John’s Island residents are among the most generous in the county, their largess touching the lives of the entire community through quiet philanthropy, both individually and through funding groups such as the John’s Island Foundation.
Last Thursday evening the foundation’s top donors were feted at a cocktail party at the lovely riverfront home of Sandy and Jim Johnson to thank them for their particularly philanthropic support.
“This is the Leadership Circle. It was established a couple of years ago to recognize the people who are giving especially generously to the foundation,” explained Mark Earle, past board president of those donors who annually contribute a minimum of $5,000 to the foundation.
“Out of a donor base of 550 people, these are 55 people who represent more than 50 percent of the contributions. It’s pretty powerful,” agreed Jim Johnson, current board president, noting that last year they awarded more than $550,000. “The fundamental mission appealed to me. Somebody in the community has to provide money for capital expenditures.”
The John’s Island Foundation, which is now entering its 18th year, has granted more than $9.2 million to local nonprofits, but the job ahead is a big one; this year they have received 25 grant requests totaling more than $800,000.
Johnson noted that the long-term capital expenses requested include everything from replacing roofs and air-conditioning units to purchasing computers, vehicles, furniture and major equipment.
“Somebody has to make sure these expenses are taken care of,” added Johnson. “A select group of people at John’s Island respond to it as I do. We have very generous donors.”
“It gives me a sense of joy to live in a community wherein caring for the basic life needs of our fellow Indian River residents is valued and meaningfully addressed through the John’s Island Foundation grant process,” said Jim Smith.
The process includes putting together site teams which will begin visiting the various agencies in January to review agency needs, effectiveness and finances. They then communicate their findings through reports to determine which grants will be distributed in April.
“I really enjoyed getting off the beach here to find out what’s going on in the rest of the county,” said Earle. “Being on the site team is when I got a chance to meet the people at the agencies who are really doing great work. It’s more than just shaking hands. You walk around and meet people and find out what they really do.”
“When I first moved here I started doing site visits with Impact 100,” said Sandy Johnson. “Then I did site visits with the foundation and now I’m on the board of the Boys and Girls Club. The whole of Vero Beach is unbelievably philanthropic.”
“I am proud to be a member of the board of directors of the John’s Island Foundation,” said Ken Wessel. “The John’s Island community is extremely generous and the foundation identifies specific needs within Indian River County that improve the quality of life for all.”