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Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Changemakers and moneymakers: Nonprofits meet with funders for community change
Ashley Eubanks Johnson never imagined she would find her calling on a highway off-ramp. While commuting home from work one evening in 2016, a homeless woman weaved through cars at a Pompano Beach stoplight to ask for change, her pants stained with blood due to her period. 'That really shocked me because the area we were in was down the street from a shelter,' admitted a now-38-year-old Eubanks Johnson. '[I] started calling around to different shelters, facilities and organizations that serve those that are unhoused and found little to no help or refuge for menstruators in need.' Shortly after, she took the money set aside for her 30th birthday trip to Jamaica and kickstarted The Beauty Initiative, a nonprofit that donates hygiene essentials like pads and tampons to women and girls in need. READ MORE: Nonprofit provides homeless women with help — and free sanitary hygiene items In the years since, Eubanks Johnson has revolutionized period-care awareness in greater Miami, touting her nonprofit's donation of 77,000 menstrual-care products to Miami-Dade County and Broward County schools this academic year, but the road to success has been bumpy. She has had to juggle her day job as a community liaison and database administrator for Broward County Public Schools alongside her community work for nearly a decade, occasionally dipping into her own paychecks to support the cause. 'I've done this work for almost nine years with no money, my money, and now some sponsorship money,' shares the Beauty Initiative CEO. Neglecting local grassroots nonprofits is an oversight that the world of philanthropy and one Miami-based organization are hoping to remedy. Changemakers and moneymakers A self-professed 'social impact accelerator,' Radical Partners' mission is to equip South Florida changemakers with the skills and funds needed to run a nonprofit and deploy them into their communities. The organization, which was established in 2012, pushes professional development and organizational management as part of the solution through initiatives such as Leadership Labs, a five-month program tailored to leaders who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color. The other part of the solution? Rubbing elbows with moneymakers. In a Neighborhood Heroes Connect conference hosted by Radical Partners at the Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami on June 5, The Beauty Initiative and other nonprofits met with JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank and other corporations to discuss the gaps in grassroots-nonprofit financing. Study findings released at the conference on the impact of Leadership Labs, whose curriculum promises networking opportunities with leaders in the nonprofit, for-profit and political sectors, revealed that the relationship between those funded and those funding is interdependent. Results from a survey conducted by Radical Partners showed that the improvements that nonprofits sought most aligned with what funders hoped to invest in. While most surveyed organizations reported fundraising, grant-writing help and optimized operational systems among their highest needs, funders reported innovative fundraising efforts and strong daily operations as the most attractive qualities when considering which groups to finance. 'There are things that you can achieve at a neighborhood level, where there's more trust and where, culturally, people understand the individuals they're working with,' said Ana Castillo, TD Bank's Florida regional community development manager. Castillo leverages her role to give marginalized communities in South Florida more access to traditional banking so they don't have to resort to risky financial moves such as payday loans. She says TD Bank's mission is accomplished, in part, by funding local organizations that understand their underserved neighborhoods best. Meanwhile, nonprofits such as the Foot Forward Foundation, founded by Broward-based Christopher Sisco and Maurizo Raponi, benefit from the spotlight that tends to follow funders. '[We want] just a little bit of visibility,' said Sisco, 41, who began the initiative in 2022 by handing out shoes from his own 'sneakerhead' collection to homeless people. The nonprofit has since expanded to serve low-income students and has launched six shoe-donation campaigns at schools across Broward and Miami-Dade in the past 18 months. 'We do what we do because we enjoy doing it, but [we hope] for more people with big pockets to see what Foot Forward is doing.' Creative solutions Championing collaboration between funders and nonprofit leaders, Radical Partners CEO Joana Godoy proposes what her organization calls 'creative solutions' to long-standing obstacles in the nonprofit sector. To alleviate the disparity between funders' donation caps and nonprofits' need for resources, Godoy suggests nonprofits share services and spaces — such as collectively pitching in for an accountant or having joint office areas — to spur teamwork while cutting costs. How to streamline administrative work when short-staffed? She recommends nonprofits look to how the business world has used artificial intelligence. 'We might die trying [to implement these solutions alone],' urged Godoy. 'So what we're offering here is, instead of putting everything on [ourselves], meaning 'my team, my organization, my funders,' for us to approach it as an ecosystem.' It's an outlook that changemakers such as Eubanks Johnson, who graduated from Leadership Labs' third cohort in 2019, have already begun to adopt and benefit from. '[Radical Partners gives] us the tools we need to lead, connects us with a community of trusted collaborators and . . . [helped me] lean into my gifts and trust myself,' shared Eubanks Johnson. 'With doing that, I was able to center my work in service with so many others.'
