Community Foundation for Palm Beach & Martin Counties Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL RESIDENTS NOW AND FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS; TO BUILD PERMANENT ENDOWMENTS, TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP ON RELEVANT ISSUES, AND TO ADDRESS NEEDS THROUGH GRANTMAKING. AS PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION'S GRANTMAKING FOCUSES ON DISCOVERING COLLECTIVE IMPACT PARTNERSHIPS AND LISTENING CLOSELY TO THE NEEDS OF OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY.
- Income
- $51.1 million
- Spending
- $37.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 90%
- Reserves
- 35.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 76%
- Employees
- 34
- Volunteers
- 65
- Highest pay
- $476,855, president/ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 71% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 35.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 7% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 27% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 41% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1590% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 3 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2522 of 22 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (3)
- $6.4 million spent. COMMUNITY IMPACTTHROUGH OUR THREE CORE FOCUS AREAS: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, EDUCATION AND YOUTH, AND THRIVING COMMUNITIES. WE PARTNERED WITH ORGANIZATIONS BY PROVIDING CAPACITY BUILDING, PROGRAMMATIC AND GENERAL OPERATING GRANTS THAT PROVIDED JOB TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES THAT LEAD TO GREATER ECONOMIC SUCCESS AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE; NONPROFITS THAT INCREASED ACCESS TO FOOD; PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDED ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION TO YOUTH AND ADULTS; ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDED MENTORSHIPS FOR WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES; ARTS AND CULTURE PROGRAMS THAT DEVELOP YOUTH MUSIC AND DANCE SKILLS; AND PROGRAMS THAT PREVENTED HOMELESSNESS BY STABILIZING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES AND PROVIDING CASE MANAGEMENT.THROUGH OUR FY25 COMPETITIVE GRANT PROCESS, WITH SUPPORT FROM UNRESTRICTED AND FIELD-OF-INTEREST FUNDS, 136 GRANTS TOTALING $5,045,259 WERE AWARDED TO NONPROFITS IN THE PALM BEACH COUNTY AND MARTIN COUNTY GEOGRAPHICAL REGION.AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION'S STRATEGIC PLAN IS SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND ENSURING THE IMPORTANT WORK THEY DO TO MAKE OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IS SUSTAINED. ONE WAY WE WERE ABLE TO DO THIS WAS BY CREATING A MULTI-YEAR GRANTMAKING PROGRAM THAT TARGETED A SELECT NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON EARLY CHILDHOOD LITERACY. THIS TYPE OF STRATEGIC GRANTMAKING PROVIDES SEVERAL KEY BENEFITS: 1) CREATES ORGANIZATIONAL STABILITY, WHICH REDUCES THE ANXIETY OF ANNUAL RENEWAL CYCLES; 2) IT ESTABLISHES TRUST BETWEEN THE FUNDER AND GRANTEE; 3) ORGANIZATIONS CAN DEVOTE MORE TIME TO PROGRAMMING; AND 4) HELPS COMMUNITY PARTNERS ATTRACT NEW FUNDING PARTNERS WHILE DIVERSIFYING THE SUPPORT RESOURCES. WE ALSO ESTABLISHED A NEW CAPACITY-BUILDING PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTED SMALL- TO MID-SIZE ORGANIZATIONS WITH BUDGETS UNDER $2 MILLION. OUR NEW COMMUNITY PARTNERS USE THE FUNDING FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF PROJECTS TO STRENGTHEN THEIR ORGANIZATION'S INFRASTRUCTURE. PROJECTS INCLUDED BOARD DEVELOPMENT TRAINING, NONPROFIT ACCREDITATION, GRANT WRITING TRAINING, CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC PLANS, UPDATING NEW TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT, AND DESIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING FUNDRAISING STRATEGIES. THROUGH THESE SUPPORT STRUCTURES, OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS HAVE BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT IN DELIVERING CRITICAL COMMUNITY SERVICES.
