February 2024 Newsletter

2024 Board Installed;

Michael Walsh Begins Term as Chair of the Board

January 19, 2024 – The Board of Directors of the Coral Gables Community Foundation is pleased to welcome Michael Walsh as its Chair for 2024 and 2025. Walsh has served in leadership roles on the Board of Directors since being elected to join in 2017.

Walsh is a Wealth Manager and Principal at Evensky & Katz/Foldes Wealth Management in Coral Gables. Evensky & Katz has been a long-time, major supporter of the Coral Gables Community Foundation, making more than $1M in grants through The Evensky & Katz Charitable Fund. 

The new leadership was sworn in officially by Coral Gables Mayor Vince C. Lago as the Community Foundation’s Directors gathered at the THesis Hotel rooftop. 

Walsh fills the position of Chair after the successful term of Venny Torre, Founder and President of Torre Construction & Development in Coral Gables. The Community Foundation has experienced considerable growth and notable accomplishments over the past several years.

Prior to joining Evensky & Katz, Walsh was a financial analyst with Summit Financial Resources and a graduate assistant at Texas Tech University. Before joining the Texas Tech staff, Michael was a charitable consultant in New Jersey where he helped raise over $12 million dollars in planned and current gifts for non-profits around the greater New York area. He also is a board member of The Prologue Society, a literary group which fosters interest in and understanding of the history and culture of all peoples and nations. 

Congratulations to Our 2024 Board Officers

Chair-Elect Michael McCarthy

Treasurer Kaiser Ahmed

Secretary Elizabeth (Liz) Parnes

Community Giving Committee

Co-Chair Ashley Cusack

Community Giving Committee

Co-Chair David Olazabal

Scholarship Committee Chair Matthew Meehan

Immediate Past

Chair Venny Torre

Board Elects New Members Erin Dowd,

Danielle Gonzalez, Dr. Alysa Herman and Laura Rossi

Erin Dowd

Danielle Gonzalez, Esq.

Dr. Alysa Herman

Laura Rossi

Coral Gables Community Foundation’s Board recently expanded with the addition of new directors Erin Dowd, Danielle Gonzalez, Dr. Alysa Herman, and Laura Rossi.

Board members continuing to serve include Directors Bill Bonn; Sissy DeMaria-Koehne; Chris W. Erickson; Eric Gros-Dubois, Esq.; Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz, Esq.; John Harris; Maria Fernanda Mejía; Dr. Sadia Raja Alfonso; Aura Reinhardt; Scott J. Richey; Adriana Verdeja and Peter Zubizarreta; Ex-Officio Members Wayne Eldred and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson.

STUDENTS, SHARPEN YOUR PENCILS NOW

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS:

High School Seniors Welcome to Apply for Community Foundation’s 2024 Scholarships

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE for high school students graduating from Coral Gables High School and several nearby public schools in 2024. In 2023 the Community Foundation made 96 awards worth more than $400K and students used them to attend universities from Miami to Harvard and MIT. There are scholarships to support medical studies, golf, leadership, football, science, music and more.

IMPORTANT DATES:

• Application period is open now.
• Deadline is 4 p.m. on Friday, March 1st.
• Scholarship Awards Reception tentatively set for Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
• Note: The Luke Sturgill Scholarship deadline is now Fri. April 5th.

THE COMMUNITY'S GREATEST NEEDS

In June the Community Foundation awarded grants to 39 organizations.

Community Giving Program Readies Grant

Applications Starting Monday, February 12th

The Community Foundation's 2024 Community Giving Program will accept Letters of Inquiry (LOI's) starting Monday, February 12, 2024. You can submit more than one idea, but not more than one per organization will be invited to submit a full application which may lead to a grant. Your programs should benefit Coral Gables and fit within our four focus areas:

• Education
• Arts & Culture
• Environment (includes Resilience, Placemaking and Historic Preservation)
• Social & Health Service

The Community Giving Committee is co-chaired by David Olazabal and Ashley Cusack. Funds that support these grants come from generous families like yours.

Read more about requirements and deadlines with the link below.

TOUR OF KITCHENS VIP KICKOFF EVENT

Chef Michelle Bernstein Delights Tour of Kitchens VIP Event with Preview of New Sra. Martinez Restaurant

Headliner Chef Michelle Bernstein, owner of four eateries in Miami, will be opening her Sra. Martinez restaurant in Coral Gables this year and she previewed bites from the menu at the VIP Kickoff Event for the 2024 Tour of Kitchens & Tropical Living. Over 70 guests thrilled at the new home of interior designer Cozy Salazar (Cozy Salazar Interiors), with a breathaking open plan kitchen living area and bright, neo-Floridian vernacular residence. Tickets for Saturday's Tour of Kitchens are on sale:

MAJOR GIFTS

WELCOME Rocks of the Community: Tim Anagnost; Trish & Dan Bell; Linda Lubitz Boone & Norman Boone; Jon & Anne Goldman; The José Milton Foundation; Ernest & Anne Purcell. 

We are grateful for the significant gift these distinguished community philanthropists have made to propel the impactful work of the Coral Gables Community Foundation to meet the growing needs of the community.

THEY JOIN THE COMPANY OF: Ray Corral & Alina Meledina; The Fewell Family; Claudia Holliman; The Williamson Family.

15th TOUR OF KITCHENS & TROPICAL LIVING

MERRICK SOCIETY

The Coral Gables Community Foundation established the Merrick Society

so that visionary people can preserve key philanthropic activities in The City Beautiful. To find out more, please contact President and CEO Mary Snow at 305.446.9670 or via email mary@gablesfoundation.org.

ANNUAL PARTNERS

The Coral Gables Community Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

The mission of the Coral Gables Community Foundation is to inspire impactful philanthropy through charitable funds and programs using local knowledge, expertise and trusted relationships.