STRONGTOGETHER

FOUNDATIONS AND PHILANTHROPISTS UNITE ON PANDEMIC AID

by Cathy Chestnut

COVID-19 was a fast-moving crisis from the beginning. True to form, Naples’ top foundations and philanthropists joined forces to provide immediate emergency relief to residents and operational support for many of the 440 local nonprofits that serve as Collier County’s social safety net.

Responding to a disaster is not new for the Community Foundation of Collier County, which set up disaster relief funds for Hurricane Irma in 2017 and the red-tide crisis in 2018, and has become what Community Foundation President/CEO Eileen Connolly-Keesler calls “the community’s philanthropic first responder.”

The Community Foundation’s board established the Collier Comes Together Coronavirus Relief Fund, which collected $1.5 million in donations. The fund was initially lifted by board member donations and a $350,000 gift from the Brynne & Robert Coletti Fund of the Farmer Family Foundation. It was a serendipitous surprise, Connolly-Keesler says, because it was the first time the Coletti Fund had contacted her organization, and it made a huge difference. “It helped us in fundraising in the early weeks,” she says. “That was a lifesaver for our community in many ways.”

EXPEDITING DOLLARS

What’s remarkable about Collier County is the way the major foundations collaborate. The Community Foundation was in constant contact with the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, and other Southwest Florida foundations to assess critical needs, avoid duplication, and coordinate response. The United Way of Collier and the Keys was also actively involved in the response network.

“There was a very coordinated effort in the region—it was huge,” Connolly-Keesler says. “The silver lining, if there is such a thing, was that as funders, we have developed tighter relationships, and that will continue on.”

Foundations typically fund specific programs. As it became obvious that nonprofits’ financial resources were drying up, the grantors switched gears to provide funding for operating costs.

The Schulze Foundation moved up its scheduled board meeting so it could immediately distribute approximately $3 million in grants, says Mary Beth Geier, the foundation’s Florida director. “Our board recognized that agencies may have greater needs and concerns outside of their general programs and we wanted to give them an opportunity to ask for funds in a different fashion so they could

Baby Basics diaper delivery

A home delivery for a local family during the pandemic shutdown

best serve the community,” she says. In addition to its spring grantmaking, the Schulze Foundation issued another $1 million in emergency funding for regional organizations providing basic needs, and established the Best Buy COVID-19 Relief Fund for laid-off and furloughed Best Buy employees.

The League Club also freed up more than $400,000 in virus-related grants to 44 area nonprofits for operational costs. “We’re proud to be flexible enough to address this need,” says League Club President Gigi Stewart.

The 2020 Naples Winter Wine Festival was a record-breaking event with its largest attendance, generating the highest proceeds in its 20-year history. When the NCEF’s Grant Awards Ceremony in March was cancelled, the organization proceeded with the issuance of more than $20 million in grants to 43 nonprofits and agencies, including the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, Boys & Girls Club of Collier County, St. Matthew’s House, Legal Aid Services of Collier County, and Friends of Foster Children Forever.

SUPPORTING NCH

Collier Comes Together also included the NCH Healthcare System Matching Grant Challenge. The Community Foundation’s initial $25,000 was immediately matched with $25,000 by NCH Board Trustee Bill Allyn through his donor-advised Bill and Penny Allyn Fund administered by the Community Foundation.

Donations totaling $273,825 were earmarked for protective equipment, sanitizing robots, testing supplies, ventilators, and other resources. Other top donors to the challenge grant included the Robert J. Eaton Fund at $100,000 and The Brookdale Foundation Group at $50,000.

“It’s absolutely incredible how the community has rallied and supported the health system. NCH is here for the community, but the community has

Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida volunteers

really rallied for NCH,” says NCH spokesperson Amanda Lucey. “This is going to be an ongoing health-care concern.”

PLANNING AHEAD

Looking forward, Connolly-Keesler says, the major foundations and agencies, such as United Way, will continue to work together. But, she says, there is a real need to establish a dedicated disaster-relief fund, and the Community Foundation is working toward that goal as part of a new capital campaign.

Collier Comes Together “raised $1.5 million, which is great, but it would have been better to have it readily available,” Connolly-Keesler says. “We need to make sure we have money in the bank to make sure we can move quickly for any disaster that comes our way.”

Long lines form at a Harry Chapin Food Bank drive-through food distribution site.