Earlier this year, Charles Ezrine, on behalf of the Admirals Cove Club Board, approached me to study Admirals Cove Cares and begin a planning process for the future of our community’s charitable foundation. Admirals Cove Cares served our community well for over a decade, assisting our local community and connecting volunteers to areas of need, all through the hard work of many Admirals residents.
For those of you who may not know me, my wife Jill and I first came to Admirals to visit her father, Dr. Larry Becker, in 1995. We loved the community so much that we bought a home on Regatta in 2005, and built a home on Spinnaker in 2012. Along with our three children, we have loved our time at Admirals.
At the Board’s request, we assembled a small group of residents and retained Pam Rue, the retired Executive Director of the Lost Tree Foundation, to assist us in this planning process. Lost Tree’s foundation is highly respected in Palm Beach County and beyond for its effectiveness and the broad participation of its members.
The case for giving through a community-managed foundation is compelling. Admirals Cove is a special place, an irreplaceable asset, with our unique land, water, facilities, location, and outstanding staff. And yet, our gem is set within a broader community, from which come our suppliers, service providers, and our employees. It is where we shop, eat, exercise, visit the beach, and enjoy rich cultural resources. Without a healthy, safe, broader community, our unique home and even our property values, are at risk. Further, a culture of caring, engagement, and generosity is the thread that holds our community together, and the catalyst that makes Admirals truly special. It is a matter of civic pride that the Admirals Cove “brand” is known for quality, character, and leadership.
We are truly proud and excited to announce our new name, the Admirals Cove Foundation. Built on the hard work of many residents since the founding of our community, ACF will stand on four pillars of integrity:
1. To be the leading community-based foundation in Northern Palm Beach County, assisting our neighbors in improving the quality of life that makes our region great.
2. To operate with efficiency and transparency, making our collective contributions go as far as possible, with the greatest impact.
3. To fundraise in a fun and inspiring manner; to contribute to the character and culture of Admirals Cove.
Here is our plan:
1. To build a foundation board of residents, with committees for fundraising, allocations, and governance.
2. Focus our giving in Northern Palm Beach County, generally within a twenty-minute ride from our gates, on 12 to 15 of the highest impact, most effective non-profit education, social services, and healthcare organizations.
3. To have a pass-through option where Admirals residents can direct part of their donations to non-profit organizations of their choice.
With the full support of the Admirals Cove Board, we initiated both a planning exercise and then a recruiting process for a dedicated Executive Director. We are very excited to announce that we have hired Rebecca Divine, who comes to us from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Rebecca grew up in our county and knows the non-profit community well.
Our mission is to improve lives through a culture of giving. Most inspiring, our vision is: A vital culture of giving, reflecting the quality of living, that is Admirals Cove.
We are in the process of building working committees, and welcome anyone interested in joining us on the fundraising, allocations, or volunteering committees.
We will be sending you updates over the summer and look forward to launching this important initiative with the kick-off of the new season this fall. If you would like to volunteer or have any questions, please feel free to email Rebecca Divine at rebecca@admiralscovefoundation.org or me at eric@carettapartners.com.
Respectfully,
Eric Becker, Foundation Board President
