from staff
Thirteen community nonprofits will receive $387,929 in grants from the Community Safety Net Fund at The Community Foundation in Jacksonville to provide food and assistance with rent and utility expenses for area residents in need.
The grants represent the second and final round of funding for the year from the Community Safety Net Fund, which was established at The Community Foundation in Jacksonville by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and other community donors.
“We are honored to be able to support these organizations,” said Kathleen Shaw, program director at The Community Foundation. “But more importantly, we are honored to be able to help the people that they serve, our neighbors in need.”
With these grants, the Community Safety Net Fund has invested $1,066,499 this year to support organizations providing the basic services of food, shelter and rent and utility assistance to individuals and families in need in Duval County.
In addition, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund provided another $319,000 in grants directly to four organizations.
The Community Safety Net Fund was created in late 2008, when the Jessie Ball duPont Fund invested $1 million to establish the fund and The Community Foundation, the City of Jacksonville and other donors invested another $600,000 to alleviate the growing demand for food and shelter due to the recession.
By spring 2009, all contributed funds had been distributed through grants to organizations serving the needy in Jacksonville.
By spring 2010, the number of people using food stamps was at an all-time high for Duval County, and shelters and food pantries reported continuing record levels of demand.
In response, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund invested $500,000 to reopen the fund, and The Community Foundation raised an additional $566,499 from other donors.
Private foundations making major gifts to the fund in 2010 included: The Lucy Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust, the Henry and Lucy Gooding Endowment, the Weaver Family Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation and the David Stein Charitable Trust.
Corporate donors included Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation and Bank of America. The City of Jacksonville contributed $100,000 to the fund.
“The level of need in our community is of great concern,” said Sherry Magill, president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. “Our economy is not recovering as fast as we had hoped, and unemployment remains high. We are obligated to help those in immediate need just as we are obligated to look for long-term solutions to our economic challenges.”
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund makes grants to more than 330 eligible organizations identified by Mrs. duPont in her will. The fund has assets of more than $265 million and has awarded $291 million in grants since 1977.
The Community Foundation in Jacksonville is the oldest community foundation in Florida. It has assets of $142 million.
Community Safety Net Grants awarded in 2010
| Recipient | July grants | December grants | Total 2010 |
| BEAM | $50,000 | $25,000 | $75,000 |
| Catholic Charities | $100,000* | $50,000 | $150,000 |
| City Rescue Mission | $100,000 | $25,000 | $125,000 |
| Clara White Mission | $50,000* | $25,000 | $75,000 |
| Community Connections | $93,000* | $45,000 | $138,000 |
| Downtown Ecumenical Services Council | $26,000 | $16,000 | $42,000 |
| Dignity U Wear | $29,750 | 0 | $29,570 |
| ElderSource | $100,000 | $25,000 | $125,000 |
| Jewish Family & Community Services | $34,500 | $14,200 | $48,700 |
| Lutheran Social Services (Second Harvest) | $36,500 | $62,500 | $99,000 |
| Mission House | $10,000 | 0 | $10,000 |
| Salvation Army | $76,000* | $23,519 | $99,519 |
| Sulzbacher Center | $100,000 | $37,500 | $137,500 |
| Trinity Rescue Mission | $92,000 | $14,210 | $106,210 |
| Urban Jacksonville | $100,000 | $25,000 | $125,000 |
| Safety Net Grants | $678,570 | $387,929 | $1,066,499* |
| Jessie Ball duPont Fund Grants | $319,000 | N/A | $319,000 |
| TOTAL GRANTS | $997,570 | $387,929 | $1,385,499 |