Community Foundation presents $82,300 check for Babcock Ranch project
Recently, Southwest Florida Community Foundation President and CEO Julia East presented a check in the amount of $82,300 to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners that will be used for construction and management of a public access trail in the publicly owned portion of Babcock Ranch in Lee County.
The check represents the remaining money from a $250,000 fund that was established by the Babcock Preservation Partnership, Inc. and administered by SWFLCF since 2004. Originally, the fund was for raising money to purchase the entire ranch for preservation. The State of Florida and Lee County later were able to purchase 78,000 acres of the property-the most environmentally sensitive areas-for preservation and public use.
“The real story,” said Julia East, “is how the public contributions to this effort, managed and stewarded by SWFLCF, affected the securing of a $2.8 million sub-award grant for the Lee County Board of County Commissioners from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to be used toward the purchase of the Babcock Ranch lands in Lee County.”
According to Liz Donley, Deputy Director at the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, this $2.8 million sub-grant “came about through the efforts of the BPP. The BPP identified the grant, lobbied for the earmark, and garnered support from the federal elected officials. This effort was funded in great part by the funds collected by BPP and donated into the BPP fund administered by the Community Foundation.”
Donley adds, “I believe that the $2.8 million grant is a testament to the value of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation’s generous support of BPP through all of its staff time and effort expended on the BPP funds. Leveraging $250,000 into $2.8 million was quite an accomplishment, especially in federal fiscal year 2006.”
The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry counties through endowed funds for over 33 years. With over 320 endowed funds, the Community Foundation has provided more than $44 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves. For more information, please call 239-274-5900, or visit their web site at www.floridacommunity.com.