History of the Coral Gables Community Foundation

September 1991

Coral Gables Community Foundation was established by community leaders with the mission of fostering public initiatives that enhance the quality of life for people living and working in the "City Beautiful".

1992

By the close of its second year of operation, the Foundation had raised more than $200,000.00 and started awarding its first grants. A Coral Gables High School honor student, The Learning Experience School for Handicapped Children, Coral Gables High School, and New Theatre, Inc. were among the first to benefit from the Foundation's efforts.

1994

Grants were awarded to such organizations as the Coral Gables Symphony and Opera, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, the Coral

Gables Garden Club and more. The Ralph V. Moore Scholarship was created and since that time has given more than

$12,000 in scholarships to Coral Gables students. Through the flexibility of the community foundation, everything from

educational activities and vision screening to city beautification and youth programs have been supported. In a move

to both increase public awareness of the Foundation and to grow its endowment base, the Board of Directors hired its first

Executive Director, Gloria Burns, on October 1, 1994. 

1995

The first Foundation quarterly newsletter was mailed to 3,000 residents and businesses in February 1995. In March that year some of the grant awards went to Coral Gables based Florida Shakespeare Festival, Project Real Life (to support a baseball program for children), CAP of Dade County (for scholarship funding for a Gables student), UM Volunteer Services (for Fun Day for mentally challenged children), Coral Gables Symphony & Opera, Coral Gables High School,  & Switchboard of Miami (Senior Services).

On June 15, 1995, the Foundation's Board voted to change the name of the Foundation to Coral Gables Community Foundation in order to better describe its purpose and to distinguish it from a private foundation. With a new logo and general information brochure designed by Adam Fullerton, the Foundation had a great new look.

Through the summer and fall of 1995, the Foundation received gifts of real estate, art and cash. In October, the Foundation's

first permanent donor advised fund was established, the Jose and Mirta Calvo Endowment Fund. Other scholarship endowment funds continued to grow.

1996

In the Spring of 1996, the Foundation moved to a new home, courtesy of First Union Bank to Suite 110 at 2511 Ponce de Leon

Blvd., in downtown Coral Gables. The Foundation remained in that location until renovations forced a move. Commerce

Bank then offered a suite of offices on the Mezzanine Level of 2199 Ponce de Leon Blvd. After Commerce Bank's lease was

up, the Foundation moved to the offices of Blaire & Cole, who graciously offered space at no charge, before relocating to

City offices in the Old Police & Fire Station.

The Foundation also partnered with Ponce de Leon Middle School and its Youth Environmental Science Club to landscape

the campus. A fundraising campaign was orchestrated by the Foundation. A special fund was established to

receive donations and 500 new plants, as well as new sod, were installed at the campus. The Foundation initiated a campaign to establish a Parks Improvement Fund. It was successful in assisting the City's Beautification Committee in their efforts to create a flowering tree park on an empty parcel of City owned land bordering Granada and Pisano. This was

accomplished through a private public partnership, which involved a $6,000 contribution through the Foundation from

HealthSouth Doctors' Hospital.

Another major project undertaken in the 1996-97 year was the preliminary study to establish a way to display history and

artifacts in our City with the assistance and expertise of the leadership of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida. This

ultimately evolved into the Coral Gables Museum initiative.

In December of 1996, the Foundation received a $10,000 grant to its unrestricted funds from The Calvin and Flavia Oak

Foundation whose board was impressed with the efforts of Coral Gables Community Foundation to act as a catalyst to improve our community. Inspired by the progress of Coral Gables Community Foundation, the Oak Foundation made a second $10,000 grant in 1997, and as of December, 2001, the Oak Foundation's funding totaled $60,000.

The Foundation made grants to such worthy charities as the May Van Sickle Free Dental Clinic for disadvantaged children,

the Junior Orange Bowl Caroling Competition, Charlee Program and Coral Gables Symphony & Opera, Inc. 

1997

A four-year college scholarship was awarded from the Jose and Mirta Calvo Endowment Fund, to a fourth grader

who competed in an educational competition, which involved writing an essay and identifying flags on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. 

In June of 1997, the Rotary Club of Coral Gables established a $50,000 endowment fund with the Foundation to

support programs and services that benefit youth, elderly and disabled in our community. A $20,000 match

from the Coral Gables Community Foundation helped the Rotarians reach that $50,000 fund level.

During this time, several other individuals and organizations have seen the advantages of creating endowments with the

Foundation. Magnus Liljedahl, who established the Agneta Liljedahl Ballet Scholarship Fund, has already awarded more

than $10,000 in scholarships. Liljedahl created another fund, Team Paradise Fund, to help support sailing programs for the

blind and disabled. The Junior Orange Bowl Committee has created a general fund, while Coral Gables Junior Woman's

Club has also begun setting aside funds for special projects.

2001

Thanks to the Executive Director's Fund that was created by Kirk Landon in 2001, the Foundation's outreach to individuals

and charitable groups has expanded.

2002

The Foundation's elder transportation project, Gran Tran, moved forward and was taken over by Little Brothers Friends of

the Elderly. Since that time, they have acquired a new van, great volunteers and are serving the transportation needs of more than 100 seniors.

Mayor Don Slesnick and Commissioner Bill Kerdyk, Jr. both created new funds with the Foundation and set a great example

for others with a philanthropic intent. Since that time, many new funds have been created as donors have realized the ease

with which a fund can be established and the help the Foundation affords when making gifts to our community.

Ongoing Initiatives

Parknership is one of the most successful initiatives in which Coral Gables Community Foundation plays a

role. An outgrowth of a Parks Improvement Fund started as a grassroots effort to make improvements to Jaycee Park, this

private/public project, Parknership, raises funds to renovate city parks and buy additional green space. The City of Coral

Gables has agreed to match the first $100,000 raised in this effort with no less than a one for one match. Thus far, this

fund has raised more than $1,000,000, facilitated the creation of a new park with proceeds from the sale of $400,000

in stock donated by Robert J. Fewell, started funding renovations for various parks and helped fund the restoration of the

fountains on Granada and Coral Way. The Parknership Committee spearheaded a landscaping project at Coral Gables High

a portion of which was completed in time to for the school's 50th birthday celebration, several years ago.

Other initiatives included the effort to preserve archives and the creation of the Raul Valdes Fauli Archives Fund. This Fund

goes hand in hand with the Museum initiative and will help once the Museum is ready to catalogue archival documents. The

creation of the Coral Gables Museum is now becoming a reality after many years of planning. In fact, that project forced

the Foundation to move again from the Old Police and Fire Station, as plans to build on that site were being made.

The Foundation, while still involved in the Coral Gables Museum, has spun the Museum off from the Foundation's umbrella

and has created its own board of directors. In 2005, the Coral Gables Museum acquired approval for its own 501 ( c )( 3 ). 

It promises to be a Museum that will make us all proud and the community has many donors to thank for that initial

support, in particular, Kirk Landon, who donated $250,000 through the Coral Gables Community Foundation to push

this along.

Next on the horizon is the creation of a Senior Citizen Center, another project for which Kirk Landon is offering financial

support through the Foundation. As soon as a site can be found, the Foundation looks forward to helping the City bring

that to fruition.

As government funding is being cut at all levels, the Coral Gables Community Foundation will become increasingly important in addressing the growing needs of our city, such as the Senior Citizen Center, tree canopies, open green spaces, parks, and other social and cultural programs and activities. Coral Gables Community Foundation intends to be there to meet these needs for the future.