Moonshot Moment, Landing Page

About

Our Initiatives

In addition to carrying out donor-advised grantmaking in service of our clients, the Community Foundation engages in activities to meet the most pressing needs of vulnerable children, adults and seniors in our community. Currently, the Community Foundation supports policy, proven programs, promising practices and ideas for collaborative innovation to advance the following initiatives:

Education

Literacy and The Moonshot Moment

The prosperity of a community is inextricably linked with its literacy. For this reason, Indian River Community Foundation is a proud supporter of the Moonshot Moment, a broad-based community partnership focused on a critical goal: to have 90% of all students in the School District of Indian River County reading on grade level by 2018. We have provided guidance and over $1 million in grant funding to several local nonprofit organizations to provide: 

  • Summer and after-school programs that give students the catch-up tutoring and enrichment needed to stop summer learning loss 
  • Teacher professional development to build knowledge and skills needed to teach reading 
  • Pre-kindergarten readiness programs to ensure our children enter school ready to learn 

Learn more about the Moonshot Moment, including progress updates and how to apply for a grant.

Nonprofit Strengthening and Sustainability

Indian River Community Foundation believes that a healthy nonprofit sector is essential to the overall quality of life in our Indian River County community. In spite of a long history of giving back by area residents, however, Indian River County’s nonprofit sector is a rather fragile financial position. Of the 185 nonprofit charitable organizations that filed a tax return in 2014, just 10 percent held more than 12 months on their balance sheets. Transfer of Wealth in Indian River County was issued by Indian River Community Foundation in 2015, and proves that capital is available to grow philanthropy here and sustain our charitable institutions. The Community Foundation’s nonprofit strengthening and sustainability initiative consists of the following programs: 

  • Jumpstart Fundraising — This partnership between the Community Foundation, Network for Good and local charities provides digital technology, education and coaching with a goal of increasing online donations and improving each organization’s capacity to raise more unrestricted dollars in support of their charitable missions. 
  • Endowment Partners Program — The purpose of the Endowment Partners Program is to help local charities plan for long-term sustainability by growing a permanent endowment fund. During a 12-month program, participants learn about endowments, planned giving, investments, and marketing solutions with a goal of establishing endowments that will grow from prudent investment management and planned gifts. The program is coordinated by Indian River Community Foundation Director of Philanthropy, Yamilet Cendejas, with support from President and CEO, Jeff Pickering.
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