Community Foundation of Broward
/OVERVIEW: This community foundation supports 31 cities in Broward County, Florida. Grant support Racial Justice, LGBTQ, people with special needs, the elderly, health, education, scholarships, economic development, community development, arts and culture, and nonprofits.
IP TAKE: A top community grantmaker in Florida, CFB takes a “holistic” and “long-term” approach to it’s grantmaking, setting it apart from other charitable organizations that focus on a single-issue in the state. CFB likes to partner with local philanthropists and nonprofit leaders to create tailored giving strategies, often working with community partners to facilitate giving across it’s focus areas. This funder’s support extends beyond grant dollars, including: guidance, personalized charitable funds, accountability, pooling resources with other philanthropists to amplify impact, and endowments.
Importantly for grant applications, CFB prioritizes supporting “grantmaking opportunities that support Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” In this vein, CFB has conducted grantmaking through a racial justice and inclusion lens since 2020, so your application must speak to how your work addresses: dismantling systemic racism, focuses on vulnerable populations, and is potentially led by women and BIPOCs, reflecting the communities organizational work seeks to address.
CFB also offers multi-year grants, but then the annual amount will be determined according to the project deliverables. This transparent funder that takes three months or less to make grant decisions.
PROFILE: The Community Foundation of Broward (CFB) is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is the community funder for the area. It seeks to “transform our community through focused leadership that fosters collaboration, builds endowment, advances equity and connects people who care to causes that matter.” Established in 1984 by Libby and Jack Deinhardt, CFB is one of the first community foundations in Florida, which now has over $235 million in assets. In keeping with it’s founders’ intent, CFB continues to believe in “the power of endowment to build sustainable resources that would keep pace with our fast-growing community’s ever-changing needs” to create last legacies in Broward.
Since 2020, CFB has increased its efforts to champion social justice in Broward through a “work plan focused on Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” Grantmaking at CFB has evolved enormously in recent years. This also means that funding for senior citizens, the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities may be found across all giving areas.
While grantmaking focus areas have contracted, their depth and focus have expanded. CFB makes grants for Education & Youth, Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Economic Development & Social Mobility, Healthy & Thriving Communities, Arts & Culture, and Strong Nonprofit Community. CFB offers rolling grants, available throughout the year for critical focus areas; small grants, available in the fall and spring for emerging nonprofits; and Big Think grants, for collaborations to create systemic change.
Learn more from CFB’s detailed Focus Area Grant Guide.
Grants for Education and Youth
CFB provides a variety of education grant opportunities for both youth and adult learners through it’s Education & Youth Enrichment program, as well as through scholarships. These two areas of funding encompass some of the Foundation’s largest philanthropic commitments.
CFB’s Education & Youth Enrichment works to provide “access and attain academic achievement, explore and pursue career paths, and develop interpersonal and life skills.” Education grants, as with all areas of funding, are conducted through a racial justice and diversity lens committed to supporting the BIPOC, LGBTQ, special needs, and elderly communities. This program seeks to provide:
Exposure to New Opportunities — “Dynamic opportunities to expose youth to new experiences and explore new paths,” including but not limited to exposure to “technology, entrepreneurship, the marine industry, college tours and college experience immersion programs, and other post-secondary options.”
K–12 Academic Achievement — “Help students gain marked academic improvement according to Florida’s standards” by identifying and addressing gaps in student performance that demonstrate an increase in learning gains, including in alternative schools.
Work-Based Learning — “Provide students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills while developing soft skills, life skills, and critical thinking.”
Since 2010, CFB has supported over $8.5M to educational programs through the work of nonprofits and the Broward County Public School system. Grants through this program occur on a rolling basis.
Grants for Economic Development
CFB makes economic development grants through it’s Economic and Social Mobility focus area, which “empowers hardworking residents to move to financial stability and have a strong economic foundation to break the cycle of poverty.” CFB work in this area speaks to the Florida Chamber’s “Blueprint for Florida’s Future, Florida 2030,” a key target is to reach 80% of Florida’s workforce equipped with essential employability skills. The Foundation seeks to advance individuals by addressing these areas:
Talent Pipeline - Fueling local economic growth by reducing the skills gap and meet demands for workforce talent.
Remove Barriers — Break through systemic barriers for accessing enhanced economic options, opportunities, and outcomes including transportation, childcare, attainable housing, technology to enable upward mobility.
Future Financial Success — Provide pathways to education and empower underserved individuals through greater financial literacy, savings, and investment opportunities/options.
Entrepreneurship — Develop entrepreneurship opportunities to open small businesses and promote youth entrepreneurship.
Grants through this program area are available on a rolling basis.
Grants for Arts and Culture
Through it’s Arts and Culture program, CFB works to convene “artists and organizations to share and learn together on how to best elevate the arts and engage the residents.” It also seeks to broaden it’s funding impact “into more communities, expand the types of arts provided, and create opportunities for more arts and culture organizations and artists to be supported.” CFB does so by specifically investing in Art Education, Art Therapy, Cultural Assets, Traditional Arts, and Individual Artists, the latter through CFB’s partnership with Broward Cultural Division’s Artist Innovation program for Broward-based professional artists.
Arts and culture grants are available on a rolling basis.
Grants for Health
CFB’s Healthy and Thriving Communities focus area works to “improve health equity and well-being in Broward by building a culture of health across all populations and communities, while also creating a resilient and sustainable environment.” CFB’s grants for health follow Health.gov’s “Healthy People 2030” report, which groups five social determinants of health (SODH) impact people’s health, including economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context.
Work through this area of giving benefits all target demographics outlined by the Foundation’s commitment to racial justice and inclusion, which includes the LGBTQ, senior citizen, and special needs communities, among others. Health grants specifically target: Physical Health, Mental Health, Food Security, Hunger, Environmental Education and Sustainability, and healthy habits.
Grants through this focus area occur on a rolling basis.
Grants for Racial Justice and Inclusion
A cornerstone of the Foundation’s grantmaking ethos, racial justice and inclusion apply across all giving areas. However, CFB also has a dedicated Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion focus area, which works to “dismantle systems of racial inequality and social injustice to create a more equitable and inclusive community for all residents through systemic, sustainable and scalable change.” The Foundation’s commitment here runs deep and should be read closely, since strategy is through this area if extensive.
Grantmaking here does not accept unsolicited applications as CFB prefers a proactive approach to grantmaking. This area also features a Racial Justice, Equity, Diversity And Inclusion Statement at the bottom of the page.
Grants for Nonprofit Excellence
Through the Broward Center For Nonprofit Excellence, the Foundation works to connect community collaborators, provide workshops on nonprofit management and best practices, nonprofit training, access nonprofit knowledge, as well as a consultants directory.
Grantmaking here does not accept unsolicited applications as CFB prefers a proactive approach to grantmaking.
Important Grant Details:
CFB grants range from about $2,500 to $100,000, depending on whether it’s a small, rolling or Big Idea grant with different application dates and guidelines, so check the specific issue page for current dates and details. CFB serves 31 cities in Broward County, Florida, a place with residents from at least 168 countries, who speak more than 50 languages.
The foundation accepts online applications through a grant portal.
Direct general questions to info@cfbroward.org. Keep up with foundation news and publications here.
Applications may be submitted by January 20, February 15, or
March 24 for consideration.
It also sponsors information sessions, typically in November and December, to learn more about the new grantmaking focus areas and how to apply.
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