Helios Education Foundation to support elevating and energizing Florida’s local education foundations with $450,000 powerful communities grant

Consortium of Florida Education Foundations awarded grant to support professional development offerings

Gainesville, FL – The Consortium of Florida Education Foundations (Consortium) received a $450,000 grant from Helios Education Foundation to support communities through their network of local education foundations aligned with nearly every county-wide school district throughout the state.

This funding enables the Consortium to cultivate the collegial community of local education foundations across Florida through robust professional development offerings including quarterly conferences, internal- and external-facing webinars, member affinity groups, and one-on-one member workshops.

“We believe strong local education foundations can engage communities in closing opportunity gaps for students,” said Mary Chance, Consortium of Florida Education Foundations President & CEO. “Support from the Helios Education Foundation directly impacts our ability to elevate Florida’s education foundations by providing opportunities for them to connect with one another, learn new ideas, and strengthen their capacity to innovate learning and power the potential of all students.”

“We at Helios are committed to expanding educational opportunity for students in Florida, especially Black students and students from low-income backgrounds,” said Paul J. Luna, president and CEO of Helios Education Foundation. “We are proud to support the Consortium’s work toward achieving that goal.”

About the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations

The Consortium is the membership organization for Florida’s school district-wide local education foundations. Established in 1987, the Consortium connects individuals, organizations, and financial resources to build the capacity and effectiveness of Florida’s local education foundations. Together, Consortium members raise more than $85 million annually for a variety of locally driven initiatives and are led by 1,200 board members, 80% of whom are local business and community leaders working in partnership with school district leaders. The Consortium manages the nation’s only 1:1 legislative match for education foundation initiatives and a variety of privately funded grant programs. To learn more about the Consortium or connect with any member local education foundation, visit EducationFoundationsFL.org