Lasting contribution

The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties has been in existence for more than 35 years, creating lasting value for its communities with permanent endowment now totaling more than $100 million. Founded in 1972, the foundation builds endowment funds to benefit communities in perpetuity. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded approximately $68 million in grant awards to communities and organizations in the areas of Arts and Culture, Community Initiatives, Community/ Economic Development, Education, the Environment, Health and Human Services, Human and Race Relations and Intergenerational Programs. It has a staff of 11.

By the numbers

Palm Beach County is Florida’s wealthiest county. In 2004, the median age in Palm Beach County was 41.7 years, significantly older than the U.S. median of 36.2 years. That makes the county the 11th oldest in the nation among the largest counties. Adjacent to the north is Martin County. Approximately 42 percent of the adults in Martin County are retired, while 32 percent of residents in Palm Beach County are retired. An estimated 16 percent of the Martin County households consist of someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. In Palm Beach County, 49 percent of those who are employed report volunteering at least once, compared with just 32 percent who are retired.

The foundation provides a “meeting ground” for assessing opportunities and best practices. It also serves as a center of learning to advance more effective efforts to engage older adults and young people in community life.

— Leslie Lilly, President and CEO

For more information Community

Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
Leslie Lilly, President and CEO
561-659-6800
Jillian Vukusich, Senior Program Officer
561-659-6800

Generation connection

The overall aging of the region’s population is a matter of deep public concern. In 2006, 74 percent of Palm Beach County residents and 62 percent of Martin County residents noted that providing services to the elderly is a top priority in the region. The transient nature of the communities has created barriers to ongoing community activism, as many of the seasonal residents feel that South Florida is their second home. With the area’s greater than usual percentage of retirees, volunteerism is a means through which older adults may become engaged in the community, regardless if they do not reside in Florida full-time. Significant opportunity exists to increase rates of volunteerism among older adults.

Building community through civic engagement

The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties is building on the older generation’s incredible wealth of knowledge and experience as a means to both teach and learn intergenerationally. There is a mutual benefit: civic engagement is a learned practice, and, by example, an older generation can pass on knowledge to younger generations while also gaining insight into the legacy of its own work. The Community Experience Partnership (CEP) provides an opportunity for the foundation to work with partners and other stakeholders in proactively leading, planning and developing community initiatives that incorporate a multi-generational approach to civic engagement.

The foundation’s goal is to strengthen knowledge and understanding of the issues affecting the engagement of older adults in civic affairs. The work also seeks to improve the ways and means through which present investment and capacity in intergenerational programs are increased and leveraged for greater community benefit.

The foundation provides a “meeting ground” for assessing opportunities and best practices. It also serves as a center of learning to advance more effective efforts to engage older adults and young people in community life. The programmatic objectives of the foundation’s research and community assessment process include:

Conducting an environmental scan of agencies and organizations serving older adults, including those having the potential to include young people in civic service.
Identifying community needs and issues which would be most appropriately served by programs involving young people and older adults.
Assessing community interest in the issues of civic engagement of older adults and young people, including the potential for collaborative funding of joint projects.
Identifying the competencies and skills required to effectively manage and implement intergenerational programs.
Assessing know-how, experience and knowledge of area older adults and developing program strategies to align opportunities with needs for civic engagement.
Ensuring culturally appropriate strategies that are sensitive to issues of difference across race, class, and background, in order to help break down barriers and encourage cooperation and collaboration among older adults and young people who may be involved as participants separately and/or together.

The foundation’s community assessment aims to identify and assess existing opportunities and future needs through several methods:

Focus groups

These groups are being utilized to gauge current participation rate, barriers to and interests in civic engagement. These focus groups bring together service providers from throughout the foundation’s service area which have a special interest or prior experience intentionally utilizing intergenerational strategies as a method for fostering civic engagement opportunities.

Electronic survey

An electronic survey is disseminated and information collected from the foundation’s database of area nonprofits. The survey’s aim is to measure existing civic engagement opportunities in area nonprofits.

Convenings

Elderly and youth service providers are being brought together to discuss current efforts, existing needs, barriers and rewards of intergenerational collaboration. Potential participants include leaders from area nonprofit agencies, including local funders. The foundation is disseminating results of the findings to the community at-large through a variety of printed and electronic publications.