mona Pittenger cuts the ribbon as her plaque is added to the Community Builder plaques lining the walls of our entryway.
Community Builders Colin Brown & Rita Case
Community Builder May Jean Wolff
BUILDERS’
Today we have grown to 60 Community Builders, including our newest Community Builders:
• Lesley Mitchell Jones – whose three endowed funds tackle pressing community challenges, help seniors in need and support organizations she cares about deeply.
• Burnadette Norris-Weeks and Aaron Weeks – whose endowed fund ensures permanent support for promoting racial justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Dixie Wheeler – whose estate gift launched an endowed scholarship fund that will empower generations of students to achieve success.
They join Community Builders such as Cathy and James Donnelly, who created endowed support for tackling critical community needs such as food insecurity and mental health. And Andrew Wurtele, whose endowed fund supports young people, the arts and the environment. Community Builder Pat Owen’s endowed fund provides support for helping people overcome homelessness and other struggles, through the nonprofit she created - Second Chance Society. Our Founders Libby and Jack Deinhardt are Community Builders as is Mary Porter whose $43 million bequest to the Community Foundation was our largest ever gift.
These are just a few examples of the Community Builders whose endowed support shapes a brighter future for Broward. They come from different walks of life and have a variety of charitable passions, yet our Community Builders are connected by their commitment to ensure there is sustainable philanthropic support for the community they love – today and always.
“The generosity of these Community Builders is just unmatched, unrivaled,” said Kathy Eggleston, former Foundation Board Member. “They are going to do good forever.”
If
more people understood the benefit of philanthropy and giving through the Community Foundation, I think they would also understand the fact that you can actually build legacy. You can actually have a gift that just keeps on giving.”
– Burnadette Norris-Weeks, 2024 Community Builder and Foundation Board Member I am honored to join a special breed of Broward philanthropists who provide long-term support for agencies and programs that serve our county’s most vulnerable citizens. The Community Foundation’s vision and dedicated leadership made me a believer early on.”
– Lesley Mitchell Jones, 2024 Community
See Burnadette Norris-Weeks share why she values partnering with the Community Foundation.
Aaron Weeks and Burnadette Norris-Weeks
Builder
Lesley Mitchell Jones
Community Builders Margie and Trevor Fried
The Dillard High School Marching Band (top left), Pride Day festivities at the Museum of Discovery & Science (top middle) and new “Love” murals going up across Broward (below) all receive support from endowed charitable funds at the Community Foundation. New Mount Olive Baptist Church (top right) established an endowed charitable fund at the Community Foundation to ensure permanent support for the church’s community work.
YEARS OF
BOLD
IMPACT
THE POWER OF ENDOWMENT
An endowment is a charitable fund you can create at the Community Foundation to ensure permanent, sustainable support for causes and organizations that matter to you.
As a trusted fiduciary, the Community Foundation carefully invests your gift over time. Earnings from your gift add to your fund and produce grants that support your charitable priorities – today and forever.
Your endowment lasts forever, so your impact lasts forever. By partnering with local philanthropists to grow endowed resources, the Community Foundation is able to tackle pressing needs today, look for solutions to challenges a generation from today and even make sure our community can take on problems that are 100 or 200 years away.
That’s what the power of an endowment at the Community Foundation brings to the community we love. After 40 years, we’re just getting started!
How Your Endowed Gift Grows
$100,000 Gift Example*
In 50 years, your fund has produced more than $283,200 in grants and your fund balance reaches $128,323 - and keeps growing!
Community Builder Jean Colker
JEAN COLKER’S ENDOWMENT STORY
“Helping people makes you feel good …”
That’s what Jean Colker said in 2022 when we asked her why local philanthropy was so important to her. Jean had just celebrated her 100th birthday and that same year she partnered with the Community Foundation to create an endowed charitable fund to ensure her ability to help people would never end.
Of course, Jean had been helping people in Broward long before the Community Foundation even existed. Throughout 69 years together, Jean and her husband, David, provided generous support for education, children in need, the arts and veterans in Broward. After David passed away in 2011, Jean carried on their commitment to local philanthropy with support for United Way of Broward County, Lighthouse of Broward, Hope South Florida, Kids in Distress and more.
