Community Foundation Endowment Fund

From more services for our nonprofits helping our community’s most disadvantaged to increasing the education of the next generation of givers, from enhancing programs and opportunities for our community’s estate planners to ensuring residents in our community know how to align their passions with their giving, the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County remains at the forefront of impacting our community’s needs. We are building a stronger community… one passion at a time.

Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute Fund

A science-based educational nonprofit organization, the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute focuses on documenting and protecting Florida’s springs and aquifers to ensure access to clean drinking water for current and future generations. Named in honor of a pioneer of springs science, a Yale graduate, Odum worked in the biology department of the University of Florida in the 1950s and conducted the first comprehensive ecological assessment of Silver Springs.

Mary DeCasper Memorial Fund

Give the gift of reading and literacy to students in the Marion County community of Ft. McCoy through the Mary DeCasper Memorial Fund. Dollars raised help keep her legacy and love of reading going among the generations of Ft. McCoy School students through Ms. DeCasper’s Reading Den, a cozy and inviting reading space for students in the School. Additional funds purchase books in Mary’s memory for children to take home.

Adam Hanson Youth Philanthropy in Action

Through the Adam Hanson Youth Philanthropy in Action, we are educating Marion County middle school Students about philanthropy. Since 2012, members of the NonProfit Business Council have taught more than 1,000 students the YPIA curriculum in public and private middle schools with more than $23,000 in grants given to nonprofits. This innovative program is training tomorrow’s philanthropists how to find their passions early, so they can give back to the community now.