The Together Strong Community Fund marked $1 million in grants made since it was established two years ago.
David Miller, co-founder of Brightway Insurance, established the fund in 2022 in response to public expressions of antisemitism and hate in Jacksonville.
In partnership with the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the fund works to connect the community and build understanding based on people’s strengths.
Recent grants include support for field trips to an exhibit at the Museum of Science & History and seed funding to establish a Hillel at the University of North Florida, a student organization that focuses on Jewish learning, celebrations, arts and culture.
“Jacksonville’s greatest asset is its people,” Miller said in an Oct. 18 news release. “The Together Strong Community Fund is investing in our people through experiences that underscore one another’s strengths, capacity and resilience.”
The grant to MOSH supports community participation in the “Lives Eliminated, Dreams Illuminated” exhibit, in partnership with the Dr. David M. Milch Foundation. The exhibit features portraits by American painter Lauren Bergman based on archival photographs of girls and young women whose lives were lost during the Holocaust.
The grant is enabling more than 1,200 students from 60 public schools to experience the exhibit through free field trips.
“The beauty of this partnership, as part of our Cultural Passport Series, is that it enables us to share the LEDI exhibit with Jacksonville, bringing the history of the Holocaust to life through art,” MOSH CEO Alistair Dove said. “Students from all walks of life, from all over Duval County, will have the opportunity to experience this transformative exhibit, thanks to the Together Strong Community Fund.”
The fund led and supported Jacksonville-area initiatives including support for the First Coast Relief Fund and the Jacksonville Transformation Coalition in response to the racially motivated shooting in New Town in 2023.
It helped launch the ‘We Are Jacksonville’ media campaign in conjunction with OneJax, and supported the Sandy Miller OneYouth Education programs at the nonprofit.
Additional investments include support for the Community Security Initiative and creation of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida.
Additional recent grant recipients include the Jacksonville Symphony for its Violins of Hope performance and Beth El Synagogue at the Beaches for an initiative called “Spread Cream Cheese Not Hate.”
The Together Strong Community Fund’s mission has attracted other individual and corporate community investors including Florida Blue, the Jacksonville Jaguars, VyStar Credit Union, CSX, Haskell, Deutsche Bank and Baptist Health.
The release said that as the fund continues to make grants in the community, it will be administered by The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida. The Jacksonville Jewish Federation and Foundation will continue to be a partner, providing programmatic resources and expertise to the fund’s leadership.