Community Foundation for Brevard Awards 43 Local Agencies Competitive Grants Totaling Over $300,000

Space Coast organizations reflect the diversity, dynamism of Brevard County

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – On behalf of its donors, the Community Foundation for Brevard recently awarded 43 local agencies competitive grants totaling $304,207.

Through its competitive grantmaking, the Foundation seeks to fund a broad range of nonprofit organizations that are addressing unmet needs, tracking results, and actively collaborating to improve outcomes for the community.

“Each grant is a step toward mending, empowering, and enhancing a part of the world that’s within our reach,” said Community Foundation for Brevard’s President & CEO Theresa Grimison. “We’re incredibly proud to support these organizations, which truly reflect the diversity and dynamism of Brevard.”

2022 competitive grant funds were awarded to:

■ Brevard Achievement Center, Inc. provides Brevard’s Exceptional Student Education students and adult individuals with disabilities from BAC’s Day Program accessibility to create experiences that include art, music, and physical activities in community settings.

■ Brevard County Legal Aid, Inc. provides free legal services to disadvantaged persons in Brevard.

■ Brevard Cultural Alliance to support artist residencies in at least 10 Brevard Public Schools during the 2022-23 school year, providing 30-60 hours of artistic instructional hours per residency, directly impacting over 1,200 students.

■ Brevard Humane Society to install artificial turf in the agility yard at the Merritt Island Adoption Center.

■ Brevard Public Schools for implementation of the Kid Spark STEM Programs for students in grades PreK-6 at Saturn Elementary.

■ Brevard Symphony Orchestra to broaden the horizon of every fifth-grade student in Brevard County by providing an opportunity to attend a customized concert by the Brevard Symphony Orchestra.

■ Brevard Zoo to increase access to hands-on environmental education and nature play for economically disadvantaged pre-K children enrolled in Head Start and StepFOURward programs.

■ Candlelighters of Brevard for support of the Treatment Center Allotment Fund to assist families of children diagnosed with cancer who must travel for medical treatment.

■ Children’s Home Society of Florida to provide counseling to 150 at-risk children attending Endeavour’s STREaM summer camp designed to prevent summer slides and provide a safe, nurturing environment for students whose parents work throughout the summer.

■ Club Esteem provides tools, resources, and direct program support to help high poverty and minority students achieve academic and personal success.

■ Conradina Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society to create a website featuring annual Landscaping Tour sites throughout Brevard County as a searchable resource to promote landscaping with native plants as a means to protect our environment.

■ Down Syndrome Association of Brevard to provide a fun and interactive way for people with Down syndrome to improve social and cognitive skills, communication, and auditory reception through music and drumming classes.

■ Eastern Florida State College Foundation to provide equipment and tools necessary to ensure exposure to a wide variety of animals and procedures for students in the Veterinary Nursing Program.

■ Eckerd Youth Alternatives to provide a one-week Lifeskills Youth Camp designed to help students develop resilient behaviors and enhance protective factors for 30 at-risk 4th-6th graders at Endeavour Elementary.

■ Family Promise of Brevard to help ensure operations are not disrupted while renovating, relocating, and expanding into a donated Firehouse in the underserved community of Cocoa.

■ Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary to build more outdoor pre-release raptor enclosures to house the increased number of owl and hawk patients.

■ Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Brevard to assist relative caregivers with legal counsel to enable them to register the at-risk children placed in their care for school and to receive medical treatment for the children.

■ Habitat for Humanity of Brevard empowers a wheelchair-bound, low-income female veteran to achieve her dream of living in her own home, surrounded by five other female veteran homeowners, where she can live in a safe, stable, supportive community.

■ Harmony Farms to help house, feed, and provide care for horses in the therapeutic riding program.

■ Healthy Start Coalition of Brevard County to provide new, age-appropriate car seats with SensorSafe Technology for Healthy Start families facing financial hardships and using inadequate car seats.

■ Helping Seniors of Brevard County to support the Senior Care Navigation program helping low-income seniors and their caregivers get the necessary services to avoid homelessness, food insecurity, mental health issues, and poor or inadequate medical care.