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Sexual battery charge dropped against former Broward schools employee
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has dropped a sexual battery of a minor charge against a former Broward County Public Schools employee who was arrested in March. Justice Joseph, 27, worked as a security monitor at West Broward High in Pembroke Pines and was arrested on the school's campus on a warrant for an alleged sexual battery that occurred in Miami, Pembroke Pines Police and Miami Police said at the time of his arrest. Joseph's attorney Yehuda Bruck told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday evening that his client was truly innocent and that the alleged sexual assault, reported by a man who said he 17 at the time and is now 18 years old, never happened. 'What he said about the actual night just turned out to be not true,' Bruck said. Joseph had proof that the the complaining witness in the case 'was lying about a bunch of things' and shared it with the prosecutor's office, his attorney said. The alleged victim in the case also 'had changed his story multiple times.' 'This allegation only came up after some disagreement about business among other things … It just didn't appear that he was telling the truth, so their responsibility was to let the case go,' the attorney said. Spokespersons for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office did not respond to an email sent after business hours Thursday seeking further information on its investigation and the disposition of the case. The case was closed within the last week. Broward County Public Schools spokespersons did not respond to an email sent after business hours seeking information about Joseph's employment status. 'My client worked for the school department also. He is around children, so this allegation was that much more hurtful and that much more damaging to his life,' Bruck said.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Broward school meals: Families' next steps as universal free lunches will come to an end
Broward County Public Schools on Friday offered students' families some lunch-preparation updates for the upcoming school year, as the district transitions to no longer offering universal free lunches. For the 2025-26 school year, lunch prices will rise by $1 for paying students: $3.50 for lunch in high school, $3.35 in middle school and $3 in elementary school. But those costs wouldn't pertain to certain eligible students. In a news release Friday, the district provided additional steps that families can take. Broward schools on July 14 will begin 'accepting Meal Benefits Applications' at to determine families' eligibility for free or reduced-price school lunches. The application is available throughout the school year at For those eligible, each reduced-price lunch is 40 cents, the district said. Broward school district to end universal free lunches, raise lunch prices The application process marks a transition back to the steps in place before the district began offering free lunches to all students during the past two years, bolstered by program funding. For the past two years, Broward Schools' Food and Nutrition Services Department assisted families with the cost of meals through two U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, as well as Food and Nutrition Services funds, the district said in a news release. For the upcoming school year, 'free and reduced-price lunches will be offered based on eligibility, requiring families to complete an application,' it said. The district said automatically certified to receive free lunches are students who either: — Receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. — Have Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. — Are 'enrolled in Head Start, Foster, Homeless, or Migrant.' Families should create an account for each student through My School Bucks at starting July 28, to buy meals and a la carte items, the district said. All students will keep receiving free breakfasts through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Universal Free Breakfast Program, the district said.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Broward school district to end universal free lunches, raise lunch prices
Broward County Public Schools will no longer offer free lunch to all students this upcoming school year. At Tuesday's meeting, the school board was informed that the surplus of federal funds that had been used to offer free lunch throughout the district for the past school year was finally depleted. For some Broward students, next school year will be the first time in several years that they will have to pay for lunch. In response to the pandemic, the federal government provided waivers for schools to offer universal free lunch, which expired in 2022. Some Broward schools continued to provide free lunches through the Community Eligibility Program, a nationally funded program for schools where 40% of the student population qualified for free or reduced meals, the Sun Sentinel reported in 2023. Dozens of Broward schools did not qualify for CEP, so for the 2023-2024 school year, the Food and Nutrition Services department applied for a federal U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program