Baptist Health, Delores Barr Weaver Fund join forces to serve mental health needs in the region

In a quest to find new and more meaningful ways to address mental health needs in our region, Baptist Health and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida today announced the creation of The Partnership: For Mental Health.

The intention of this innovative project, which was recommended by Delores Barr Weaver to encourage joint learning and grant-making, is to make strategic grants to improve access and strengthen the system that provides mental and behavioral health care for all citizens of Northeast Florida.

By learning together about assets and gaps in how people are served, The Partnership: For Mental Health will activate responsive grant-making and support.

“The challenge of providing a fully responsive mental health ecosystem in our community calls for new levels of ingenuity,” noted Delores Barr Weaver. “This partnership is also a way to bring new awareness to issues, which will help eliminate the stigma around mental illness and signal that many entities care deeply about the well-being of citizens in Northeast Florida.”

A $2.2 million donor-advised fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida has been created to make grants across the mental health spectrum, including direct service, advocacy, awareness, training, and more. The Partnership: For Mental Health Fund has been capitalized by the Delores Barr Weaver Fund and Baptist Health.

“Mental health and well-being are fundamental to a healthy community, and by investing in this partnership model, we believe we will be able to have more impact in improving lives,” said Hugh Greene, President and CEO of Baptist Health.

For more information about The Partnership for Mental Health, contact Melanie Patz, vice president of Community Investment and Impact for Baptist Health and Amy Crane, senior program director for The Community Foundation.

To learn more and apply for funding, visit https://www.jaxcf.org/receive/how-to-apply#partnershipmentalhealth

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About the Delores Barr Weaver Fund

Delores Barr Weaver established this Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida in 2012 to provide grants to nonprofit organizations that do work she has supported over many years and to encourage others to do so as well.  Mrs. Weaver has an extraordinary legacy of philanthropy, and she has provided transformative support to dozens of nonprofit organizations that uplift, enlighten and advance our community.  Her establishment of the Delores Barr Weaver Fund ($50 million) in 2012 was the largest gift in The Community Foundation’s history. 

About The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida

The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida (www.jaxcf.org), Florida’s oldest and largest community foundation, works to stimulate philanthropy to build a better community. The Foundation helps donors invest their philanthropic gifts wisely, helps nonprofits serve the region effectively, and helps people come together to make the community a better place. Now in its 54th year, the Foundation has assets of more than $398 million and has made nearly $450 million in grants since 1964.