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JI Foundation keeps ‘granting’ wishes, thanks to great donors

Donors and supporters of the John’s Island Foundation were feted last Monday evening at a delightful cocktail party at the John’s Island Golf Club, underwritten by local businesses to celebrate the success of past campaigns and encourage continued contributions.

Established in 1999, the John’s Island Foundation has granted more than $9.2 million in grants to local nonprofit agencies in support of their capital expenditure needs. Donations are solicited through a seasonal letter campaign rather than through fundraisers. That domain belongs to the gated community’s other hugely philanthropic faction, the John’s Island Community Service League, which provides grants to fund charitable programs and operating budgets. Many John’s Island residents support both groups, and make substantial charitable contributions on their own as well.

“We have 550 donors to the John’s Island Foundation; these are effectively households, who will raise between $725,000 and $750,000. And we’ve got 27 agencies seeking grants totaling $850,000,” said Jim Johnson, current board president. He is one of many residents who volunteer their time to serve on the board and foundation committees, such as the site review teams.

An extensive vetting process has team leaders making initial presentations to the board, followed by site committee volunteers visiting agencies to clarify any questions, before final recommendations are made to the board.

“We project, given this year’s expected grants, that the foundation will have donated roughly $10 million, cumulatively, to the community. That’s pretty significant,” said Johnson.

“Little did I know when this began that it would ever be this successful. I’m so proud that it has been a success,” said foundation originator Ellie McCabe, remembering back as she looked at the crowd of nearly 400 guests. “I went to the United Way and said, ‘What are the needs?’ They said capital needs; that nobody was really contributing funds for that. And we didn’t want to compete with the Service League in any way.”

In a brief presentation, Johnson related that the foundation issued an emergency relief grant to Epic Missions after Hurricane Matthew destroyed its roof.

“The John’s Island Foundation is only about one thing – infrastructure. We are unique in that capacity,” said Johnson, adding that they granted $40,000 and found a roofer to install an entirely new roof. “That is pure John’s Island Foundation.”

He also showed a short video about a “Speak Up” grant given to the Wabasso School to provide voices to nonverbal developmentally disabled students. The money enabled the purchase of a program and iPads to enable students to speak, engage and communicate with others.

One charming couple, Muggie and John Hardy, clearly have no trouble communicating with one another. “We’ve been married for 72 years. He is 101 and I’m in my 90s,” said Muggie Hardy, the two glancing at each other with a loving twinkle in their eyes. “We’ve been here since ’87. We made a good choice.”

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