to provide the remaining schools with free lunch. Broward's universal free lunch continued into the current school year. Mary Mulder, the Food and Nutrition Services executive director, told the school board at Tuesday's meeting that the department had continued with the free lunch program in order to deplete a surplus of funds 'from the COVID years.' Federal rules from the USDA limit the amount of funds the district's nutrition program can have on hand. It costs about $9 million to provide free school lunch each year. Hepburn explained that over the past few years, the district 'utilized the strategy of feeding all students to deplete [the fund balance] back to the levels that are appropriate based on the federal government.' Not only will universal free lunch end for the next school year, the price of lunch will also increase by $1. School board members voted to increase school lunch prices during Tuesday's meeting. Each meal is now $3 for elementary schools, $3.35 for middle schools and $3.50 for high schools. According to a school district memo, lunch prices have not increased in 12 years. Food and Nutrition Services runs a self-operating budget within the school district and does not receive money from the district's general fund. The cost of food, equipment, supplies and labor has increased, Mulder said. Parents will be able to fill out paperwork to apply for free or reduced price lunch starting July 14 at Breakfast will remain free for all students. 'It's so vitally important that we have these robust conversations now so there's no confusion as far as parents that need to fill out the paperwork,' said school board member Lori Alhadeff. School board member Rebecca Thompson showed interest in expanding free universal lunch and encouraged the board to discuss it further. School board members said they would discuss the idea in a future workshop. 'The economic situation of our state is not going to get any better and if there is a way that we can explore this and help families then we should do that,' Thompson said.
Miami Herald
14-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Broward school district to end universal free lunches, raise lunch prices
Broward County Public Schools will no longer offer free lunch to all students this upcoming school year. At Tuesday's meeting, the school board was informed that the surplus of federal funds that had been used to offer free lunch throughout the district for the past school year was finally depleted. For some Broward students, next school year will be the first time in several years that they will have to pay for lunch. In response to the pandemic, the federal government provided waivers for schools to offer universal free lunch, which expired in 2022. Some Broward schools continued to provide free lunches through the Community Eligibility Program, a nationally funded program for schools where 40% of the student population qualified for free or reduced meals, the Sun Sentinel reported in 2023. Dozens of Broward schools did not qualify for CEP, so for the 2023-2024 school year, the Food and Nutrition Services department applied for a federal U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot program to provide the remaining schools with free lunch. Broward's universal free lunch continued into the current school year. Mary Mulder, the Food and Nutrition Services executive director, told the school board at Tuesday's meeting that the department had continued with the free lunch program in order to deplete a surplus of funds 'from the COVID years.' Federal rules from the USDA limit the amount of funds the district's nutrition program can have on hand. It costs about $9 million to provide free school lunch each year. Hepburn explained that over the past few years, the district 'utilized the strategy of feeding all students to deplete [the fund balance] back to the levels that are appropriate based on the federal government.' Not only will universal free lunch end for the next school year, the price of lunch will also increase by $1. School board members voted to increase school lunch prices during Tuesday's meeting. Each meal is now $3 for elementary schools, $3.35 for middle schools and $3.50 for high schools. According to a school district memo, lunch prices have not increased in 12 years. Food and Nutrition Services runs a self-operating budget within the school district and does not receive money from the district's general fund. The cost of food, equipment, supplies and labor has increased, Mulder said. Parents will be able to fill out paperwork to apply for free or reduced price lunch starting July 14 at Breakfast will remain free for all students. 'It's so vitally important that we have these robust conversations now so there's no confusion as far as parents that need to fill out the paperwork,' said school board member Lori Alhadeff. School board member Rebecca Thompson showed interest in expanding free universal lunch and encouraged the board to discuss it further. School board members said they would discuss the idea in a future workshop. 'The economic situation of our state is not going to get any better and if there is a way that we can explore this and help families then we should do that,' Thompson said.
