Southwest Florida Community Foundation Inc
Community foundation plus
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Collaboratory is a community foundation with an evolved mission committed to coordinating the solving of Southwest Florida’s major social problems by 2040. Since our founding in 1976, we have been supporting local causes and nonprofit work, but unfortunately, many of our social issues continue to stay the same. We believe strongly in the traditional work we do but are also committed to making a deeper impact – going to the root cause of the social issues plaguing our region.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
General Funding
Collaboratory is a regional community foundation with an evolved mission committed to coordinating the solving of Southwest Floridas major social problems by 2040. Not alone, but with everyonethe entire community working together across all five counties: Lee, Hendry, Glades, Charlotte and Collier.
Collaboratory provides community leadership, raises and coordinates funding, and disburses funds to organizations that are helping solve the problems our donors and the community have identified as priorities. Collaboratory also provides capacity building with training and resources for regional partners. Given the complexities of the social challenges in our region, Collaboratory ensures we are all working together and that every generous donor achieves the biggest impact with their funds. By using and sharing data to track progress, we ensure that donor dollars are best invested to move the needle on improving social issues.
Scholarships
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.
Community Impact Grants
Competitive grants are funded by field of interest and unrestricted funds. Aligned with the goals of Collaboratory, competitive grants are used to fund the bandwidth required for coalitions to start and sustain. Priorities are determined by a call for information from interested organizations. Grants are awarded to nonprofits that serve as the backbone for a coalition that addresses the whole system, such as housing or health and wellness. Funding is for three years, contingent on successful performance each year.
Women's Legacy Fund of Southwest Florida
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.
FutureMakers Coalition
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.
Where we work
Accreditations
Council on Foundations National Standards 2007
Affiliations & memberships
Council on Foundations - Member 1990
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total dollar amount of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Impact Grants
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Grantmaking
Number of entrance scholarships and awards and exit scholarships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Scholarships
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Scholarships for student and adult learners across a five-county region
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Collaboratory seeks to create change through strategic granting to nonprofit organization partners in the Southwest Florida region. Collaboratory is a leader and convener bringing together community, business, education, philanthropy, the arts, and government to improve the quality of life in Southwest Florida for everyone who lives, works, plays or visits here.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
By cultivating knowledge networks, impact funding, strategic convening, endowed assets and providing community leadership, we strive to collaborate with partners and stakeholders to solve the major social issues in the Southwest Florida region.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Collaboratory has changed the complexion of its operational team and shifted its budget to include a vice president of development with CFRE certification and communications with proven track record of donor development and increasing donor contributions, a director of social innovation and sustainability with a masters in public administration and engaged the services of two Ph.D. level consultants specializing in strategic planning, program evaluation and community development.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Collaboratory started and funded three major coalitions - FutureMakers, Health&Wellness and Housing.
Established in 2015, FutureMakers coalition consists of more than 150 organizations and 300 individuals who come together in action teams to increase the number of students applying for financial aid, to build programs for stop-out students to finish their degrees, to give academic credit for work-based learning, and to connect people to companies looking for workers. As of 2023, FutureMakers has added nearly 55,000 credentials to the workforce and distributed nearly $3.5M since 2020.
Scholarship grants totaled more than $1.1M awarded to students through 107 scholarship funds for high school seniors and undergraduate and graduate students.
Total assets achieved in 2023 was $169M million.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Southwest Florida Community Foundation Inc
Board of directorsas of 02/13/2024
Gail Markham
Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Co., P.A.
Term: 2023 -
Gary H. Griffin
B & I Contractors, Inc.
Aysegul Timur
FGCU
Malike Adigun
Julie Ben-Susan
Juan D. Bendeck
Dentons Cohen & Grigsby P.C.
Rosemary Fllori
Glades County Economic Development Council
Chauncey Goss
Sally Jackson
Harrison S. Knight
Thee Trinity Church
Fred Moon
Khandyce Mosely
City of Fort Myers Police Department
Dale Anne Reiss
Lillie Rentz
Dawn Belamarich
Collaboratory
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No