Turn Your Passion into Action
The concept of a community foundation actually dates back to Cleveland, Ohio, when a local banker, Frederick Goff, became frustrated with managing many small, specific charitable trusts. His vision of a single managed fund allowed local citizens to combine their investments and address current and future community needs, with oversight from an independent committee. Though this model dates back over a century, today’s community foundations continue to adhere to that original vision—focus from the community on the community, bringing together diverse passions to address local opportunities and challenges.
The roots of our North Central Florida community foundation grew out of a conversation
between local leaders. In 1997, members of the financial professional’s Estate Planning
Council of North Central Florida began talking about establishing a community foundation here.
By 1998, the group, known as the Community Foundation of
Gainesville, was recognized by the IRS, but the going was tough. A volunteer board
worked hard to spread the word about the Community Foundation, and small funds kept
the effort going. But it took until 2002 for that hard work to really pay off, when Robert
Cade, the inventor of Gatorade, made the Foundation’s first major gift, establishing the
Cade Family Fund and providing for the Foundation’s first paid staff, a part-time
executive director.
By 2006, the Community Foundation of Gainesville had grown to a point where it could
afford to hire a full-time president and CEO, Barzella Papa, and another staffer. When
Papa joined the foundation, it had between $4 million and $5 million in assets and made
about half a million dollars in grants each year.
By 2010, the foundation’s grantmaking passed the $1 million mark. In 2012, a name-
change to The Community Foundation of North Central Florida signified the
Foundation’s growing reach in our region. In 2013, local advocate Nancy Perry gifted
the organization a building to aid in its vision of being a philanthropic hub for North
Central Florida.
CFNCF celebrated its 25 th anniversary in 2023. As it was from the very start, local
people from all walks of life—individuals, families, groups of friends, neighborhoods,
businesses and nonprofits—continue to turn their passions into action by entrusting our
Foundation with their gifts to support our community’s needs.
A 21-member Board of Directors and a dedicated staff of 4 guide CFNCF, which
currently has more than $27 million in funds under management and has awarded more
than $50 million in grants throughout our community since its founding.
With gratitude to the Founding Board Members, whose passion and persistence started
it all:
Email: office@cfncf.org
Phone: (352) 367-0060
Fax: (352) 378-1718
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