Grant Request Best Foot Forward Foundation, Inc.
Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form
Organization Name: Best Foot Forward Foundation, Inc.
Legal Name (if Different):
Also Known As:
Mailing Address: 9080 Kimberly Boulevard, Suite 10
City: Boca Raton
State: FL
Postal Code: 33434
Main Phone: 561-470-8300
Main Fax: 561-922-6459
Organization Website: www.bestfoot.org
Employer ID Number: 30-0598378
Organization Tax Status: 501c3
Proposal Information
Today’s Date: March 25, 2021
Requested Amount: $7,500
Project Title: Grounded for Life
Project Description:
The Best Foot Forward Foundation (BFF) is the only nonprofit organization in Palm Beach County exclusively dedicated to the educational success of foster care children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. Established in 2010, its mission is to empower foster care youth to maximize their potential by providing essential academic support and guidance. There are 77 middle and high school foster youth in Grounded for Life, where BFF offers students with skills and opportunities to succeed in school, either in person or virtually. Foster care youth are shuffled to many different homes and school environments, which contributes to poor educational outcomes for students. All foster youth have suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect, and there is often little stability in their lives.
Grounded for Life’s Recipe for Success: BFF’s Grounded for Life program strives to serve as a constant in students’ lives, making year-round, one-on-one connections with each student by helping them to create a plan for graduation and their future. Based on the evidence-based, drop-out prevention model Check and Connect, the program creates long-term relationships with the students through Graduation Coaches who closely monitor school performance through academic assessments, a comprehensive education plan, and individualized goals for each student’s success. Due to COVID, BFF began seeing students virtually and adjusted its coaching to provide support to students through a completely remote process. In turn, BFF Coaches developed deeper relationships with students to help them maintain consistency in showing up to online classes and completing assignments.
Whether in-person or online, BFF Coaches will provide personalized tutoring, mentoring, test taking and study skills assistance. BFF also supports students’ mental health and wellness by helping youth deal with toxic stress, anxiety, conflict resolution, facilitating virtual activities such as yoga, meditation and breathing techniques and introducing students to online Apps such as Calm.
Total Project Budget: $719,711
Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): State funding: $18,480, Foundations and Grants $386,480 (Committed and Secured); Pending Grants $67,500; Individual Donations $242,251. Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): Committed: Bank of America, Boca West Children’s Foundation, ChildNET, City of Boca Raton, Comerica Bank Foundation, Ibis Charities Foundation, Jim Moran Foundation, Leslie L. Alexander Foundation, Make a Difference Foundation, Mattfolk Family Foundation, Norman Shulevitz Foundation, WalMart Foundation, Wanda and James M. Jr. and Moran Foundation. Pending: Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties Irving Stern Foundation, Palm Beach Country Club Foundation.
Project Duration: One-year; corresponding with Palm Beach County School District calendar
Geographical Area Served: Palm Beach County
Age Group To Be Served: 12-21 (middle school and high school)
Contact Information
Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
Contact First Name: Debbie
Contact Last Name: Ellman
Contact Title: Co-founder
Contact Phone: 561-470-8300
Contact Email: dellman@bestfoot.org