Together with our donors, our mission is to serve as the leading catalyst for building vibrant communities through meaningful philanthropy.

Community foundations change lives. Their unique role in a region enables donors to transform their philanthropic passion into meaningful impact.

At their most powerful, community foundations can foster a culture of giving and help create long-lasting change in the region they serve and overall, in society.

What We Do:

• Impactful grant-making and facilitate philanthropic support to improve quality of life for our residents
• Create positive community change
• Convene and collaborate with advocates, nonprofits and community leaders
• Strive to be an expert on the most urgent issues facing our communities
• Make charitable giving convenient and impactful

How We Do It:

Supporting and partnering with exceptional nonprofit organizations that address our most pressing needs and bring positive change to our communities.

We make charitable giving easy and fulfilling by connecting donors with opportunities that are meaningful to them and by working with financial advisors to make their clients’ charitable giving simple, efficient and effective.

What is the Community Foundation? 

A community foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit, autonomous, publicly supported philanthropic institution with a long term goal of building permanent, named charitable funds established by many separate donors for the broad-based charitable benefit of the residents of a defined geographic area, typically no larger than a state.

Community foundations change lives. Their unique role in a region enables donors to transform their philanthropic passion into meaningful impact.

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We believe our residents should have the same opportunities to thrive and succeed in life. 

• Generosity from our fundholders improves the quality of life for residents in need.
• Our innovative and supportive grantmaking to our local nonprofits is impactful, sustainable and enriches the community. 

HISTORY:

The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties was founded in 1972 by Palm Beach residents Winsome and Michael McIntosh.

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Their vision has led our Community Foundation to become one of the largest in Florida, and we have provided millions in grants in scholarships over our history.Their goal was to build a charitable endowment that would meet the changing needs of the community.

History of the Community Foundation

1972 – Visionary Palm Beach residents Winsome and Michael McIntosh establish the Palm Beach County Community Foundation with a $50,000 endowment in 1972. Their goal was to build a charitable endowment that would meet the changing needs of the community.

1979 – The Foundation receives its first bequest when West Palm Beach resident, Ilse Klassen, leaves $244,000 from her estate. The Ilse Klassen Fund has granted almost $1 million in grants to local nonprofits, a wonderful testament to the power of endowment.

1983 – The first memorial scholarship fund is established by Jupiter residents Larue and Donald Dahlberg in memory of their son, Don Dahlberg. Today, the Community Foundation is one of the largest providers of scholarships in Palm Beach and Martin counties.

1991 – Boca Raton resident Anna Marie Graber Martens leaves a $15 million bequest to the Community Foundation, doubling its assets with the largest gift in its history to date. This gift allows the Foundation to expand its service area to incorporate Martin County and changes its name to reflect its geographic commitment.

1998 – The Foundation receives a historic $25 million gift from Mary and Robert Pew to improve public education for economically disadvantaged children in the community. This gift establishes our first supporting organization.

2000 – The Foundation breaks ground on their new 30,000 sq. ft. building in Downtown West Palm Beach. The building opened in 2002 and was named the Center for Philanthropy in 2012. 

2004 – The John T. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fund is established with a $20 million gift to address the arts, education, environment and community development.

2009 – The Foundation launches an unprecedented partnership with its donors and fund holders to raise $1.3 million through the Safety Net Challenge that provided critical funds to local nonprofits following the country’s financial crisis.

2009 – Frustrated by the lack of a coordinated response to hunger issues and aware that local needs were growing beyond the availability of local services, the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties launches the Alleviate Hunger initiative, a collaborative effort to focus on improving access to and distribution of food for those most in need. This effort leads to the creation of the Palm Beach County Food Bank in 2012 – a collaboration with six other funders to collect and distribute food to more than 85 agencies.

2012 – The Palm Beach County Food Bank incorporates and absorbs a locally-led Community Food Truck Operation. In its first full year of operation, the Food Bank distributed more than 4 million pounds of food – valued at $6.2 million— to help feed more than 80,000 hungry residents.

2013 – The Community Foundation partners with the Mary and Robert Pew Public Education Fund and the Quantum Foundation to launch an initiative to transform education in Palm Beach County by providing over $1 million in grants. The Community Foundation’s support represents the largest grant in its history — $661,203 over a two-year period to build a world-class educational program focused on STEM curriculum with the Palm Beach County School District and the University of Florida.

2014 – The Foundation partners with United Way of Palm Beach County, United Way of Martin County and the Community Foundation of Martin County for three years to host the Great Give, 24-hour online giving day designed to raise millions of dollars in support for local nonprofits in a single day.

2018 – The Community Foundation launches a national civic engagement initiative called On the Table, inviting 4,000 residents to small mealtime conversations to discuss pressing community issues and brainstorm solutions.

For more information, please click here.

CHARTING THE COURSE

Since 1939

Opportunity offers specifically designed programs that embrace the whole child. We focus not only on academics, but also the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of our students.

