JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Frank V. Oliver, Jr. Fund made its largest grant distribution to date this summer, providing more than $248,000 through 10 grants to support education, food security, medical care and mental health support to Putnam County residents.
A longtime Palatka businessman and quiet philanthropist, Frank V. Oliver, Jr., established a number of charitable giving vehicles at The Community Foundation when he died in 2010, including designated endowments for several beloved organizations. But his vision also created a more flexible field of interest fund for Putnam County, so that other deserving programs that might need assistance in the future would benefit.
“Frank was committed to Putnam County, and he wanted to establish a permanent source of support that could be responsive to the evolving needs of the community,” said Joyce Oliver, Frank’s widow, and a member of the Fund’s Advisory Committee, which recommends grants through The Community Foundation. “These grants are the perfect example of his vision coming to fruition, as they support important programming through a number of organizations that are meeting critical needs today.”
The largest grant, $100,000 to the Putnam County School District, will expand a successful educational model to help high school students learn high-demand building trades such as plumbing, electrical, masonry, HVAC and carpentry. The program began through another $100,000 grant from the Fund to establish the first site at Interlachen High School in 2022. This year’s grant will replicate the successful model at Crescent City Junior-Senior High School.
“The Community Foundation is extremely proud to support these grants in Putnam County,” said Isaiah M. Oliver, President of The Community Foundation. “Our greatest satisfaction is to work with visionary philanthropists like Frank V. Oliver, Jr., to help them achieve their charitable goals.”
Other grants made from the Fund this year include:
- $25,000 to Calvary Missionary Baptist Church to purchase a vehicle to transport food from pick-up sites to the Family Life Center
- $25,000 to Epic Cure, Inc, to increase food distribution in Putnam County by supporting operating costs for refrigerated box trucks
- $17,230 to Feeding Northeast Florida to increase partner agencies’ capacity to provide fresh produce and meat to the hungry in Putnam County
- $20,000 to Palatka Christian Service Center to provide rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to Putnam County residents experiencing financial crisis
- $6,000 to Patients Not Prisoners to provide mental health services in Putnam County
- $10,000 to Putnam First Cancer Fund to provide emergency assistance and diagnostic testing for low-income cancer patients in Putnam County
- $20,000 to South Putnam Christian Service Center to provide well-rounded food baskets to Putnam County residents
- $15,000.00 to the Education Foundation of Putnam for its work to support public education in Putnam County
- $10,000.00 to United Way of Northeast Florida to provide emergency assistance to veterans in Putnam County
About The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida
The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida (www.jaxcf.org), Florida’s oldest and largest community foundation, works to stimulate philanthropy to build a better community. The Foundation helps donors invest their philanthropic gifts wisely, helps nonprofits serve the region effectively, and brings people together to make the community a better place. Created in 1964, the Foundation has assets of more than $630 million and has made more than $690 million in grants since inception.
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Contact: Stephanie Garry Garfunkel
VP, Strategic Communications
904-356-4483 | sgarfunkel@jaxcf.org