The A.L. Lewis Black Opportunity & Impact Fund announced its first competitive grants, totaling $275,000, designed to help Black communities thrive in Jacksonville.
Fruit of Barren Trees Pipeline, INC, (FBOT) will receive $90,000 for affordable housing, workforce development and community resiliency in the Moncrief Park neighborhood.
$85,000 is slated for Kappa Alpha Psi Jacksonville Foundation to assist with the construction of the Dr. C. B. McIntosh Community Achievement Center, a community health and education center in Northwest Jacksonville.
LISC Jacksonville was awarded $50,000 for its down payment assistance program through Project Boots, focusing on first-time home buyers located in the ZIP codes of 32206, 32208, 32210 and 32216.
The Fund also awarded 25 small grants of up to $2,000 each.
“These grants would not have been possible without the volunteer time and financial support of the A.L. Lewis Fund members and donors, and we want to thank them for their commitment, passion and support,” said Velma Monteiro-Tribble, chair of the Fund. “We also wish to congratulate our grantees on their important work to make a difference in the lives of individuals and communities in Jacksonville.”
As a collective giving initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the A.L. Lewis Fund launched in 2022 with a focus on health, education and economic development in Jacksonville. It is named after Abraham Lincoln Lewis, a local entrepreneur, humanitarian and philanthropist who became Florida’s first African American millionaire.
