2 min read February 2022 — In an interview with Invest:, Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Broward, talked about the importance of supporting local nonprofits and the different ways these organizations provide for the community. She explained the importance of giving and how much the Foundation plans to reinvest into the community through programs, partnerships and initiatives over the coming years.
What were some impactful events over the last year in the nonprofit sector?
2021 was a year of reinvention for nonprofits as they were all challenged in many different ways. A lot of the stress of the pandemic has fallen on the nonprofit community. In Broward County, we have about 9,000 registered nonprofits and most of them are very small, operating on budgets that are below $1 million. They really had to reconfigure and reimagine their revenue streams, whether that be through donations, grants or special events. 2021 required adaptation, so they were able to embrace new technology and new ways of raising money to modify their funding model.
Another takeaway is the value of local organizations, especially healthcare and arts and culture. 2021 taught us that we have a responsibility to give to and support charities and organizations that take care of us, keep us safe and educate our children. There is a new appreciation for that value and we have a responsibility to support that.
I would say for us it has been a year of reinvention as well. We developed a new strategic plan to look at our organization in five to 10 years from now. We also came to grips with racial equity, diversity and inclusion and what that means for our organization, what values we uphold and how we factor that into grant making and partnerships. We feel that is an important part of our philanthropic mission and has a role in everything we do. We are going to continue focusing on children. We also provided a significant grant for workforce development to help support Broward College and its initiative Broward UP. We provided two major grants, one to Henderson Behavioral Health for their crisis intervention center and another to YMCA for their new facility in Sistrunk. A neat thing we are doing is a grant program for small nonprofits that are grassroots, serving micro-level communities. These grants will be between $5,000 and $25,000 and awarded on a rotating cycle. We estimate that we will be investing about $250,000 a year for these small organizations.
In 2022 we will announce the recipients of our cycle called Art of Community. It celebrates art and social justice and how art can introduce people to topics of DEI and how we can celebrate uniqueness.
Why is it important to reinvest locally?
I think a real lesson and enduring takeaway of the pandemic is that we all have a role and responsibility to care for and support each other. That translates to caring for and supporting our own community where we live. If we don’t do it, who will? It can’t be the sole responsibility of the government. Creating the community you want to live in requires investment and philanthropy. It strengthens the fabric of society. It provides a measure of excellence.
What is on your agenda for the next two to three years?
I would say one of the big agenda items is to launch the Broward Nonprofit Center for excellence. This is an initiative that supports, elevates and enhances nonprofit communities. We want to help support their operations through training or new technologies so they can be better and dependable organizations. Another important role is elevating philanthropy, reinforcing why it’s important and how everybody can give. It’s also important to teach children the importance of giving and passing those values through a family.
We’ve also focused on expanding the audience of philanthropy and introducing new people to giving and celebrating the giving they do in their communities. Another big part of our strategic plan is figuring out how we ensure that racial diversity, equity and inclusion remain a key part of everything we do and that our giving is always done through that lens. Part of that is helping philanthropists find new organizations and causes to give to so they are willing to trust and try new organizations. We want to inspire philanthropists and donors in our community to have trust and faith, not only in their traditional organizations but in new ones as well.
What partnerships are you working on?
We currently have 24 companies and organizations we are working with right now. We have gotten significant gifts from Spirit Airlines, Humana Healthcare and Google that will help support initiatives in workforce development, youth development and health. We are working closely with United Way, Children’s Services Council Health Foundation and The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, and others to recognize the stress and strain that has been placed on the employees of nonprofits while working on the frontlines providing services and care.
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