Quantum Foundation awards $750,000 to grassroots nonprofits
Palm Beach County organizations receive funds for basic needs
RIVIERA BEACH, Florida: Quantum Foundation recently hosted a celebratory breakfast at the Riviera Beach Marina to award grants totaling $750,000 to 94 grassroots organizations in Palm Beach County. In the season of Thanksgiving, the annual Quantum in the Community initiative provides funds for operating support in amounts up to $25,000 to qualifying nonprofits that help meet the basic needs of the county’s most vulnerable residents. The grantee organizations represented all four corners of the county, from Tequesta to Boca Raton and from Belle Glade to Riviera Beach. The atmosphere was spirited and filled with gratitude as these organizations received funds to continue their good work in the community.
“Health is our mission, but we realize that if people don’t have food, shelter or basic needs to start with, it’s impossible for them to lead healthy lives,” said Quantum Foundation President Eric M. Kelly. “We are proud to continue to support such an excellent group of organizations, and are inspired by what they do every day on very limited budgets.”
Quantum Foundation is a private grantmaking organization with a mission to inspire and fund initiatives that improve the health of Palm Beach County. According to the latest data compiled by the Florida Philanthropic Network (FPN), Quantum Foundation is the largest Palm Beach County-based health funder with 100% of grant dollars used to support local communities. Since its founding in 1997, Quantum Foundation has given away more than $125 million in grants to more than 450 organizations.
During the breakfast, a few of the grant recipients were invited to address the gathering to share how the funding would impact their organization. Representatives from Lighthouse Café, Our Sisters Place, and Wheels for Kids shared how their organizations help the community. “I came from addiction, and I didn’t know where my next meal was going to come from,” said Bernard Robinson, a client of Lighthouse Café. “Lighthouse Café helped me get into rehab. I’ve been clean eight years now, and the Lighthouse has blessed me with a nice job. Now, I volunteer there on my days off to give back what they gave me.”
Many of these organizations heavily rely on this funding. “As grassroots programs, we don’t always get the recognition we deserve, so thank you to Quantum Foundation for recognizing us,” said Jane Riley from Our Sister’s Place. This organization regularly changes lives. “When you’re told you’re nothing, you feel like a ghost on the wall,” said Anna, a client of Our Sister’s Place. “The organization helped me find my voice, which is pretty awesome. I will be ever-thankful. I had no job and no money, and Jane helped me gain the courage to be myself.”
Donna Mulholland, Quantum’s Board Chair, noted the more than $15 million in estimated value of services provided in 2016 by grantees in Palm Beach County. “We congratulate you and celebrate you, and it’s important to recognize that most of you are volunteers,” Mulholland said. “You have truly improved the quality of life in Palm Beach County.”
Applications for Quantum in the Community grants open in the spring every year and funds are awarded each November. To qualify, applicant organizations must be based in Palm Beach County and have annual operating budget of less than $500,000. The board of Quantum Foundation approved the Quantum in the Community initiative in 2011 when economic surveys showed local nonprofits were to struggling to keep their doors open in the troubled economy. Since then, the Quantum Foundation has awarded a total of $4.75 million to this initiative in addition to the millions it invests each year in other major health-related initiatives.
