Philanthropist Delores Barr Weaver received The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida’s Prize for Civic Engagement as part of the organization’s 60th anniversary celebration.
“I often say that it’s the nonprofits who make it possible for me to play a part in building a better community. So, to all who are involved in their work– whether as a volunteer, a board member or supporter – thank you for all you do,” Weaver said in an April 19 news release from the foundation.
The Community Foundation created The Prize for Civic Engagement in 2006 to recognize people in Northeast Florida who possess qualities that are not often publicly acclaimed and advance actions that enhance the public good, especially when those actions are unpopular, the release said.
“It takes many types of assets – social, moral, reputational, intellectual, and financial capital – to build the better community we all want to see. Delores has led the way in showing us the good we can do when we put all our resources to work to take on the issues that matter,” Isaiah Oliver, president of The Community Foundation, said in the release.
The foundation said examples include:
• Weaver’s leadership at the Jaguars Foundation on the Straight Talk program, a media and grantmaking initiative that addressed teen pregnancy and reproductive health.
• Creation of the Connectable campaign to recognize the talents of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Being an ally to LGBTQ people through support for JASMYN and the LGBTQ Community Fund at The Community Foundation.
• Her commitment to women and girls, such as jump-starting the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center.
• Addressing sexual violence in the military.
• Co-founding the Women’s Giving Alliance.
Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Barr Weaver's legacy of philanthropy in Northeast Florida began when she moved to the area as co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1993.
She established the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund with a $50 million gift in 2012.
She has since partnered with The Community Foundation through numerous, multimillion-dollar gifts, including the foundation’s largest-ever of $61 million in June 2023.
Weaver established permanent endowments for more than four dozen nonprofits, including 20 that receive ongoing annual support through the Delores Barr Weaver Forever Event Fund.
To date, her grantmaking exceeds $209 million, with support for more than 300 organizations in Northeast Florida and beyond.
The prize has been awarded only twice before, to William E. “Bill” Scheu, a past chair of The Community Foundation’s board of trustees, in 2014; and Bill Brinton, also a past chair and founder of Scenic Jacksonville, in 2007.