Maria Jimenez-Lara took over as CEO of the Naples Children & Education Foundation in 2015.
Under her leadership, the foundation has doled out millions of dollars to Collier County nonprofits with money raised from the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival.
With millions expected to be raised again this weekend, primarily through the Jan. 27 live auction, the Naples Daily News asked Jimenez-Lara to answer questions about the organization, where it’s at today and looking ahead.
Naples Daily News: It’s been nine years since you took the helm of the NCEF. How has the foundation grown during your tenure?
Jimenez-Lara: Not only have we reached new records of funding from the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival, we have deepened our roots in the community, broadened our reach among children in need and improved our sustainability. For example:
- The 2023 Festival raised a record of nearly $26 million to support at-risk and underprivileged children in Collier County, after setting a record of nearly $23 million at the 2022 Festival.
- We achieved our longtime dream in 2020 when we moved into our permanent headquarters building, which improves our efficiency in many areas and provides nonprofits and the community with hub that is focused on child well-being and an incubator for collaboration and capacity building.
- The number of children we served cumulatively has doubled from 150,000 to now more than 300,000 with annual assistance to roughly 35,000 children per year. We now award grants to some 60 nonprofit organizations per year, up from approximately 37 nine years ago.