Our curriculum addresses the need for high quality education to prepare children for kindergarten and lifelong learning.

Mission Statement

Empowering the children of working families to achieve academic and life success through educational programs that embrace the whole child and through family programming.

Opportunity Today

Opportunity Early Childhood Education & Family Center offers a comprehensive nationally accredited program of school readiness training, fine and performing arts, recreation, health and nutrition, social development and field trips. Each program is specifically designed to prepare our children to begin kindergarten on an equal footing with their higher income classmates. 

Opportunity is rated four stars by Charity Navigator, it is accredited by the National Accreditation Commission, has received the Gold Seal of School Excellence from the Florida Department of Children and Families and is a Strong Minds Network Provider through the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County. Opportunity employs fully certified preschool teachers who are required to pursue continued education in early childhood development.

Since its founding in 1939 Opportunity has expanded its mission of offering low cost, quality preschool child care to include support services for families. We currently serve 96 children and their families.  There are more than 300 children on the waiting list.

Volunteer

Volunteer Opportunities:

Academic

• One on one tutors
• Classroom support – Assist teachers with setting up and implementing activities such as singing, playing, and reading. 
• Volunteer hours 8:00 – 11:30 and 2:30 – 5:00 pm 

 Enrichment

• Gardening
• Sports – Exercise/Outdoor Play/Field Trips
• Music
• Dance
• Visual Arts

Educating Children

Opportunity Early Childhood Education & Family Center offers a comprehensive program of school-readiness training, fine and performing arts, recreation, health and nutrition, social development and field-trip enrichment specifically designed to prepare at-risk children to begin public school on equal footing with their classmates.

We are:

Accredited by: The National Accreditation Commission (NAC)

Recognized as: Gold Seal School of Excellence by the Florida Department of Children & Families

Strong Minds Network Provider: Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County

Pre-kindergarten training can change a child’s life. Children who have completed high quality pre-schools demonstrate greater academic and social competence during their academic careers than those who have been deprived of the experience. 

Opportunity’s outstanding early education programs provide economically disadvantaged parents the ability to make the most of their children’s immense learning potential during their formative, pre-school years. The Opportunity program enables the children to be well prepared for entry into Kindergarten, and provides a foundation for success in school and ultimately in life.

Studies* show that children who attend a high quality preschool:

• Spend 1.3 fewer years in special education classes.
• Are twice as likely to have positive relationships with their families. 
• Have a 44% higher high school graduation rate.
• Produce 50% fewer teen pregnancies.
• Are 46% less likely to serve time in prison.
  Source: http://evidencebasedprograms.org/wordpress/?page_id=65

By providing excellence in education, a professional, nurturing and caring staff, as well as an environment conducive to learning through discovery and creativity, Opportunity’s children are prepared for a lifetime of positive learning.  Since 1939, we have provided thousands of children in our community the benefit of learning, laughter and hope.

For more information, please click here.

Mission

To prevent drowning, non-fatal and other water-related incidents in Palm Beach County by educating residents on water safety and basic rescue techniques.

The number one cause of drowning in both Palm Beach County and the U.S. is Unsupervised Water Activity.

Seniors have the highest drowning rate in Palm Beach County*.
    * based on population
    * Source: Palm Beach County Medical Examiner records and the Office of Economic and Demographic Research

About Us

The Drowning Prevention Coalition was established in 1996 to reduce drowning, near-drowning and other water-related incidents by educating the public on water safety and basic rescue techniques.

The DPC is a primary resource for all Palm Beach County residents’ and visitors’ water safety needs. We offer information about local pools, layers of protection, swim instruction and life guarded areas.

The DPC is committed to extending the reach of our water safety educational initiatives through services provided to our residents. These services include, but are not limited to: education, providing free swimming lessons to qualified families and guiding groups and special needs programs to area swimming lessons.

Services We Provide:

• Education: Organizations, educational programs, facilities, and summer camps can schedule an interactive water safety program for their participants. Activities are age appropriate and may include life jacket relay races, water safety bingo, stories, crafts and more. All activities are available at no cost and are conducted at the organization site. Programs are land-based.
• Drowning Prevention Swim Bucks/Vouchers: Please visit How to Apply to see if your child(ren) qualify for the program. To find affordable lessons in your area, visit the swim lessons section.

Volunteer Opportunities

The continued success of the DPC remains dependent upon the energy and dedication of our Volunteers.

Call us at 561.616.7068 or email us at astewart@pbcgov.org to learn more about contributing your skills and experience to the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County.

Volunteer Activities

• Certified swim instructors are invited to volunteer their time to work with children and adults teaching swimming skills.
• Like to meet new people? Join us in our educational efforts by Volunteering to distribute educational materials to our residents at special events.
• Volunteers assist us in organizing materials and performing various administrative duties.

For more information, click here.