Bermuda Foundation On Grants/Support In 2023
The Bermuda Foundation, which commemorates its 10th year in operation today, has provided support to 43 not-for-profit programmes with over $200k in funding as part of its unrestricted grantmaking for the fiscal year ended 2023. These competitive grants, combined with generous donor-advised giving, totalled over $5 million for the year.
The Bermuda Foundation was launched in 2014 with a mandate to create an enduring source of funds forever dedicated to the good of Bermuda.
Chair, Amanda Outerbridge, notes, “In these past 10 years, we have built the fund, a community asset from which returns are distributed to the community annually. In the next decade our focus must be on continuing to develop the fund because there is no doubt that Bermuda needs the services provided by the not-for-profit sector, and the Foundation exists to support the sector’s sustainability. It is gratifying to note that in our first 10 years, as a collective, we were able to disburse more than $16 million into the community.”
The Foundation’s unrestricted competitive grants programme complements the range of grants made by donors to and through donor-advised funds. The challenge has been that grant applications exceed funds available by more than two to one.
“This has been the case almost every year,” says Managing Director Dr Myra Virgil. “This has reportedly also been the case for our peer organisations – corporate, private, and family foundations. Requests far outpace resources, and this is strongly indicative of the need in our community.”
2023 grantees included:
- Education, community-based and youth development efforts totalling $60,000.
- In the field of access to higher education, BF ratified $12,500 in grants to GED programming and needs-based scholarship programming.
- To advance the issue of community development and capacity building, including youth engagement and volunteerism, BF’s board approved $10,000 beyond its core operational support of nonprofit management training.
- Mental Health programming in the form of counselling, drug treatment and socio emotional learning received a funding boost of $20,000.
“The Foundation’s grantmaking programme is substantially augmented by grants made by a range of unrelated donors who wish to collectively ensure the sustainability and success of nonprofits in Bermuda. These donors use the Foundation’s infrastructure and resources to support their grantmaking,” says Dr. Virgil.
The spokesperson said, “Facilitating growth in philanthropy while taking the pulse of the community, identifying needs and concerns and, ultimately, providing data to donors to assist them in directing their giving most effectively, is part of this work. This year, we will be sharing the outcomes of our decade of activity, including how we were effectively employed in times of crisis and were able to fill funding gaps in the face of unmet, critical needs and community priorities.
“The Foundation’s audited accounts can be found on its website www.bermudafoundation.org under “News & Reports”. Details on the grantees and distributions can be found under “Our Impact – Programme”. Families or individuals interested in setting up their own permanent charitable giving funds to improve Bermuda can learn more about donor-advised philanthropy at www.bermudafoundation.org.”
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