Commmunity Highlights

2023 Grants

The St. Joe Community Foundation (“Foundation”) approved grants totaling more than $5.39 million in 2023 to be paid to local non-profit organizations, the highest for a single year since its inception in 1999. Following the Foundation’s stated goal of enriching quality of life for the people who live, work and play in Northwest Florida, the Foundation provides grants to other local 501(C)(3) entities that strive to make a positive difference for the community to strengthen education, improve healthcare, support cultural arts, and protect the environment. By category, in 2023 The St. Joe Community Foundation’s grant awards included a total of more than $2.6 million for Education, $1.1 million for Healthcare, $521,000 for Cultural Arts, and $407,000 for Environmental programs. Examples of local non-profits receiving grants from the Foundation in 2023 include Bay Arts Alliance and the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County, Education Foundation for Bay District Schools, Walton Education Foundation for the Walton County School District, Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, Food for Thought, Emerald Coast Theatre Company, Alaqua Animal Refuge, Boys & Girls Club of the Emerald Coast, Special Olympics Florida, FSU Foundation, Gulf Coast State College Foundation, Florida State Parks Foundation, Guy Harvey Foundation, Angel House, and many others. (A full list of grant recipients can be found at www.joefoundation.com.)

2022 Grants

The St. Joe Community Foundation approved grants totaling more than $5.3 million in 2022 to be paid to local non-profit organizations, the highest for a single year since its inception in 1999. Following the Foundation’s stated goal of enriching quality of life for the people who live, work and play in Northwest Florida, the Foundation provides grants to other local 501(C)(3) entities that strive to make a positive difference for the community to strengthen education, improve healthcare, support cultural arts, and protect the environment. Also in 2022, students in Bay and Walton counties became the first recipients of “No Ordinary JOE” scholarships. Through the Bay and Walton County Education Foundations, scholarships ranging from $500 to $13,000 were awarded to deserving college-bound students at every public high school in Bay and Walton counties. Plans are in place to continue this scholarship program for local students for years to come. Other Foundation grants included $46,290 to the non-profit Food for Thought, for which the Foundation partnered with Walton County students for the “Read to Feed” program. To raise money through this grant, students determined the amount of the Foundation’s grant by the number of books they read and Accelerated Reader tests they passed. Additionally, $480,000 grant from the Foundation was used to buy specialized medical equipment for two different medical facilities to better serve the healthcare needs of the region, and more than $310,000 in granted funds were used to support art projects that beautified and culturally enriched areas of Bay and Walton counties. In total, the Foundation has now granted over $38 million since 1999 to 501(C)(3) organizations dedicated to making a positive difference in Northwest Florida.

2021 Grants

The St. Joe Community Foundation celebrates its biggest year of giving with more than $4.4 million in grants approved in 2021 and the creation of a new college scholarship program. The St. Joe Community Foundation (“Foundation”) has approved grants totaling more than $4.4 million in 2021 to be paid to local non-profit organizations, the highest for a single year since its inception in 1999. Additionally, the Foundation created the No Ordinary JOE Scholarship program which will provide scholarships to three students from every Bay and Walton County public high school beginning in 2022. The grants approved support local non-profit organizations working in the areas of education, environmental stewardship, healthcare and cultural arts with the goal of enriching the quality of life of the people who live, work and play in Northwest Florida. Of the grants approved in 2021, approximately $2.3 million is targeted to support educational opportunities. These awards include more than $300,000 each for equipment for Walton County School District’s Magnet Innovation Center’s Biomedical program and equipment for Bay High School’s Allied Healthcare program. Grants approved for healthcare initiatives in 2021 total more than $850,000 and include approximately $300,000 awarded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and an additional $250,000 granted to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay to support its Regional Clinical Education Center. In addition to its highest-ever grant total, the Foundation announced a new scholarship program that will benefit local high school students beginning with the graduating class of 2022. The No Ordinary JOE Scholarship program will benefit 48 local students annually, three from each Bay and Walton County public high school. The annual program will provide more than $80,000 in scholarship awards including a $10,000 scholarship to one student from each county.

2020 Grants

The St. Joe Community Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees approved over 135 grant applications providing +$2.2 Million to local non-profits in 2020. Some highlights include significant grants to:
- Covenant Hospice Foundation to create a Palliative Care Center in Bay County
- Ascension Sacred Heart Foundation to support Ascension Sacred Heart on the Emerald Coast’s pediatric emergency services expansion project
- The Nemours Foundation and Life Management of NWFL for charity healthcare.
- Over $300,000 to local healthcare non-profits for PPE, testing supplies and telehealth initiative support
- $900,000 in grants for special educational projects, resources and equipment along with multiple scholarships with various entities
- Funding for immediate needs for those affected by Hurricane Sally and Walton County’s Musset Bayou Fire