06/24/2026
๐ด๐ IN PARADISE FOR GOOD: ELIZABETH BROWN & THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE FLORIDA KEYS ๐๐ด
Sometimes the work of a nonprofit is best explained by one small moment.
For Elizabeth Brown, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, one of those moments happened during a theater performance at Coral Shores Performing Arts Center.
A seventh grader leaned over and whispered that he had never seen anything like it before.
He had never been to a theater performance.
๐ญ
That's the kind of thing that sticks with you.
Because in the Keys, access is not always simple. We live in paradise, yes. But paradise is spread out. Key Largo to Key West is a long road, and for families, students, seniors, and nonprofits, distance can become a real barrier.
That's where the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys comes in.
CFFK helps connect people who want to give with the local nonprofits doing the work every day.
โค๏ธ Healthcare.
๐ญ Arts & Culture.
๐ Scholarships.
๐ Housing Assistance.
๐ Food Programs.
๐ค Family & Community Services.
๐ Environmental Projects.
The quiet, necessary things that help keep our community strong.
Elizabeth understands that personally.
She and her family first lived in the Keys from 2016 to 2018 and went through Hurricane Irma here. Like so many of us, they witnessed neighbors helping neighbors, people showing up for one another, and a community proving what it was made of.
When they later had the chance to come back, they did.
Now living in Tavernier and raising two boys, Elizabeth sees the Keys both as a nonprofit leader and as a mom. She sees the coaches, teachers, friends, and neighbors who know her children and genuinely care about them. And she also sees the challenges that don't always show up on postcards.
One of the biggest examples is healthcare.
Through CFFK support, Womankind was able to expand services in Marathon, helping bring gynecological care to women in the Middle Keys who otherwise may have had to travel to Key West or Miami for basic care.
That's not a small thing.
It's the difference between healthcare being available and healthcare being out of reach.
๐ฅ
The foundation's work has continued to grow. In 2025, CFFK's competitive and advised grants topped $1 million for nonprofits throughout the Florida Keys, helping support programs focused on healthcare, youth development, food security, education, domestic violence prevention, music programs, and more.
And now, as the Community Foundation celebrates 30 years, the mission still feels pretty simple:
๐ Help the people who are helping the Keys.
That means grants, yes.
But it also means training nonprofit leaders, helping organizations tell their stories, building long-term charitable funds, and making sure generosity today can continue helping this community decades from now.
That is the part Elizabeth seems to understand so well.
This isn't just about writing checks.
It's about relationships.
It's about knowing who needs help, who can help, and how to bring those two together.
The Keys have always been built that way.
โก๏ธ One person tells another person.
โก๏ธ A neighbor steps in.
โก๏ธ A donor says yes.
โก๏ธ A nonprofit gets the support it needs.
โก๏ธ A kid sees live theater for the first time.
โก๏ธ A woman gets healthcare closer to home.
โก๏ธ A family gets food.
โก๏ธ A student finds a mentor.
โก๏ธ A community gets a little stronger.
๐ด
Paradise is beautiful.
But the real work is keeping it livable, caring, and connected for the people who call it home.
That's what the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys has been doing for 30 years.
And that's what "In Paradise for Good" really means.
๐๐ด