In 15 years, your fund has produced more than $77,600 in grants and your fund balance is $107,768
After one year, your fund produces $5,000 in grants and your fund balance is $100,500
*Assumes
As Jean celebrated her 100 years, she decided she wasn’t content to reflect on all that her generous giving had accomplished. Instead, Jean wanted to ensure her impact would go on forever through Colker Cares for Seniors – the endowed charitable fund she created at the Community Foundation. Jean gained peace of mind knowing that the Community Foundation’s expert team will always be there to shepherd her endowed fund and find innovative, impactful ways for her support to make life better for seniors in Broward – for generations to come.
That’s the power of endowment. Jean’s impact will never end because she partnered with the Community Foundation to create sustainable, permanent philanthropic support for the community she loves. And why team up with the Community Foundation to create that endowed support? We’ll let Jean tell you.
Helping people makes you feel good, and I know that the Community Foundation of Broward will be here long after I’m gone, making sure my money continues to create a better Broward for everyone.”
– Jean Colker, Community Foundation Community Builder
It goes on forever. … Not just one year or 10 years or 20 years, it’s indefinitely. As long as there is a Broward and a Community Foundation of Broward, my contributions will be felt.”
– Larry Feuer, a Legacy Society member whose future bequest will launch an endowed charitable fund
ENDOWMENT’S IMPACT
Three examples of how building endowment and pooling
EDUCATION AND YOUTH
ARTS AND CULTURE
$3.8 million in 2024 grants
This year, we helped thousands of people experience new art exhibits, theatrical performances and concerts; participate in panel discussions with artists and performers; see award-winning documentaries – made possible with Community Foundation support – about diversity and inclusion; and much more.
SOCIAL AND
IMPACT TODAY resources makes a BOLD impact:
$2 million in 2024 grants
This year, we helped thousands of students get access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) programs, learn coding, participate in career training, find part-time jobs, experience the benefits of social-emotional learning and much more.
The Community Foundation is our partner paying it forward. …
Becoming a fundholder allows you to make a forever impact in the Broward community.”
$1.9 million
in 2024 grants
This year, we helped young adults with developmental disabilities gain employment skills and job placement; provided support for housing, food and career training to empower financially struggling families to become self-sufficient; helped seniors and at-risk youth overcome homelessness; and much more.
– Board Member Jonathan Allen who along with his brother Timothy created endowed scholarship funds to carry on their family’s legacy of philanthropy.
BOLD MOMENTUM
The Community Foundation’s 40th anniversary is much more than a celebration of past achievements.
We set 2024 as the target of a BOLD movement to build endowment and grow philanthropic resources to help tackle our fast-growing community’s needs for generations to come.
Back in 2018 we announced the BE BOLD Leadership Campaign – our ambitious effort to partner with philanthropists who believe in giving back to ensure Broward can take care of itself today and in the future. They do it by adding to or creating charitable funds at the Community Foundation or committing to planned gifts that will fuel enduring impact for the community they love.
Now in its final year, the BE BOLD Leadership Campaign has raised $400 million in new and planned gifts! Already, this exciting campaign has helped us grow to 571 charitable funds, add more than 50 planned estate gifts and reach 60 Community Builders – philanthropists who partner with us to create endowed charitable funds of $1 million or more. As our 40th anniversary approaches in December, there’s still time for this BOLD campaign to achieve even more.
We are overwhelmed with how the people of Broward have embraced our “BE BOLD” movement. Each year – even amid the historic health and economic crisis of a pandemic – more and more doers and visionaries in our community stepped up to invest in a brighter future. While the campaign will reach the finish line in December, the “BE BOLD” spirit of the Community Foundation will never fade. Our careful investment of the endowed dollars raised today and the gifts secured for the future will generate millions in grantmaking support each year to make life better in Broward.
Thank you to everyone who answered the call to “BE BOLD” for the community you love. And to anyone still looking for an opportunity to make a lasting difference, are you ready to BE BOLD?!
What a great way to have your wishes continue forever… We have worked our whole lives supporting the community. I love that our work will continue forever through the Community Foundation.”
– Cathy Donnelly who along with her husband James Donnelly, former Foundation Board Chair, created an endowed fund and became Community Builders.
