The Tallahassee-based Community Foundation of North Florida has received a $2.5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to endow a fund that will provide grants to nonprofit agencies in the ten north Florida counties served by the foundation, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.

The community foundation, which received the grant after reaching $5 million in charitable assets, a benchmark required by the Miami-based Knight Foundation, will award grants in the amount of $1,000 to $5,000 to nonprofit organizations that work in one of Knight's six areas of interest: education, housing/community development, children/families, economic development, civic engagement, and culture. The new fund is expected to generate about $175,000 a year.

"It's very exciting to reach this milestone for our community," said Community Foundation of North Florida executive director Joy Watkins. "In the community foundation world, when you approach $10 million in assets, it seems to take off and attract a lot of philanthropists who want to use us as a vehicle for giving in their community."