Endowment Partner Spotlight: Laura Riding Jackson Foundation
The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that is dedicated to preserving the author’s home and nurturing local writers of all ages. The mission of the LRJF is to serve as the “Literary Heart of Indian River County.” To this end, the Foundation offers writing groups for all ages, writing workshops, and two major fundraisers.
The organization celebrates the legacy of Laura (Riding) Jackson, a resident of Indian River County for the last fifty-years of her life. She was a poet, writer, and publisher working with such notables as Robert Graves, Poet Laureate of England, and The Fugitive Poets at Vanderbilt University. She is buried in the Winter Beach Cemetery next to her husband, Schuyler Jackson, former Time magazine critic. The LRJ Foundation owns Laura’s home, a fine example of 1910 Florida Vernacular Architecture, often referred to as a “Cracker house” as early Florida cowboys built in this style. The home is located at the Vero Beach Mueller Campus of Indian River State College and is open to the public November through April. It is surrounded by a Florida friendly-garden which offers the community a place of native beauty and solace for reflection, reading, or writing.
The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation invites the public to participate in 2025-2026 in their community-wide Intergenerational Writing Project: Wisdom and Wonder. These two simple, yet magical, words quickly capture our imaginations. We often associate wisdom with aging, yet children can share wisdom which astounds us. Wonder is the trigger for awe and amazement in nature, in words, in the arts, and in life. LRJF invites two people, at least one of whom is an Indian River County resident, and who are at least fifteen years different in age, to spend some time together doing something you can share: a walk on the beach, a visit to a museum, a conversation in person or through technology. Anything that sparks your interest and about which you can jointly write a story, a poem, a cartoon, anything that conveys the experience you shared. LRJF will publish a book of selected writings and post others on their website. For more information, click here.
The Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation is also a part of our Endowment Partners Program (EPP). The purpose of the EPP is to help local charities plan for their long-term sustainability by growing a permanent endowment fund. During a 12-month program, participants learn about endowments, planned giving, investment management and marketing solutions that inspire loyal donors to make planned gifts from their estates. The program is coordinated by IRCF team member Yamilet Cendejas.
To make a donation to LRJF, click here. Donations can also be made through your donor-advised fund by logging into My Fund or by contacting a member of our team at 772.492.1407 or donorservices@ircommunityfoundation.org.