- $2.2 million spent. SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMTHIS YEAR, APPROXIMATELY 829 STUDENTS COMPLETED AN APPLICATION FOR THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION'S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS AND ENTRUSTED DONORS' RESOURCES, FOR THE 2024-2025 ACADEMIC YEAR, WE AWARDED $1,366,500 IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO 115 DESERVING STUDENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. THESE STUDENTS RECEIVED AWARDS RANGING FROM $900 TO $ $8,000 TO USE TOWARD THEIR COLLEGE OF CHOICE. RECIPIENTS ARE ATTENDING ALL MAJOR FLORIDA UNIVERSITIES, STETSON UNIVERSITY, DUKE UNIVERSITY, HOWARD UNIVERSITY, AND UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, JUST TO NAME A FEW. SINCE 1985, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HAS AWARDED NEARLY $19.1 MILLION IN SCHOLARSHIPS. THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE LARGEST DISTRIBUTORS OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS IN THE COMMUNITY. IT CREATES OPPORTUNITIES THAT AFFORD HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS FROM PALM BEACH AND MARTIN COUNTIES THE CHANCE TO FULFILL THEIR GOALS OF OBTAINING A DEGREE OR HIGH-CREDENTIAL CERTIFICATION THAT WILL PREPARE THEM FOR THE WORKFORCE. THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR PALM BEACH AND MARTIN COUNTIES IS ADDING A WRAP-AROUND SERVICES PROGRAM TO SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS BY PROVIDING THEM WITH TOOLS TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES THAT MAY OTHERWISE HAVE AN IMPACT ON COMPLETING THEIR EDUCATIONAL GOALS.
- $25.1 million spent. OTHER SERVICESWITH A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE SPANNING OVER 50 YEARS, THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR PALM BEACH AND MARTIN COUNTIES ASSISTS ITS DONORS IN REALIZING THEIR PHILANTHROPIC GOALS BY PROVIDING FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP AND COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP. TOGETHER, WE STRIVE TO TACKLE THE MOST URGENT NEEDS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL RESIDENTS. IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, THE FOUNDATION DISTRIBUTED $13,028,097 FROM DONOR-ADVISED AND DESIGNATED FUNDS. EACH GRANT UNDERGOES A THOROUGH REVIEW BY OUR STAFF TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH BEST PRACTICES FOR GRANT-MAKING, AS WELL AS LEGAL AND FINANCIAL STANDARDS. THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ADMINISTERS CHARITABLE GIVING VEHICLES, SUCH AS DONOR-ADVISED AND DESIGNATED FUND TYPES, WE FACILITATE THE PHILANTHROPIC INTENTIONS OF INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS. THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS INVOLVES PROCESSING AND DISBURSING GRANTS TO NONPROFIT ENTITIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS OF EACH INDIVIDUAL FUND. WE PROVIDE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES FOR OVER 307 DONOR-ADVISED AND DESIGNATED FUNDS AND WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR FUNDHOLDERS TO MAKE GRANTS TO THE CHARITIES THEY SUPPORT, WHILE ALSO INTRODUCING THEM TO CHARITIES THAT ALIGN WITH THEIR GIVING PREFERENCES. OUR DUE DILIGENCE PROCESS INCLUDES CONFIRMING THE EIN/501(C)(3) STATUS OF ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH GUIDESTAR CHARITY CHECK AND THE IRS.GOV WEBSITE TO ENSURE THEIR VALIDITY.A KEY BENEFIT OF OUR DONOR-ADVISED FUND PROGRAM IS OUR ONLINE PORTAL, WHICH PROVIDES REAL-TIME ACCESS TO FUND INFORMATION AND ENABLES INDEPENDENT GRANT-MAKING BY FUNDHOLDERS. THROUGH OUR DONOR-CENTRIC SERVICES, WE CAN MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF GRANT-MAKING DOLLARS ON IMPORTANT PROGRAMS AND IMMEDIATE CRITICAL NEEDS. ONE OF THE CORE COMPONENTS OF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION'S MISSION IS TO ASSIST NONPROFITS IN ESTABLISHING A SUSTAINABLE SOURCE OF INCOME, ENSURING THE CONTINUITY OF THEIR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES FOR YEARS TO COME. WE ARE DEDICATED TO STRENGTHENING AND SUPPORTING OUR NONPROFIT COMMUNITY AND MANAGING ASSETS AND RESERVES FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, WITH 95 NONPROFIT FUNDS REPRESENTING $10,915,981CURRENTLY UNDER OUR STEWARDSHIP.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since April 1972.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.