A Statewide Collaboration with the Community Foundation of Jacksonville & Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice

1. A Statewide Collaboration with the Community Foundation of Jacksonville & Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice

2. Florida BRAIVE Fund - Purpose To assist Florida’s active and former military personnel – and their families - who are serving or have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, the community foundations have established: • A collaborative initiative of 3 of Florida’s largest community foundations to work at a state, regional and local level • Philanthropic grants programs to support nonprofits addressing needs and challenges troops, veterans and their families face as a result of deployment

3. Florida BRAIVE Fund - Background • California Community Foundation created IADIF - the Iraq / Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund • a response to a multitude of unmet needs arising among military service men and women and their families as a direct result of their deployment related to the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) campaigns • Awarded $15 million to the Florida initiative as a two-year grant from September 2008 to August 2010 • $5 Million each to Dade Community Foundation, Community Foundation in Jacksonville, Gulf Coast Community Foundation • Donor’s intent: • Meet unmet needs • Provide services quickly

4. Southeast Florida – Dade Community Foundation Central Florida – Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice North Florida –Community Foundation of Jacksonville Florida BRAIVE Fund – Florida Regions

5. Florida BRAIVE Fund – Florida Regions

6. Florida BRAIVE Fund – Target Population • Families of military personnel deployed, or preparing for deployment within 120 days, to Afghanistan or Iraq • Military personnel recently returning from deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq and their families • Military personnel injured as a result of deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq and their families • Families of those killed in action during deployment to or training in Afghanistan or Iraq • Individual augmentees or others deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan without a typical support structure - and their families

7. Florida BRAIVE Fund – Statewide vs. Local • Statewide Work: • Joint website with local links – www.floridabraive.org • Similar application and reporting formats • Collaboration on funding of statewide proposals • On-going coordination through bi-weekly conference calls • Local Work: • Local research and outreach • Local Advisors to help establish priorities and inform grantmaking • Local grants programs and processes

8. Dade Community Foundation – Main Elements • GRANTMAKING: award grants to support services in Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward, Palm Beach & Martin Counties – and statewide proposals as appropriate • INFORMATION SHARING NETWORK: develop a broad base of organizational contacts to help the Foundation - and other groups – with information sharing and outreach • COMMUNITY RESOURCE DIRECTORY: work with existing organizations to create/keep current public directories of community services available • EDUCATION & AWARENESS: raise awareness about the initiative, the issues it seeks to address and the work of grantees • CONVENINGS: facilitate gatherings of grantees and other organizations for sharing and learning

9. BRAIVE Fund - Dade Community Foundation • Roll Out Strategy: • First outreach and grants awarded in Miami-Dade/Monroe counties • Outreach to Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties • Additional RFP for all counties fall 2009 to address service gaps • Partner with local funders, community foundations and other local contacts to ensure effective outreach • 2008: Research and Groundwork Completed • Outreach to military community and service providers • Research the needs of military and families • Convene Advisory Committee to help establish priorities • Develop Request for Proposals for Miami-Dade & Monroe

10. BRAIVE Fund - Dade Community Foundation • 2009: Grantmaking • Awarded Anchor Grant to American Red Cross to manage financial/emergency assistance fund for Southeast Region in collaboration with other direct services providers • Awarded state collaborative grant to Florida National Guard Foundation to support an Emergency Relief Fund and re-integration assistance • Awarded Anchor Grant to Concept House for collaboration with Miami Vet Center creating “Operation Veterans Link Up – an integrated and coordinated approach for addressing re-adjustment needs of OEF/OIF veterans and families • Released RFP for Miami-Dade/Monroe counties in March; received 31 proposals and awarded grant to 8 groups in May

11. BRAIVE Fund - Dade Community Foundation 2009: Grantmaking (continued) Completed research and assessment for Broward, Palm Beach & Martin counties Released RFP for these counties in late April Received and reviewing 22 proposals by June 8 deadline with target award date of end of July Anticipate repeating the cycle of grantmaking in South Florida counties beginning fall of 2009 11

12. Florida BRAIVE Fund – SE Region Priorities • Home care while a family member is deployed to address issues such as basic and emergency needs, caregiver respite and child care • Counseling, support groups and peer support for individual and family needs related to Mental Health, Family Matters, Bereavement, and Substance Abuse • Re-entry and re-integration support, assistance and activities (e.g. weekend retreats) for returning military personnel and their families • Improving access to information about available services and access to services themselves

13. Florida BRAIVE Fund – SE Region Priorities • Financial counseling, education and links to emergency financial assistance (The Foundation has awarded a grant to the American Red Cross to manage this pool of funds, which will be accessible as a resource to other service providers) • Support and services for dependent children related to personal and educational needs • Civilian Employment and Career Services and Support • Services and support for injured and disabled veterans that can fill gaps in services or connect them with existing services • Other needs identified locally

14. IADIF - The Texas Experience • The TRIAD Fund: Statewide collaborative of 3 Community Foundations (Dallas, San Antonio, Permian Basin) started in early 2007 • Initial grant in 2007 of $5 Million to each • Dallas and San Antonio renewed for $7.5 Million each in late 2008 • Research included direct outreach to military community and survey of military personnel • Advisory committees at each of the 3 foundations established priorities based on research

15. IADIF - Lessons from Texas • Tension between providing services quickly and meeting unmet needs/reaching unserved or underserved population • Difficulty of outreach – not an “if you build it, they will come” situation • Important to consider on the front end what groundwork is needed to make grants successful • Important to have neutral process and Advisory Committee For more information, visit: www.triadfund.org

16. Florida BRAIVE Fund – How You Can Help • Provide services and support as a grantee • Educate your organization about the culture of combat experience and how that affects effective service delivery • Be part of helping us foster connections and information sharing about available resources and opportunities - e.g. funding opportunities, funded programs and services, the efforts of others to support our troops, veterans and families • Add Dade Community Foundation to your distribution list for information about news and events • Contact the Foundation to ensure you are on our distribution list

17. Florida BRAIVE Fund Contacts Dade Community Foundation Charisse Grant, Vice President for Program 305-371-2711 Charisse.grant@dadecommunityfoundation.org Program Managers Jean S. Logan, Strategic Partners (305) 940-7404 or (305)343-2492 jean@strategicpartners-fl.com www.floridabraive.org