The Community Safety Net Fund at The Community Foundation in Jacksonville has awarded more than $1 million in grants to 13 area organizations that provide basic services to people in need.
It is the third year that three of the community’s leading philanthropic organizations — the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Lucy Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust and The Community Foundation — have joined with individual donors to support nonprofits that provide shelter, food and emergency services to individuals and families affected by the ongoing recession, reported The Community Foundation.
In previous years, more than 30 individuals, corporations and philanthropic organizations, along with the City of Jacksonville, have contributed in excess of $2.75 million to support the effort, according to a news release from the foundation.
“While we are distressed that so many of our fellow citizens continue to struggle to make ends meet, we are gratified by the generosity of Jacksonville’s donors,” said Nina Waters, president of The Community Foundation.
Earlier this year, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund committed $600,000 to re-open the Community Safety Net Fund at The Community Foundation. The Lucy Gooding Charitable Foundation Trust committed $500,000 and The Community Foundation solicited additional gifts from other donors.
In November, The Community Foundation’s board of trustees approved the following grants from the Safety Net Fund:
• BEAM— $36,000, to provide rent and utility assistance for residents in need, preventing homelessness in the Duval County Beaches area.
• Catholic Charities — $120,000 to provide rent and utility assistance for residents in need.
• City Rescue Mission — $66,000 to provide food for the women and children residing in the shelter.
• Clara White Mission — $60,000 to provide meals for the hungry through the daily feeding program, residential meals program and student meals program.
• Community Connections — $54,000 to provide rent, utility and food assistance for families in need.
• DESC (Downtown Ecumenical Services Council) — $36,000 to provide rent and utility assistance for families in need.
• ElderSource in Action — $120,000 to provide rent and utility assistance for senior citizens in need.
• I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless — $120,000 to provide food and shelter for the homeless population in Duval County.
• Jewish Family & Community Services — $60,000 to provide rent and utility assistance for residents in need.
• Salvation Army — $94,800 to provide food and shelter for the homeless and distribute food to the hungry through the food pantry.
• Second Harvest North Florida — $110,400 to increase food distribution to other Safety Net Programs and feeding sites by purchasing a new refrigerated box truck.
• Trinity Rescue Mission — $81,000 to provide food to the hungry through community distribution sites.
• Urban Jax (Aging True)— $108,000 to provide Meals On Wheels to homebound seniors.
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 demand for food and shelter due to the recession.
The foundation said that as the weak economic recovery has continued to undermine individuals’ efforts to find jobs and secure financial footing for their families, funders have reopened the fund periodically to provide additional support.
The Community Foundation in Jacksonville is the oldest community foundation in Florida and has assets of $154 million.