Arizona

The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona has announced Gabrielle Ficchi and Sydney Rice as the recipients of the 2023 Diane Lynn Anderson Memorial Award. Established in 1990, the award honors individuals in southern Arizona who exemplify active acceptance, respect, compassion, devotion, and caring for people with disabilities. Ficchi, who identifies as disabled, is a licensed therapist as well as a certified rehabilitation counselor working to bring mental health services to the disability community. Rice is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician who has spent her career caring for children in Arizona with disabilities, including seeing those with autism, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, brain injury, preterm birth, and early drug exposure.

Florida

The LGBTQ+ Social Justice & Equity Funders Collaborative, a collaboration between the Our Fund Foundation and the Fort Lauderdale-based Community Foundation of Broward, awarded grants totaling $250,000 to eight nonprofit organizations in support of efforts to ensure social equity and the civil liberties of LGBTQ+ residents of Broward County. Formed in 2022 by the two foundations with the goal of creating a more informed and empathetic environment for the LGBTQ+ population, the partnership combines critical philanthropic resources and expertise for the benefit of the LGBTQ+ community and all residents. Recipients include Equality Florida, Barry University, the Museum of Discovery and Science, and the Ujima Men’s Collective.

Iowa

The Audubon County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Omaha Community Foundation, has awarded $140,936 to Audubon County nonprofits and community projects during its spring 2023 grant cycle. Recipients include the Audubon County Historical Society, Audubon Recreation Foundation, Brayton Fire Department, and Friendship Home.

Louisiana

The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) has announced a partnership with the Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans (EPNO) that will help strengthen and sustain a program to nurture southeast Louisiana’s next generation of philanthropists. EPNO uses a giving circle model to bring together individuals to effect changes in their communities by learning and giving together. A 50-person class is divided into five groups, each dedicated to one focus area: housing, health, environment and sustainability, arts and culture, and human rights and justice. Class members also attend a series of educational sessions, with topics such as Grantmaking 101, and learn from expert guest speakers from the community. Over the past 15 years, more than 475 alumni have gone through the EPNO program, which was created at GNOF in 2008.

Massachusetts

The Cambridge Community Foundation has announced grants totaling $519,000 to 71 community-based organizations. Recipients include Lovin’ Spoonfuls, the Outdoor Church of Cambridge, Cradles to Crayons, and the Asian American Playwright Collective.

New Jersey

The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF), in partnership with Greater Bergen Community Action and the City of Hackensack, has announced a matching grant of $75,000 from Partners for Places, a project of the Funders Network. The grant will support development of the Green Infrastructure for Environmental Justice and Flood Mitigation project, which will be implemented in Hackensack. NNJCF’s Climate Action Mobilization Project initiative will lead the project and engage community members in an environmental justice initiative designed to address stormwater flooding and install green infrastructure on public and private lands.

North Carolina

The Winston-Salem Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2023 Forsyth County Teacher Grants, which bolster professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Forty-seven teachers will receive a total of more than $86,000 to improve their teaching ability and enhance the subject or content being taught in the classroom.

Ohio

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation has announced the additions of three new members to its governing board. Keith Dailey is group vice president of corporate affairs for the Kroger Co. and serves as president of the Kroger Co. Foundation. Nirvani Head is a longtime banking professional and serves on multiple Cincinnati-area arts groups and human service organizations. And Jen Stein co-founded Asset Performance Partners, an institutional investment consulting firm, where she advised foundations, endowments, and other nonprofit organizations regarding strategic asset allocation, investment manager selection, and performance evaluation.

South Carolina

The Community Foundation of the Lowcountry has announced that David Martin, owner of Hilton Head’s Piggly Wiggly grocery store, is the winner of the inaugural Joan and Wade Webster Community Impact Award. In recognition of his work with Lowcountry Alliance for Healthy Youth, which aims to identify and implement strategies that promote positive youth development by addressing substance use/abuse and related risk behaviors, Martin received a crystal memento along with a $10,000 grant to distribute to nonprofits based in the foundation’s service area of Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties.

Washington, D.C.

The Greater Washington Community Foundation has announced that it is partnering with the Developing Families Center to launch the Developing Families Maternal Health Fund, a $5 million investment supporting life-saving maternal health efforts. The announcement was made ahead of Black Maternal Health Week, a national campaign to raise awareness around maternal health outcomes for women of color, especially Black women.

Wisconsin

The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region in Appleton has announced the addition of Stacie Hazlett-Rothe as communication and outreach specialist for its Women’s Fund for the Fox Valley Region. Hazlett-Rothe is responsible for external communication efforts, developing marketing materials, event planning, and assisting other members of the staff.