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September 2022

Nina Waters & Delores Barr Weaver

This fall marks the tenth anniversary of an extraordinary chapter in our organization's history—one that profoundly changed us and has forever changed our community. In September 2012, Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver closed their private family foundation and donated the entire value to an advised fund at The Community Foundation. Three months later, Delores Barr Weaver established her signature Delores Barr Weaver Fund at the Foundation with $50 million—our single largest gift. The power of these gifts is undeniable—grants made from these assets have touched hundreds of local nonprofits serving tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of our friends, neighbors and colleagues.

Wayne Weaver has often said, "Delores is the philanthropist in the family," and our work with her over the past ten years has cemented that reputation: she is unendingly curious, relentless in her mission to make a difference and passionate about encouraging others to give alongside her. It is a privilege to be her partner in this work. And we can never thank Wayne and Delores Weaver enough for allowing us to be part of their philanthropic journey.

Ready to Respond

The First Coast Relief Fund is poised to reactivate should Hurricane Ian create major hardship in Northeast Florida. The First Coast Relief Fund is a collaboration of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Northeast Florida, United Way of Northeast Florida and United Way of St. Johns County and serves as the non-profit 'first responder' in times of crisis. It was activated after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and after Hurricane Irma in 2017, and during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Go to www.firstcoastrelieffund.org for more information.

Ulysses Owens, Jr. (center) surrounded by (left to right) Jorge Pena, the 2020 Ann McDonald Baker Art Ventures honoree; Nina Waters, president of The Community Foundation; Carol Alexander, TCF Trustee; and Courtenay Wilson, co-founder of Art Ventures.

Ulysses Owens, Jr. Receives Ann McDonald Baker Art Ventures Award

Grammy Award-winning jazz percussionist, producer and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. is this year's Ann McDonald Baker Art Ventures Award recipient. The award, bestowed annually, recognizes a gifted local artist whose work brings distinction to Northeast Florida. Ulysses is a world class musician but just as importantly, he is the founder of Don’t Miss A Beat, a nonprofit he and his family founded to battle unacceptable high school dropout rates among young Black people in the community. The award, which includes a $10,000 unrestricted grant, was announced at the Don't Miss A Beat Summer Camp finale. For more information, click here.

Panelists: (left to right) Susan Taylor Batten, president and CEO of ABFE; Dr. Johnnetta Cole, anthropologist, educator, and women/civil rights advocate; Marcus Rowe, Vice-President and Senior Resident Director, Merrill Lynch; Valerie Jenkins, Vice-President and Senior Community Development Consultant, Wells Fargo; and Rev. Dr. Christopher Mckee, Jr, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Oakland.

Learning About Black Philanthropy in NE FL

We were honored to have Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole, and Susan Taylor Batten, the national president and CEO of ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities as well as other important local voices talking about the rich history of Black Philanthropy at our recent Donors Forum. They recounted all the many ways Black individuals and families give back to their community, and challenged others to embrace the power of philanthropy in all its forms. You can read a brief recap of the event here; watch the full recording here.

Founding Members: (left to right) Joe Louis Barrow, Branita Mann, J.D. Staton, Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, Nina Waters, The Honorable Brian Davis, Wanda Willis, Velma Monteiro-Tribble, Carol Alexander, Gregory Owens, Darnell Smith, Dr. Atiya Abdelmalik, Dr. Floyd B. Willis. Not pictured: Martha Baker, Mark Bennett, Len Brown, Mrs. Tanya Davis, Fred Franklin, Ken Johnson, Lisa Johnson, Tim Johnson, Ronnie King, Eric Mann, Antoinette Rowe, Jim Stallings, Cleve Warren

New! The A.L. Lewis Black Opportunity & Impact Fund

After nearly two years of work by dedicated Black community stewards, the A.L. Lewis Black Opportunity & Impact Fund is here! The Fund will honor the history and legacy of A.L. Lewis while leveraging the assets and resources in the present to ignite transformational change in Jacksonville's Black Communities. Anyone can contribute to the Fund to support this work. Grantmaking is expected to begin next year. For more information, contact Wanda Willis, VP, Civic Leadership at wwillis@jaxcf.org.

New Faces, New Roles, Fond Farewells

We welcomed Lijanda Armstrong, our new finance assistant.
Carol Nieves has taken on the new role of Donor Services Officer. Carol has been at The Community Foundation for 17 years and was previously on the Finance team.
Kacie Smyth, MHA, has been promoted to Director, Donor Services. Kacie has been serving as the Women's Giving Alliance Director since she joined us in 2021.
We're also saying goodbye to Mark LeMaire, Senior Program Director, who's been at TCF for 10 yrs—Mark's been tapped as the new president and CEO of United Way of St. Johns County!

Spreading the News

President Nina Waters spoke about philanthropy to members of OLLI—Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (UNF).
Tom Caron made a presentation to the UNF Hicks Honor College and also to AdNet, a national professional development group for community foundations.

Art Ventures through a Diversity Lens

Our very own Program Associate, Reagan Bass, MBA, is a contributor in this month's Arbus Magazine. The article looks back at The Community Foundation's Art Ventures initiative over time, and recounts the Foundation's efforts at attracting artists of color to compete for the grants which are awarded annually. We have included artists of color since the initiative began more than 30 years ago, but some years we were more successful than others.

Among the artists featured are celebrated trumpeter Longineau Parsons and visual artist Marsha Hatcher, who said, "The grant was just the seed I needed to finally jumpstart my career as a serious artist." Read the story here.

Nina Waters Will Retire in 2023

Nina Waters has alerted The Community Foundation's Board of Trustees that she intends to retire no later than September 1, 2023. The Board, which focused on succession planning as part of our Strategic Planning process, has already established a search committee of the Board and retained a national search firm to assist in hiring the next leader of The Community Foundation. You can read Board Chair Judge Brian Davis' announcement and Nina’s message here.

TCF in the News

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