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Foundation

Chamber Foundation

Mentoring, scholarships, grants to teachers, and workshops for business leaders – these are some of the ways the Chamber Foundation supports education in Southwest Florida.

Purpose and mission

The primary purpose of the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc. is to support and assist the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce in its efforts to enhance education at a variety of levels in our community. The Foundation was founded in 2004 and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

The Foundation:

• provides scholarships for college students,
• provides grants to educators and educational institutions,
• supports educational programs,
• presents seminars and workshops of interest and benefit to the business community

The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Foundation has raised over $600,000 to support educational institutions and programs, our community, and local students.

Events

There are many opportunities to support the Chamber’s Foundation throughout the year, including several fundraising events where the net proceeds are gifted to the Foundation to support its mission in our community.

TWINS & PINZ FOR EDUCATION
This event is typically held in February and in collaboration with the Minnesota Twins and the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Grantees

The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Foundation has made significant gifts to a variety of educational institutions and grantees including:

The Lee County School District
The Foundation makes grants directly to teachers annually to support a variety of educational initiatives and programming. These grants support educational initiatives that otherwise would be difficult for which to obtain funding. The average grant is $500 and to date we have awarded over 1,000 grants.

Florida Gulf Coast University
The Foundation has an endowed scholarship fund at Florida Gulf Coast University. These endowed funds are used annually to provide scholarships to FGCU students pursuing a business-related degree. The Foundation also provides provided grants to non-traditional female students at FGCU through the Women in Business Scholarship Fund and their endowment with the university.

Florida SouthWestern State College
The Foundation has provided grants to non-traditional female students at Florida SouthWestern State College through the Women in Business Scholarship Fund.

The Watch D.O.G.S. Program
For several years, the Foundation has supported The Watch D.O.G.S. program in a number of Lee County elementary schools. This program is designed to engage fathers in the local elementary school and encourage their volunteerism. The men work along side the educators to help as crossing guards, car/bus rider facilitators, hallway monitors, library assistants, lunchroom helpers, classroom and homework tutors and playground/gymnasium coaches.