To learn more about the Quantum in the Community initiative, please visit the organization’s website at: www.quantumfnd.org/quantum-in-the-community
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2017 Quantum in the Community Grantees (in alphabetical order)
• A&A Workforce, Inc., West Palm Beach
• AHOP A Way Community Outreach, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Alliance Primitive Ministries, Inc., Delray Beach
• Alpha Omega Alliance, Inc., Riviera Beach
• Angel Flight Southeast, West Palm Beach
• Arms of Hope Community, Lake Worth
• Back to Basics, Wellington
• Balanced Living Mentorship, Pahokee
• Bella’s Angels, Jupiter
• Big Heart Brigade, Jupiter
• Brown Bag Ministry, Lantana
• Caps of Love, Inc., Lake Worth
• Care With Dignity, West Palm Beach
• Children and Family Charity, Inc., Riviera Beach
• Church of the Harvest, Pahokee
• Cityhouse Delray Beach, Inc., Delray Beach
• Club 100 Charities, West Palm Beach
• Community Outreach Foundation Mission, Delray Beach
• Cornerstone Recovery Enrichment Center, Riviera Beach
• Derrick Dean Wagner Memorial Foundation, Palm Beach Gardens
• Do Right Church of Jesus Christ, God & The Holy Ghost, West Palm Beach
• Dot and Ruby Helping Hand, Belle Glade
• Dress for Success Palm Beaches, Inc., Lantana
• Eglise Chretienne de la Porte Etroite, Inc., Greenacres
• Eglise de Dieu Agape, Boynton Beach
• Estella’s Brilliant Bus, West Palm Beach
• Extended Hands Community Outreach, West Palm Beach
• Family Promise North/Central Palm Beach County, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Family Promise of South Palm Beach County, Delray Beach
• Feeding the Hungry, Inc., West Palm Beach
• First Baptist Church of Greenacres, Greenacres
• First Baptist Church of Lantana, Lantana
• Four Corners of Faith, Inc., Riviera Beach
• God’s Stone Tabernacle Ministries, Inc., Riviera Beach
• Good Samaritan Alliance Church of Boynton Beach, Inc., Boynton Beach
• Hands of Love Community Development Center, West Palm Beach
• Hands Together of The Palm Beaches, North Palm Beach
• Hannah’s Home of South Florida, Inc., Tequesta
• Heart of God Missions International, Lake Park
• Heart, Health, & Healing Ministries, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Helping Hands Assistance Program, Greenacres
• Hepzibah House, Boynton Beach
• Holy Ground, Riviera Beach
• Hope 360 Community Resource Center, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Jethro Community Learning and Resource Center, West Palm Beach
• Joint Mission, Inc., Lake Park
• Ladies of Futurity, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Light House Café Ministries of the Glades, Inc., Pahokee
• Little Smiles, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Live Fresh, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Love Boca Outreach Ministries, Boca Raton
• M&S Community Stars of Performing Arts and Academics, Inc., Boynton Beach
• Marie Louise Community Foundation, Inc., Boynton Beach
• MCC of The Palm Beaches, Palm Beach Gardens
• My Own Home Project, Inc., West Palm Beach
• National Addiction Treatment Center Alliance, Greenacres
• National Council of Jewish Women, Palm Beach Section, Greenacres
• New Alliance Ministries, Boynton Beach
• New Beginning Community Outreach, Belle Glade
• Next Generations of Holocaust Survivors, Inc., Boynton Beach
• Oasis Compassion Agency, Inc., Greenacres
• Our Planet, Inc., Boca Raton
• Our Sister’s Place, Inc., Tequesta
• Pahokee Deliverance Christian Center, Pahokee
• Philadelphia Church of God of the New Testament, Inc., Delray Beach
• Propel, Boca Raton
• Redemptive Live Urban Initiative Corp AKA Redemptive Life Fellowship, West Palm Beach
• Renewed Deliverance Christian Ministry, Inc., Lake Park
• Restoration Bridge International, Lake Worth
• Riviera Beach Community Outreach, Inc., Riviera Beach
• Sojourners With Healing Hearts, Inc., West Palm Beach
• South Florida Sanctuary, Inc., Lake Worth
• Speak Up For Kids Palm Beach County, Inc., West Palm Beach
• St. George’s Center, Inc., Riviera Beach
• St. Vincent De Paul of St. Peter, Jupiter
• Street Beat, Inc., South Bay
• Suits for Seniors, Inc., Cocoa
• Sweet Dream Makers, Boca Raton
• Sweets Foundation, West Palm Beach
• Tepeyac Mission, Inc., Palm Beach Gardens
• The Cole Preston Foundation, Lake Worth
• The Jacob Zweig Foundation, Inc,. D/B/A In Jacob’s Shoes, Margate
• The Open Door Mentoring for Teen Mothers, Inc., Palm Beach Gardens
• The Phoenix Mission, Lake Worth
• The Pink Queen Foundation, West Palm Beach
• The Valley of Love Ministries, Inc., Riviera Beach
• Thrive for a Change of The Palm Beaches, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Village Baptist Church, West Palm Beach
• Vital Flight, Inc., Jupiter
• Wellington Cares, Wellington
• West Palm Beach Rotary Club Charity Fund, Inc., West Palm Beach
• Wheels For Kids, West Palm Beach
• Wheels From The Heart, Delray
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