Send us Fan Mail

In this bonus episode that aligns with Episode 6: Are you a philanthropist? Nicole Donelson and Mark Brewer continue their conversation.

You'll also hear from a mini community member, Laurie's son, Liam.

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

What makes someone a philanthropist? We dive into this topic, breaking down obstacles, misconceptions, trends and more. Learn about the giving continuum, the giving circle model, and how perceptions have evolved over time.

Hear from:

• Mark Brewer | President/CEO, Central Florida Foundation
• Nicole Donelson | VP of Philanthropic Strategies and Partnerships, Central Florida Foundation
• Renuka Sastra | Past 100 Women Strong Chair
• Chris Manley | CFF Fundholder and All-Around Caring Person

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

Troubleshooting issues within our educational system feels overwhelming. A spotlight is often on crisis points, such as kindergarten readiness, third grade reading scores, and graduation rates; but, what if we zoomed out and flew over the entire system at 30,000 feet? What if we thought about the big picture, and determined what exactly we even want out of the system? This episode will help shift our mindset to thinking about systems-level approaches to improving education in our community.

This episode covers:

• What is a theory of change?
• How do our students feel about their educational experience?
• How does a community school work?
• What is the Orange County Public School’s new cell phone rule and what are its impacts?
• What is place-based philanthropy?
• What do we want out of our educational system?

Guests:

• Eddy Moratin, Co-Founder and President, Lift Orlando
• Student Guests: Michael, Reagan, and Naej

Central Florida Foundation Team:

• Mark Brewer, President/CEO
• Sandi Vidal, VP of Community Strategies and Initiatives

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

We hear this buzzword a lot: innovation. But what does it mean and is it a part of our community? Furthermore, is innovation a must-have in order to improve our region? Episode 4 digs into all of these questions with some of the best and the brightest in this space - and helps us to unpack this amorphous term and use it in a more meaningful way.

This episode covers:

• How do we define innovation?
• Is Central Florida an innovative community?
• How do philanthropy and risk interact?
• What is community innovation?
• What is social enterprise?

This episode's guests:

• Rob Panepinto, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Offer, Govo Venture Partners
• Grant Hayes, Dean, University of Central Florida's College of Community Innovation and Education

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

This is a deeper-dive bonus episode that aligns with Episode 3: Why should we care about our community's mental health?

Hear Mark and Sandi talk about strategies on creating a reliable and sustainable mental health workforce.

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

In today's day and age, caring about your mental health has been woven into our daily conversations; but, what about our community's mental health? What does it mean to care about our region's mental health at large?

In this episode, we dive into this topic with subject-matter experts that bring thought-provoking perspectives to the conversation.

You'll hear about:

• mental health vs. mental illness, and the importance of the language we use
• why you should know your ACEs number
• mental health stigmas and why money isn't the only answer
• innovative solutions that engage all sectors

Guests:

• Cendie Stanford, ACEs Matter
• Marni Stahlman, Mental Health Association of Central Florida
• Plus, Mark Brewer and Sandi Vidal, Central Florida Foundation

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

This is a deeper-dive bonus episode that aligns with Episode 2: How are we going to solve our housing crisis?

Hear an uncut version of Mark and Sandi talk about obstacles to having more attainable housing and how policy can shape solutions.

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

Central Florida is known for its world-class tourist attractions and top-tier restaurants and nightlife. It's all magic and pixie dust here, right? Not if you're one of the thousands of workforce residents slowly being priced out of housing.

This episode of the First You Talk podcast dives into Central Florida's housing crisis.

Learn about:

• attainable versus affordable
• causes of this problem
• Florida's new Live Local Act
• new ways of thinking about solutions

Guests include:

• Catherine Steck McManus, CEO & President of Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County
• Alberto Vargas, Planning Manager, Orange County
• Donya, an owner of a Habitat for Humanity home
• Mark Brewer, President/CEO of Central Florida Foundation
• Sandi Vidal, VP of Community Strategies and Initiatives of Central Florida Foundation

This episode used some data from this local source.

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

This is a deeper-dive bonus episode that aligns with Episode 1: Why is solving homelessness so hard?

Hear an uncut version of Mark and Sandi talk about two types of homelessness - episodic and chronic - and why understanding the two matters.

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.

Send us Fan Mail

Ever wonder why we can't just solve the problem of homelessness? Join us on a journey to discover the story of this complex issue, hear from people experiencing homelessness now, and learn what the City of Orlando is doing to try to alleviate this growing problem in the region.

Thank you to our guests:

• Mayor Buddy Dyer, City of Orlando
• Kathy, Rigoberto, Tiffany and David, clients of Samaritan Resource Center
• Mark Brewer, President/CEO, Central Florida Foundation
• Sandi Vidal, VP of Community Strategies and Initiatives, Central Florida Foundation

Resources mentioned on this episode:

• Central Florida Commission on Homelessness
• The Mental Health Systems Act of 1980
• Homeless Impact Fund at Central Florida Foundation Reports
  • The Housing the First 100 pilot program
  • The State of Family Homelessness in Central Florida

Visit the First You Talk website.

Visit Central Florida Foundation's Instagram.

As our region’s community foundation, Central Florida Foundation serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy. Championing the collective power of head, heart and dollar, we coordinate the commitment and investment of philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners to target today’s most critical challenges and those on the horizon to truly transform our community. The Foundation also offers expert giving advice, a personalized approach to managing charitable funds, and the capacity to convene collaboration across sectors. Learn more at cffound.org.