City of Fort Myers
The Midtown Vision Plan has been approved by the Fort Myers City Council. The plan provides a framework for developing land adjacent to downtown, allowing for infrastructure upgrades along with future residential and commercial uses.
City cleanup projects are underway! New mapping tools will track the progress of citywide efforts to prevent crime and help citizens comply with fire and safety regulations.
The City of Fort Myers has contracted with the University of South Florida to develop a cohesive strategy for urban design, regulatory revisions and long-range planning for Downtown.
Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency
Our motto, “New Direction ~ New Energy ~ New Life,” aptly describes the desired outcome of the CRA’s redevelopment efforts for each of our 14 redevelopment areas. We strive to help underserved and blighted areas within the City of Fort Myers to head in a “New Direction” guided by a redevelopment plan designed specifically to revitalize that particular area. The plan contains the vision for the future of the neighborhoods and commercial corridors within that specific area. “New Energy” is what we hope to create by involving the community in our planning and redevelopment efforts. As redevelopment goals are achieved, “New Life” will be expressed in the viable commercial and residential neighborhoods which result from the implementation of the plan.
Collaboratory
Cultivating Regional Change for the Common Good. Rooted in philanthropy, Collaboratory focuses on improving the quality of life for everyone who lives, works, learns and plays in Southwest Florida. Collaboratory does this through inspiring collective leadership, serving as a concierge of philanthropy, identifying and monitoring its work through research and outcomes, and providing capacity building and trainings to nonprofit partners.
The Alliance for the Arts
The Alliance for the Arts is a vibrant and welcoming nonprofit visual and performing arts center located in the heart of southwest Florida. Since the 1970s, we’ve been transforming lives and improving community through the arts. Our year-round schedule of events has become a staple for our community to connect with each other and to the arts during engaging gallery exhibitions, inspiring art classes and stimulating theatre productions. The Alliance is creative space that spurs and supports self-expression, imagination and equity.
Our mission is to transform lives and improve our community through the arts.
Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network (FAAHPN)
The Florida African American Heritage Preservation Network (FAAHPN) is a professional association organized in 2001 by the John Gilmore Riley Center Museum.
FAAHPN serves as an informational and technical assistance resource in response to a growing interest in preserving Florida’s African American culture, that of the African Diaspora and that of other related ethnically diverse historic resources globally.
The Florida Black Heritage Trail Guide is a publication produced by FAAHPN that details a microcosm of African American landmarks and legacies that exist in various locations throughout the state of Florida. Though much of Florida’s African American History has been lost, this publication demonstrates a growing interest in documenting and preserving all that remains.
The North Law Firm
The North Law Firm, P.A. was founded more than three decades ago. The founder, Joe North Sr., was born and raised in the Dunbar community, only a block away from the current site of the Black History Museum. Led by Attorney Joe North Sr., his son Attorney Joseph North Jr., and supported by a talented legal team, the law firm advocates for justice on behalf if its clients, and also advocates for the preservation and celebration of the rich history of the Dunbar community.
The School District of Lee County
The School District of Lee County is the ninth largest district in Florida and the 32nd largest school district in the United States. We proudly educate approximately 94,000 students in grades PK-12.
The District is a model for others in the State and across the nation – from being home to the world’s first Microsoft Certified High School (Dunbar High School), a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (The Sanibel School) and one of the top International Baccalaureate (I.B.) high schools in the world (Fort Myers High School), we are preparing our students to compete in a high-skilled, global economy.
Schools in Lee County play a key role in community life. With approximately 12,000 full- and part-time employees, the District is one of the county’s largest employers, and with the District’s construction program, building new schools and renovating and expanding existing facilities, the District has been the area’s largest developer.
Florida Humanities Cares
Florida Humanities CARES provides vital funding to support general operating expenses for our most vulnerable cultural organizations and communities, so that they can continue to provide opportunities for our state’s diverse communities to access and engage with public history, cultural heritage, and civic learning during this unprecedented time and in the future.