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Community Foundation Forges Unique Partnerships to Develop Palm Beach County's First-Ever Digital Public Square

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 February 2009, 08:15 CST

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties is forging unique partnerships among non-profit and community organizations as the charity prepares to launch Palm Beach County's first-ever "digital public square."

"We're proud of the wide ranging community partnerships we're developing to share information and discuss issues critical to quality of life in Palm Beach County. They are vital to our internet-based civic engagement experiment to connect Palm Beach County on a single digital platform that harnesses the power of web 2.0 tools," said Leslie Lilly, President and CEO of the Community Foundation.

From video footage of community events and an interactive historical timeline of Palm Beach County's history, to nonprofit news and comprehensive databases of community information, the Foundation's content partners are creating a wide array of resources and online training tools for the innovative project.

Nonprofit partners contributing content for the "digital public square" include the Center for Technology, Enterprise and Development; the Florida Public Health Institute; the Historical Society of Palm Beach; the Children's Services Council; the Palm Beach County Film and Television Institute; the Legal Aid Society; 1000 Friends of Florida; 211 of Palm Beach County; Nonprofits First; P.E.A.C.E. (People Engaged in Active Community Efforts), the Community Partnership Group and the Glades Initiative.

"We envision more partners joining our efforts to develop and share content as the project matures, including individual community members who offer a unique and diverse perspective on issues affecting Palm Beach County," Lilly added.

Funds from a two-year civic initiatives leadership grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are being used to develop the project and ensure its long-term sustainability. This includes training for content partners, the provision of grants to area non-profits, public outreach, development of grassroots civic journalism among community organizations and citizens, recruiting content contributions from across the region and staff support and technical training.

For more information please visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org or call 561-659-6800.

About the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties

Since 1972, The Community Foundation has granted over $4.5 million in scholarships to over 1,200 students and $74 million to nonprofit organizations in the community. The Foundation accepts contributions in support of community initiatives, special projects and permanent endowment. Income from endowment is used to make grants and award scholarships primarily in Palm Beach and Martin counties. To learn more, please visit www.yourcommunityfoundation.org.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation invests in journalism excellence worldwide and in the vitality of U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since 1950, the foundation has granted more than $400 million to advance quality journalism and freedom of expression. Knight Foundation focuses on projects with the potential to create transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

CONTACT: Kate Parmelee Director of Communications and Marketing Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties (561) 659-6800 ext. 121/kparmelee@cfpbmc.org Mark Hopkinson NewsMark Public Relations (561) 852-5767 mhopkinson@newsmarkpr.com http://www.newsmarkpr.com

SOURCE Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties

Source: PR Newswire

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