By Lois Thomson
In the third and fourth quarters of 2021, Quantum Foundation of West Palm Beach allocated nearly $1.6 million in grants to 17 nonprofits in Palm Beach County for the purpose of improving the health of county residents. Guatemalan-Maya Center (GMC) in Lake Worth received the largest grant at $300,000.
Nate Cousineau, senior program officer of Quantum Foundation, described GMC as “a grass roots organization that’s working in the heart of the community. They’ve been around a long time, and their services continue to adapt to meet the needs of their community.” He said the organization offers various health and social services by bringing local providers together to present services directly to clients. “You could pretty much walk through their doors with a need, and they would find a way to meet it.”
Regarding the grant for GMC, Cousineau said, “One of the great things they’re looking to do is open a type of clinic – whether a mobile van or bus, or a clinic at their site hasn’t been determined; some components still need to be ironed out. But the grant was an opportunity to fund a trusted organization that’s meeting a specific need in that community that no one else is.”
He went on, “We’re hoping the funding first provides additional stability for current programming. They’re already doing great work and we want that work to continue to meet the needs that are already there. We’re also hoping it can be a catalyst for this new clinic to be able to give them the kickstart they need to take their medical services to the next level, and to meet the persistent medical needs of their clients.”
Seeking to help organizations that are working to improve the health of Palm Beach County residents is the purpose of Quantum Foundation’s grants. Cousineau explained, “We work in the community to identify programs and initiatives that are moving the needle to improve the health of residents here in Palm Beach County. One of the most important criteria is, are they making a meaningful impact in their work in the community.”
He said the foundation works with the organizations throughout the application process, and presents the proposals to the grants committee and board of trustees. “We’re fortunate that they have such incredible experience, varied backgrounds, and broad knowledge on our committees and board . . . their engagement is a vital layer to our vetting and approval process. Ultimately, the final funding decisions sit with them.”
Other organizations receiving funding during this period are ones providing dental care to wounded veterans, specialized care to Cystic Fibrosis patients, medical equipment and supplies to adults and children, child counseling, and meals to seniors and childcare sites, among many other services.
Cousineau said Quantum has different levels of grants, ranging from sponsorships of a health fair, funding for smaller grassroots organizations that meet basic needs, or larger grants for more extensive work. Those receiving the larger amounts are required to submit two reports every six months: one a financial report detailing how the funds have been spent to date, which must line up with how they proposed to spend them; and a programmatic report, telling what they’ve accomplished during that time, such as how many people they have served or the number who have received treatment.
Cousineau concluded, “One of the great things about our foundation is we have the ability to approach and improve health from a number of different angles.” He said the term “health” encompasses many things that help make up a large portion of someone’s overall well-being. “It’s not just access to a doctor, which is vital, but also the communities people live in, their ability to get healthy food, job opportunities, education, housing – a lot of areas influence health, and our funding over the last two quarters of 2021 reflect many of those areas. Ultimately, we’re looking to improve the health of Palm Beach County residents. Each of these organizations is doing that in a very distinct and unique way, and we’re excited to help them continue their great missions.”
Quantum Foundation was created approximately 25 years ago with proceeds from the sale of JFK Hospital, which sold for $135 million. The proceeds are invested in the market, and since that time, the finance and investment committee, which Cousineau said is “incredibly savvy and has done a wonderful job,” has grown the corpus to $175 million, while still enabling the foundation to give away $160 million to hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
For more information, call (561) 832-7497 or visit www.quantumfnd.org.
