FOUNDING FPN

In 2001, leaders from seven Florida foundations met for the first FPN founders meeting, where they envisioned a united Florida with foundations, government and business leaders devoted to cooperation and collaboration that would more effectively leverage contributions of each sector.
This article is part of Founding FPN, a series on Florida Philanthropic Network’s founding members: Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Dade Community Foundation (now The Miami Foundation), Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, Health Foundation of South Florida, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation.

Nearly 26 years ago, David Odahowski relocated from Minneapolis to Winter Park, FL, to join Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation as President & CEO. In his new role, David was responsible for continuing the directive of the foundation’s founder Edyth Bush: Make Central Florida a better place for all of its citizens.

Since 1973 the foundation has maintained that vision, awarding more than $100 million in grants to community organizations and supporting nonprofit sector development. “What is known today as the Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership at Rollins College has been an ongoing 43-year project of the foundation,” David said.

“When my predecessors came to Florida, they immediately knew that they were going to have to do quite a bit of work in nonprofit management, governance, leadership because the sector wasn’t as developed,” he recalled. The foundation sprung to action, hosting seminars, offering consulting and even providing a working library for grant research.

Today the Institute provides training, certificates and custom programs to enhance the skills and effectiveness of independent sector employees with continued support from Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation.

Outstanding Foundation

Too big to be small, and too small to be big, the foundation leaders have long supported innovative and creative approaches, including its open-door grantmaking approach. While the Board meets twice a year to approve grants more than $50,000, smaller grants are reviewed and approved administratively throughout the year. Flexibility in application deadlines allows the foundation to better respond to emerging needs of Central Florida’s nonprofit community.

Last year the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) recognized the foundation’s leadership in the sector – twice. The Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation received the 2015 Award for Outstanding Foundation from both the AFP International and the Central Florida chapter for demonstrating outstanding commitment through financial support, innovation, encouragement and motivation of others to take leadership roles in philanthropy and national, international and/or community involvement.

“You don’t get awards like for writing checks,” David said. “You get awards like this for writing checks to organizations that exceed expectations.”

Celebrating GoodWorks

To the foundation, winning both Outstanding Foundation awards reflected the success of the local nonprofit sector. To celebrate that success, David and his team developed the GoodWorks Initiative, a social media and community awareness campaign designed to recognize Central Florida nonprofits in an original way and engage more deeply with the sector.

Each month, the foundation’s “Prize Patrol” awards one of its unsuspecting grantees a $5,000 GoodWorks grant to further their efforts in the community. The Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation also hosted “Ideas for Good,” a two-part event for the local nonprofit community that first brought together nonprofit board chairs to discuss challenges facing the sector and then hosted executive directors to share their current needs, short-term wants, and future hopes for the sector.

Alongside the surprise grants, the Foundation hosted the Florida release of The Almanac of American Philanthropy with Editor Karl Zinsmeister speaking to 75 Florida philanthropists on the importance of private philanthropy. Each attendee received a copy of the Almanac, a first-of-its-kind reference book chronicling the greatest achievements of American philanthropy, including influential donors and best ideas for charitable giving in the United States. To date, the foundation has given away more than 200 copies to community leaders across Central Florida in the true spirit of philanthropy.

Margin of Excellence

Philanthropy’s ability to fund programs that the public sector can’t or won’t is what allows funders to creatively address challenges and makes philanthropy the margin of excellence, David said.

In keeping with its mission to “creative innovative civic solutions helping people help themselves,” the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation announced a startup grant to create the Florida Metropolitan Medical School Consortium – a deliberate collaboration of medical school deans at University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and Florida International University. These three universities have a history of collaboration, establishing the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities in 2014 to work collectively on issues accelerating student persistence and success. Acknowledging the critical role of health and education of future medical professionals in Florida, this new medical school collaboration seeks to focus the medical resources of these universities to help Florida become the #1 state in health and innovation.

Funding programs that push for education and resource sharing to enhance innovation and address Floridian’s needs is just one of many ways Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation works to make Central Florida a better place. The foundation’s team is also invested in developing the independent sector and addressing collective concern among Florida funders.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, other Florida foundation leaders shared the same passion to build philanthropy in the state. A loosely formed group, Florida Funders, met sporadically throughout the state but mostly connected at national meetings. In fact, the catalyst to formalize the collaborative spirit of Florida Funders was sparked at a national conference.

“I was sitting next to Sherry Magill (President & CEO of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund) in a session talking about regional associations of grantmakers and how well New York was doing and how well Michigan and the West Coast were doing,” David said. As they continued to hear about collaborative work in smaller and smaller states, it was clear. “Sherry and I turned to each other and said we’ve got to do something [in Florida].”

Shortly after, the leaders established Florida Philanthropic Network, the only grantmakers network exclusively serving Florida funders. Each member committed to traveling across Florida for site visits and meetings, as well as an annual investment of $50,000 each. For Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, the financial commitment was substantial but warranted to support Florida philanthropy and continue developing the state’s independent sector.

A Common Intersection

As more foundations joined, FPN evolved from sector-serving to member-serving while upholding the founders’ focus on advancing public policy. This shift allowed FPN to address the unmet needs of philanthropic growth in Florida, identify dynamic solutions to varying challenges across the state and build a unified voice for the nonprofit sector to improve the quality of life for all Floridians.

“Florida philanthropy is an untapped natural resource. Typically the money that Florida foundations have was made here by Floridians,” David said. “It should benefit the state.”

Individually, foundations respond to community needs in alignment with their unique missions and founders’ interests. As a group, funding challenges need to be addressed by government, business and nonprofit sectors. FPN is a common intersection where foundation leaders and nonprofit organizations become more purposeful.

Still 15 years after the first founders meeting, David finds the greatest value lies in FPN’s networking opportunities. The most basic need for collaboration is the need to speak with each other, which can be difficult for foundations separated by geography, funding issues and capacity. As Florida philanthropy continues to evolve to address community issues – including education, the arts, healthcare, sea-level rise, homelessness and workforce development – FPN serves as the hub for connecting all types of Florida funders.