Collier Community Foundation marks 40 years, $400M given

Turning 40 is a milestone for any individual or organization, marking a transition from early growth into a more mature and established phase. 

For the Collier Community Foundation, reaching that mark in 2025 was not only a year of celebration but also one of major accomplishment. The Naples-based nonprofit surpassed $400 million in cumulative grantmaking and scholarships since its founding in 1985. 

Those funds have supported health and human services, education, the arts, animal welfare, affordable housing and environmental resilience in Collier County and beyond. 

Founded in 1985 by businessmen Donald T. Franke and William L. Oberhelman with a $300,000 endowment, CCF has grown into a central hub for philanthropic giving. The foundation now manages $375 million in assets and works with donors and nonprofits to address community needs. Its operating budget totaled $3.3 million in the current fiscal year. 

CCF supports donors who establish various types of funds at the foundation, which oversees investment management and grant distribution. 

In a recent interview marking the anniversary year, President and CEO Eileen Connolly-Keesler explained how the foundation operates. 

“We work with the donors in the community who want some guidance,” Connolly-Keesler said. “They want to make sure there is oversight and evaluation of grants that they are giving to nonprofits. Did they do what they were supposed to do with it? And what did it cost to do that? Donors are concerned about that, so when they work with us, they know we’re actually providing that oversight.” 

She said the foundation also works closely with nonprofits to connect them with donors whose philanthropic goals align with specific causes. 

“We know their programs, we know their staff, we know their needs so that we can connect them and help donors give their money to the organizations that meet their mission, whatever that might be,” she said. 

Connolly-Keesler, who has led CCF for 13 years, said the organization also serves as a “convener” around community challenges identified through a needs assessment conducted with the Schulze Family Foundation. 

“That’s the piece where the Community Foundation is looking at gaps and issues and problems,” she said, “and we’re bringing together nonprofits, donors, community leaders, whatever is needed to start looking at what these issues are and how to help address them, like we did with housing.” 

Some donations are unrestricted, allowing CCF to determine how the funds are used. With donor-advised funds, the foundation works directly with donors to identify appropriate grant recipients. 

Connolly-Keesler cited an example of a donor who places $100,000 into a donor-advised fund, receives an immediate tax deduction and then works with CCF staff to direct the funds over time. 

As community needs emerge, foundation staff may reach out to suggest opportunities that align with the donor’s priorities, she said, helping connect philanthropic dollars with organizations and causes that fit the donor’s intent. 

“It helps us connect those donors with what’s going on in the community,” she said. 

Anniversary highlights 

Among the highlights of the anniversary year was reaching the $400 million milestone. 

“One of the highlights, obviously, was hitting the $400 million in grants in our 40th year, which was purely by coincidence, but it is significant that $400 million has gone out the doors of this community foundation in 40 years,” Connolly-Keesler said. “So, that was pretty exciting.” 

Part of that total was distributed in October, when CCF turned its annual Celebration of Philanthropy into a day of giving, awarding $650,000 in surprise grants to five local nonprofits. 

Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Healthcare Network, YMCA of Collier County and Meals of Hope each received $100,000 grants. The Naples Players received the inaugural $250,000 Provol Award Grant, created in honor of the late Naples philanthropist Jeffrey Provol, whose $18 million legacy gift to the foundation in 2023 inspired the award. 

“These awards are a joyful reflection of 40 years of generosity in action,” Connolly-Keesler said at the event. 

New headquarters on the horizon 

Another milestone during the anniversary year was CCF’s purchase of an existing building near Vanderbilt Beach and Airport-Pulling roads in North Naples, which will become the foundation’s new headquarters. The organization expects to move into the building in July 2026. 

At the October celebration, Connolly-Keesler announced the future headquarters will be named The Wyss Center, in recognition of a $5 million gift from Naples philanthropists Joanne and the late Karl Wyss. 

She described the gift as “a lasting testament to their vision and belief in the power of community” and said Karl Wyss’ “spirit of generosity is alive in this gift.” 

Joanne Wyss said her husband would have been proud and delighted to help fund the foundation’s new home. 

“I know from when you look at their illustrious history that as they move forward and grow in all the services that they can provide, their positive impact on the community can only grow by leaps and bounds,” Wyss said. “I am very proud to be part of that.” 

The anniversary celebration also included a performance by the Naples Concert Band, whose home, the Cambier Park Bandshell, was among CCF’s earliest grant recipients. 

Building a $1 billion endowment 

While reflecting on four decades of impact, CCF is also focused on the future, with an ambitious goal of building a $1 billion strategic endowment. 

In the foundation’s 2025 Community Report, Connolly-Keesler wrote that such an endowment would “safeguard Collier County’s social safety net for generations.”   

The report highlights the ongoing “Great Transfer of Wealth” as baby boomers — the wealthiest generation in U.S. history — pass assets to heirs, estimating that $34.8 billion could change hands in Collier County over the next decade. 

Connolly-Keesler said CCF is encouraging donors to consider pledging 3% of their estates “for whatever they want to fund today or in the future.” A $1 billion endowment, she said, could generate about $50 million annually to meet local needs, respond to disasters and prepare for future challenges. 

“Compared to 13 years ago, we’re seeing wills come in, and we’re already seeing the transfer of wealth here,” she said in the report. “We are really, really lucky that we have philanthropists in this community who want to give back to it. Some places are seeing donations decreasing but we are not in Collier County.”