Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Inc

Scholarships are available for high school seniors and undergraduate or graduate students to apply for funds with criteria determined according to the donor's wishes. Scholarships may be a one time award or a multi-year award with the intent of supporting a student to attain a post-secondary education degree or certification. A streamlined online application process is used to accept applications and a scholarship committee along with volunteer reviewers work with staff to determine scholarship finalists and recipients. All scholarship payments are sent directly to the scholarship recipient's school financial aid office. Donors receive information about the scholarship recipients who are beneficiaries of their scholarship fund and receive updates on the status of the recipients along their post-secondary journey.

The Community Impact Grant is a funding program of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation for grants made to 501(c)(3) nonprofits or municipalities through a competitive application process. The funding comes from Field of Interest funds. Donors and philanthropists establish FOI funds to address their desires and intentions for the Southwest Florida region. Community Impact Grants provide strategic funding in the following areas: people, animals, arts and education.

The Women's Legacy Fund (WLF) was established in 2007 by the Southwest Florida Community foundation to engage women in Southwest Florida to direct their giving in focused, strategic ways. Contributors' annual donations are used for immediate grants as well as to increase the WLF's permanent endowment fund. Annual Contributors choose the focus of the annual grants, which so far have included literacy, violence prevention, mental health, homelessness, and access to goods and services in neighborhoods. Grants to local non-profit organizations are selected by the WLF's Grants Committee and Contributors to the fund. The grants are funded by both annual contributions and income from the endowment fund.

The FutureMakers Coalition is working to improve the workforce by increasing post-secondary completion in Southwest Florida and promote the knowledge and skills needed for success in the workplace and in life. The coalition was formed around existing regional collaborations between diverse stakeholders (from cradle to career) and citizens all committed to the region's education and economic success. The FutureMakers Coalition is a collective impact initiative that is focused on bringing together stakeholders from throughout the Cradle-to-Career (C2C) Pathway.

The Immigration Program Grant is a program of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. Funding for this program comes from The Florida Bar Foundation and national funders. This program is designed to increase the quality of life in sustainable and equitable ways for immigrants and refugees in Southwest Florida. The grant program is focused on providing legal services and related services to immigrants and refugees in our region as they continue to recover from the disastrous impact of Hurricane Irma last fall and recent changes in immigration law and policies. Foundation leaders recognize that there are other important issues facing immigrants and refugees not funded by this program.

Through a public private partnership with the City of Fort Myers, the Foundation embarked on a $10.5 million New Market Tax Credit deal to renovate a 1920s Atlantic Coast Rail Depot in downtown Fort Myers and add a 13,000 sf building, Collaboratory. At Collaboratory, the Foundation will now provide more robust event, meeting, office and collaborative space amplified with the best available technology. Centrally located within its five-county service area, Collaboratory will serve as a lab for collaboration with diverse networks of stakeholders to explore regional challenges and opportunities and then design, fund and execute innovative initiatives and projects with nonprofit partners that bring needed change to our region.

Collaboratory is designed to with sustainability in mind and is pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification further emphasizing the Foundation’s commitment to sustainability and it’s position as a role model for other nonprofits and businesses in the region.