The Community Foundation of Broward recently celebrated its 40th anniversary by announcing the winners of its “40 for 40 Share the Love Grants” at an event held this week at the foundation's Fort Lauderdale headquarters.
The foundation establishes charitable funds for families, individuals or organizations, and connects them with community based philanthropic endeavors.
They put up $400,000 for the program, enough for 40 Broward area nonprofits to receive $10,000 each. Applications were open from June to August, and over 200 organizations applied for the grants. The funds must be used by June 30, 2025.
“Instead of throwing a big party, we wanted to find 40 different ways to serve the community,” said the foundation’s CEO Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, “It's a great way to recognize their work in the community and to say thank you and show appreciation for the hard work they do every day.”
The applications all shared a theme, the number 40. Causes ranged from preserving 40 acres of state parks, providing 40 beds to children in need, or even covering the cost of $40 theater tickets to underserved communities.
“When you look at Broward County, we are so diverse in so many different ways and it's really fun to see it come to life in the faces of all the different leaders in the room,” said O’Flannery Anderson.
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The Art Prevails Project is using its grant to host workshops for 40 young artists that will culminate in an exhibition on Juneteenth of next year.
“As a grassroots organization, it is amazing to feel that your work is valued,” said founder Darius V. Daughtry. “And so for the Community Foundation to find value in the work that we're trying to do and continue to do in our community, it's amazing.”
The grant winners also had a focus on expanding their impact. Do Good 4-1, a STEM education youth outreach organization, saw this grant as an opportunity to help seniors. The organization's founder, Max Joseph said he will use the grant to help 40 seniors increase their technology literacy.
“We have spent a lot of time and energy and money investing in kids in high-need communities that don't have access to a stem education or stem technology,” he said, “But the community involves everyone, and often the seniors are left behind.”
O’Flannery Anderson was proud of the way the organization chose to celebrate its anniversary.
“This is the way it should be. I think maybe this is a lesson for all of us to think about our birthdays and what we can do for others instead of thinking about presents for ourselves,” she said.
