Community First Cares Foundation

What Community First Cares Foundation does

Community First Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation established in 2013 by Community First Credit Union of Florida. Headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, the foundation's stated mission is to fund high-impact projects that build healthy communities on the First Coast by improving educational systems, enhancing financial literacy, and supporting programs that improve quality of life. The foundation channels donations to non-profit organizations across Northeast Florida, with a disclosed pass-through ratio of 99% of funds raised returned directly to the community. Focus areas include education, financial literacy, health and wellness, arts and culture, and underserved communities.

The foundation operates through a community-led model, accepting donation requests via an online portal and disbursing funds to selected regional partners. It runs the Kindness Crew volunteer program through which Community First Credit Union staff engage in community service. Strategic partners include First Coast YMCA (youth development), Jacksonville Public Education Foundation (classroom grants and matching gift program for Duval County teachers), HabiJax ($2 million affordable housing commitment), and various arts and wellness organizations. The foundation is governed by a board chaired by Lori Smith, with Sam Inman (President and CEO of Community First Credit Union) serving as a board member; other board roles include Vice Chair (Jimmy Lovelace), Treasurer (Kim Gamez), and Secretary (Susan Verbeck).

As a 501(c)(3) entity under a federally chartered credit union parent (NCUA-insured), the foundation does not generate commercial revenue. Its economic model is donation-driven, with funds raised through Community First Credit Union's member base, digital channels, and community events. The foundation is a separate charitable entity from Community First Credit Union's core banking business, which offers personal and business checking/savings, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, student banking, and digital banking services — none of which are operated by the foundation itself.

Name

Community First Cares Foundation

Legal name

Community First Cares Foundation

Website

https://communityfirstcares.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Community First Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation established in 2013 by Community First Credit Union to fund non-profit projects in education, financial literacy, health and wellness, and the arts across Northeast Florida, returning 99% of donations to the community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Philanthropy Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Community philanthropy funding
• Nonprofit foundation grants
• Charitable giving programs
• Community development funding
• Financial literacy education

Headquarters

HQ city

Jacksonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The foundation raises funds through donations, with 99% of all funds raised going directly back into the community to support non-profit organizations in Northeast Florida. Founded in 2013 by Community First Credit Union.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Community First Cares Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that raises donations and distributes grant funding to non-profit organizations across the First Coast region of Northeast Florida. Its work centers on funding high-impact projects that improve educational systems, enhance financial literacy, advance health and wellness, support the arts, and address underserved community needs, supplemented by the Kindness Crew volunteer program.

Product overview

Community First Cares Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Community First Credit Union of Florida, established in 2013 to support non-profit organizations in Northeast Florida. The foundation funds projects improving financial literacy, education, health and wellness, and underserved community needs. Community First Credit Union provides a comprehensive suite of banking products including personal and business checking/savings accounts, various loan products (mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, home equity), credit cards (Visa Signature, Platinum Rewards, Secured cards), student banking programs, and business banking services. Digital banking capabilities are delivered through Online Banking (web), Mobile Banking App, Digital Wallet (Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay), Mobile Deposits, Bill Pay, eStatements, Account Alerts, Credit Card Tools, and Personal Financial Management tools. The CURewards program provides points-based rewards redemption. Overdraft protection services include transfers, lines of credit, and Overdraft Privilege.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cares Foundation Donation Request Program An online grant-request program through which non-profit organizations in Northeast Florida apply to receive funding from the foundation for projects aligned with its mission of education, financial literacy, health/wellness, arts, compassion, and underserved communities.
• Kindness Crew Volunteer Program A community volunteer initiative of Community First Cares Foundation (with 2025 Kindness Crew donation hours) that harnesses the power of community volunteers to support and uplift local causes on the First Coast.
• Cares Foundation Strategic Partnerships Program Partnership program through which Community First Cares Foundation collaborates with established non-profit organizations on the First Coast — including First Coast YMCA, Jacksonville Public Education Foundation, and HabiJax — to fund education, affordable housing, youth development, arts, and community wellness initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of funds raised go directly back into the community

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• First Coast YMCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity First Cares Foundation partners with First Coast YMCA to strengthen educational programs on Jacksonville. The partnership supports youth development and educational initiatives in the community.
• Jacksonville Public Education Foundation (JPEF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPEF and Community First Cares Foundation partner on classroom grants for Duval County teachers and an annual matching gift program for local classroom projects.
• HabiJaxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHabiJax received a $2 million commitment from Community First with a new partnership to support affordable housing initiatives in Jacksonville.
• Education OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation funds learning initiatives and programs serving children across all communities, aligned with its history as a teacher's credit union.
• Arts OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation supports organizations that promote expression and well-being through arts and cultural programs.
• Community Wellness OrganizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation funds organizations focused on compassion in communities, including beach improvement, youth mental health support, and food donations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Bank of America Charitable Foundation: National corporate foundation focused on workforce development, housing, and community stability. Comparable as a financial-institution-affiliated grantmaker, but operating nationally with a multi-billion-dollar footprint.
• Wells Fargo Foundation: A large bank-affiliated corporate foundation with comparable focus areas (financial inclusion, education, community development). Represents a much larger-scale version of the corporate-foundation model, useful as an upstream benchmark for what scaled credit-union-affiliated grantmaking can become.
• PNC Foundation: Corporate foundation of a major regional bank with strong focus on early childhood education and community development. Comparable in being a bank-affiliated grantmaker with education-heavy giving priorities.
• Truist Foundation: Corporate foundation of a major U.S. bank with deep Southeast U.S. presence and active grantmaking in financial literacy, education, and community development. Comparable in mission and donor type, though operating at materially larger scale and across multiple states.

Emerging players

• Corning Credit Union Foundation: Credit-union-affiliated charitable foundation supporting education, community, and financial literacy. Comparable in organizational structure (credit union parent, community foundation arm, education focus) but operating in a different region.

Direct peers

• VyStar Credit Union Foundation: Another credit union-affiliated charitable foundation operating in the Northeast Florida region. Closely comparable in structure (credit-union-founded, regional, donation-funded) and overlapping focus areas in education, financial literacy, and community wellness.
• Jaguars Foundation: The philanthropic arm of the Jacksonville Jaguars, also grantmaking to Northeast Florida nonprofits with a strong education and youth focus. Directly comparable as a corporate-affiliated foundation operating in the same geography and cause areas.
• The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida (The Community Foundation Jacksonville): The largest community foundation serving the same First Coast/Northeast Florida geography. Directly comparable as a place-based grantmaking organization focused on regional nonprofits, with a substantially larger endowment and longer operating history, making it the closest functional peer.

Regional players

• Florida Blue Foundation: Health-insurer-affiliated foundation funding community health and wellness across Florida. Comparable as a Florida-based corporate foundation with overlapping cause areas (health, wellness, community), but operating statewide rather than in a single metro.
• Foundation For The Carolinas: A large regional community foundation operating in the Carolinas. Functionally comparable as a place-based community foundation making multi-sector grants, but serving a different geography; useful as a benchmark for what a scaled regional community foundation looks like.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/commfirstcu
• Facebookfacebook.com/CommunityFirstCaresFoundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community First Cares Foundation