■ Housing for Homeless to help provide substance abuse and mental health treatment for people experiencing homelessness.

■ Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute to enhance volunteer and internship programs to support research efforts and facilitate efficient marine mammal stranding response. Increased community engagement and education will improve the Indian River Lagoon ecosystem health and promote dolphin conservation.

■ LEAD Brevard to provide equity scholarships for the 2023 Board Governance Educational Workshop designed to build capacity for local nonprofit organizations, boards, and staff.

■ Links of Hope to help inmates successfully re-enter society by funding Parenting, Anger Management, DIGNITY, and GED classes at the Brevard County Jail Complex.

■ Love INC of Brevard to help match clients in need with necessary services by offsetting operational expenses of the Clearinghouse Call Center.

■ Marine Resources Council of East Florida to support interactive workshops designed to engage incarcerated youth from AMIkids Space Coast in outdoor nature-based learning while also improving the sustainability of lagoon restoration methods.

■ Native Heritage Gathering to support the presentation of the 14th Annual Native Rhythms Festival in November 2022 in honor and celebration of Native American Heritage Month.

■ Neighbor Up Brevard to support the addition of a mental health component for The DOCK’s “Healthy Bodies & Healthy Minds” program for low-income children.

■ Promise in Brevard to broaden transportation services for individuals with special needs by hiring a part-time driver for the Promise Transportation Program.

■ Ready for Life Brevard to assist youth with tutoring, transportation, education & career goals, and other vital wraparound services by offsetting the salary of the Mentor & Volunteer Coordinator position.

■ Sea Turtle Conservancy to expand the Sea Turtle TECH and STEM Mentorship Programs training students from underrepresented backgrounds in 21st century STEM career skills necessary to manage and protect sea turtles, the Carr Refuge and important coastal habitats statewide.

■ South Brevard Women’s Center to support the Sexual Assault Victim Services Program in providing free, confidential support and advocacy services to sexual assault survivors in Brevard.

■ Space Coast Discovery to prevent summer slides in primary school students by providing fun, interactive experiences with reading specialists during Summer Reading Camp.

■ Space Coast Early Steps to support the development and dissemination of a professional training video on best practices for communication, collaboration, and coaching to be used to onboard new staff and providers and integrated into annual education.

■ St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care to expand the NorthStar Child Grief Program which provides support group sessions and monthly memory-building events for children dealing with loss.

■ Stella Maris Environmental Research to expand public awareness of the impact of light and water pollution on the coastal habitat through guided wildlife encounters, educational programs, citizen science opportunities, and coastal research on the barrier island.

■ The Source to help the Dignity Bus provide temporary and affordable shelter for 16 homeless and low-income individuals each evening in Brevard County.

■ Walk On Water Ministries of Central Florida to offset the cost of vetting, dental, feeding and supply services for rescued animals used in animal-assisted therapy.

■ weVENTURE at Florida Tech to provide scholarships for minority-owned businesses or non-profit organizations to participate in the IGNITE 360 business mentoring program.

■ Wheelchairs 4 Kids to provide wheelchairs and/or home and vehicle modifications and other assistive and therapeutic equipment for children who have been denied by Medicaid and support the “Wheely Fun Days” inclusion program.

■ Wholeness to Freedom Ministries to support the purchase of a vehicle to provide transportation to and from appointments for Still Waters Brevard participants as they transition from homelessness to independent living.

■ YMCA of Central Florida for delivery of no-cost swim lessons and water safety education for Brevard families in need through the No Kid Drowns – Safety Around Water program.

The Community Foundation’s competitive grants program is made possible by philanthropic individuals and families who established charitable funds in support of making Brevard a place where everyone can thrive.

Fifty-three community volunteers comprise the competitive grants review committee. The committee’s careful scoring and thoughtful deliberations guide the grant award decisions, which are reviewed and approved by the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors.

The Community Foundation for Brevard has granted more than $22 million in Brevard and beyond over the last 41 years.

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