{"id":11741,"date":"2014-11-24T15:16:55","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T20:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/?p=11741"},"modified":"2014-11-24T15:16:55","modified_gmt":"2014-11-24T20:16:55","slug":"southwest-florida-community-foundation-holds-three-cause-fest-events-for-community-bonita-springs-community-fund-presents-20000-in-grants-during-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/2014\/11\/24\/southwest-florida-community-foundation-holds-three-cause-fest-events-for-community-bonita-springs-community-fund-presents-20000-in-grants-during-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Southwest Florida Community Foundation holds three Cause Fest events for community; Bonita Springs Community Fund presents $20,000 in grants during event"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

FORT MYERS, Fla. (Nov. 24, 2014) \u2013 As part of its annual celebration, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation<\/a> expressed thanks to its supporters and friends during a series of three-night Cause Fest events held Nov. 10 to 13. To emphasize the Foundation\u2019s regional reach, the events were held at different locations during subsequent nights including the Big Arts\u00a0Herb Strauss Theater\u00a0on Sanibel Island, the\u00a0new Harley Davidson Six Bends in Fort Myers and Shangri-La Hotel in Bonita Springs.<\/p>\n

With a theme based on the power of \u2018we\u2019 and working together to achieve greater results, the Cause Fest events included a cocktail reception where attendees were invited to decorate their lanyards with \u2018passion buttons,\u2019 choosing from the Foundation\u2019s five areas of philanthropy \u2013 animals, education, people (human services), the environment and the arts \u2013 as well as additional causes like healthcare, water and hunger. Renown classical Cellist Ian Maksin and Guitarist Gabriel Datcu covered classical rock favorites during the reception. Guests were later entertained by poet, playwright and NPR host Al Letson who performed a 90-minute piece, including monologue, song, poetry and multimedia, about the perceptions about race and class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese three nights of gratitude were a way for us to reach out and express thanks to our many supporters in Southwest Florida who continue to give in so many ways to make our region stronger,\u201d said Sarah Owen, president and CEO of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. \u201cBecause of their philanthropy and advocacy for their favorite causes, our donors, partners and friends are an important part of something larger in the community where collectively, we join together to solve issues and come together around challenges in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three local nonprofits were also awarded grants from the Bonita Springs Community Fund, a fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, during the Cause Fest event at Shangri-La in Bonita Springs. New Horizons\u2019 Emergency Fund was awarded $5,000 to support helping at-risk children and teens who are growing up in an environment of poverty, academic failure and hopelessness;\u00a0the Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs\u2019 Youth Arts Program received $5,000 to support its work enhancing youth development to reduce juvenile delinquency and related problem behaviors through visual and performing-arts programs; and the Literacy Council Gulf Coast\u2019s Mom & Tots Program was awarded $10,000 for technology upgrades and iPads to give\u00a0mothers and their preschool-aged children the\u00a0opportunity to learn\u00a0basic English-language skills\u00a0to improve their situations.<\/p>\n

During its 2014 fiscal year, the Community Foundation granted $2.8 million to nonprofit organizations supporting animal welfare, education, human services, the environment and the arts.<\/p>\n

The event was complimentary and by invitation only.<\/p>\n

As leaders, conveners, grant makers and concierges of philanthropy, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation is a foundation built on community leadership with an inspired history of fostering regional change for the common good in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. The Community Foundation, founded in 1976, connects donors and their philanthropic aspirations with evolving community needs. With assets of more than $80 million, the Community Foundation has provided more than $60 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves. Last year, the Foundation granted more than $2.8 million to nonprofit organizations supporting education, animal welfare, arts, healthcare and human services. The Foundation granted $782,000 in nonprofit grants including more than $400,000 in regional community impact grants and additional $450,000 in scholarship grants.<\/p>\n

For more information about the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, visit\u00a0www.floridacommunity.com<\/a>\u00a0or call 239-274-5900.<\/p>\n

Big Arts Herb Strauss Theater on Sanibel Island<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tessa LeSage and Joe Mazurkiewicz<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarah Owen, Al Letson, Larry and Debra Hobbs<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Melissa Congress and Debra Hobbs<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

John Talmage and Maggi Feiner<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jean Gilman, Nip Wilson, Shelia and Ed Thompson, Dorrie Hipschman and Joe Mazurkiewicz<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Daniela Jaeger, Carolyn Rogers and Friedrich Jaeger<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Colonel Rene Affourtit and Dawn-Marie Driscoll<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bruce Neill and Sarah Owen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bobby Logue with Kathy and Al Krause<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Barbara Yoemans and Maureen Cull<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anthony and Erin Montella<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ada Shissler, Robbie Roepstorff and Darla Letourneau<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Harley Davidson Six Bends in Fort Myers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Adriana and Scott White<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Al Letson and Sarah Owen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SWFLCF staff<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Steve and Ann Walling with Roman Lucky<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sharon and Brown Thompson<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kathryn Kelly with Caroline and Bill Bloomhall<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

John Sheppard and Marilyn Leland<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jay and Kim Haskins with Mary Fischer<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Holly and J.D. Leland<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ella Nayor, Jeff Cull and Carolyn Rogers<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dean Chavis and Scott Fischer<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dan Adair and Carolyn Conant<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Craig and Marty Folk<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Audrea Anderson and Charlotte Miller<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shangri-La in Bonita Springs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Bill and Sharon Riccio<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cindy and Keith Butterfield with Arden McCurdy<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ellen and Bob Nichols (New Horizons)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Guests picking out their passion buttons<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ian Maksin<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lucila Wing, Roger Caswell and Gay \u00a0Thompson<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Monique Ward<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Marge Allen and Margie Willis<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Hanson (Literacy Council)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ron Penn and Steve McIntosh<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarah Owen and Maribel Slabaugh<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shelley Anderson and Sarah Owen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Susan Bridges (Bonita Springs Performing Arts Center)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Waddy Ward and Dora Miller<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FORT MYERS, Fla. (Nov. 24, 2014) \u2013 As part of its annual celebration, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation expressed thanks to its supporters and friends during a series of three-night…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1],"tags":[3701,1582,139,140,3702,3703,3375,589,29,3704,3705,3706,3348,30,1923,3376,3377,100,59,3707,17,3708,1046,908,590,2020,672,1047,2348,1297,2882,366,591,19,21],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}