2003 Grants Total Exceeds Entire First Three Years

Of Investment in Northwest Florida’s Future

SEAGROVE BEACH, Florida: (May 25, 2004)   The St. Joe Community Foundation announced today during 2003 the Foundation had granted over $1,100,000 to a four-county area in Northwest Florida. This brings the total of grants to the region to over $2,400,000 since the first funds were awarded in December of 1999.  Founded in 1999 by The St. Joe Company as the Northwest Florida Improvement Foundation, the Foundation reached its first million-dollar grant milestone in 2002.  Just one year later, it has reached its second million in grants.  Nearly half of the money was awarded in grants to youth programs.

      The St. Joe Community Foundation’s current funding is directly linked to the success of communities which The St. Joe Company is creating in Bay, Gulf, Walton, and Franklin Counties.  Sales transactions translate into dollars that are then reinvested in those counties through programs and projects that reflect the needs, concerns, and values of the people who live and work in the region. Currently, funds come from The Retreat, WaterColor, WaterSound Beach in Walton County; Palmetto Trace, The Hammocks, RiverCamps on Crooked Creek in Bay County; WindMark Beach in Gulf County, and SummerCamp in Franklin County.

      “To grow our giving capability by more than $1,000,000 in 12 months validates our vision of perpetual community improvement,” said Britt Greene, president of The St. Joe Community Foundation.  “This milestone demonstrates a tangible commitment to the region’s quality of life.  It reflects our intent to work with others to make Northwest Florida an even better place to call home.”

      “In the past year we have increased our focus on the future by forming new alliances with groups and organizations dedicated to positively influencing the lives of children,” said Greene.  “There are many important regional initiatives, including Early Education Care, Inc., in Bay, Franklin, and Gulf counties; the Ronald MacDonald House charities of Pensacola, on behalf of residents of Bay, Franklin, Gulf and Walton Counties; Advocates For Children in Bay and Gulf Counties; Shelter House and Okaloosa Walton Child Care Services in Walton County; and Newspapers in Education programs across the region. The Boys and Girls Clubs in Franklin County, The Anchorage Children’s Home in Bay County, Taunton Children’s Home in Gulf County and Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Center in Walton County are also beneficiaries of this focus. 

      “In 2003, we awarded more than $400,000 in grants to youth programs that serve children in need and improve education and cultural awareness for children living in Bay, Gulf, Franklin and Walton Counties.”

      "The healthcare needs of the region also remain important to us," said Greene.  "Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast opened in 2003 with a state of the art 50 bed facility, cardiac center, trauma center and outpatient facility, improving the quality and delivery of advanced health care for the region.  A grant to Bay Medical Center is helping develop a fourth catheterization lab for the region.  We are proud to be a part of bringing these essential facilities to the area.”

      “We have been privileged to become involved in a wide range of programs,” said Pamela Selton, Executive Director of The St. Joe Community Foundation.  “They vary from Habitat for Humanity in Franklin and Walton counties to the South Walton Fire District and American Heart Association initiative to place life-saving automatic external defibrillators throughout the region, to the Martin Theatre in Bay County, the Care Closet of Port St. Joe and a variety of cultural and educational programs that benefit whole communities.”

      “With the help of the varied organizations that so selflessly serve, we plan to identify unmet needs and actively develop plans and programs to meet them, even as we continue to work with the many great community volunteers who help make much of what we support possible,” Selton added.  “If you are aware of a need, a worthy cause, or have an idea for a program that will help make northwest Florida a better place to live, we want to know about it. If we can help, we will. We encourage groups to contact us to learn more about applying for grants.”

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About The St. Joe Community Foundation

       The St. Joe Company created The St. Joe Community Foundation (STJCF), formerly named Northwest Florida Improvement Foundation, in 1999 to invest in community initiatives that pay long-term returns on the quality of life in Bay, Franklin, Gulf, and Walton counties.

       Since its inception, STJCF has granted over $899,000 in Bay County; $212,000 in Franklin County; $534,000 in Gulf County; over $1,100,000 in Walton County, and more than $229,000 for multi-county initiatives totaling more than $2,900,000 in grants to the region.

       STJCF’s unique funding structure is based on payments from St. Joe that are a percentage of the proceeds from new sales in specific St. Joe communities.  Payments continue each time the properties are resold through deed covenants requiring a transfer fee to be paid to STJCF each time a property is subsequently sold.  In this way, St. Joe and the property owners who live in our neighborhoods are partnering with the community for the betterment of the entire region.

       Focused primarily on education, regional health care delivery, art and culture, parks and recreation, and community spirit, Foundation investments are based on building civic infrastructure and providing on-going improvements in the region through grants and initiatives that promote teaching and learning and create healthier communities.  To learn more about STJCF or to request a 2003 annual report, log on to www.stjcf. com or contact Pamela Selton, STJCF executive director, at 850.231.6558.