SOUTHEAST REGION
$9 million TOTAL PROJECT
$8.4 million FCLF FEDERAL NMTC ALLOCATION
Construction of 13,860 sq-ft new facility for outreach to low-income youth
Estimated reach 1,232 annually - 80% of whom are low-income
400 Temporary and 15 Permanent Jobs estimated
“The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs is to go where we are needed most. We are so pleased to have been given the opportunity to make our teen career readiness center a reality, thanks to the support of FCLF.” – Jaene Miranda, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County
Belle Glade is known to be one of the most impoverished communities in Florida, with a high unemployment rate, gang and drug activity, and a violent crime rate of 4x the national average. Since 1971, Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County (BGC-PBC) has operated 13 clubs reaching a total of 8,600 young people county-wide, including 7 clubs in the high-poverty area known as “the Glades.” One of these clubs, the Smith & Moore Family Teen Center, was functionally obsolete and too small to accommodate the growing number of youth in need of services.
With financing through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program, BGC-PBC built a new 13,860 square foot building that tripled its former capacity and reach an estimated 900 low-income youth annually, to provide an after-school safe place for youth and teens. The new facility offers academic enrichment programs and technology-based career training with exposure to the most promising jobs and first rate workforce readiness. There will also be space for nutrition classes and a garden.
Youth served by the center are minority (99%), eligible for free or reduced lunch (81%) from single-parent or non-traditional households (77%), and live below poverty level (41%). BGC-PBC provides services for $30 per child annually – or free if needed; no one is turned away due to inability to pay. In addition to after-school and summer activities, the club serves 78,000 meals annually.
As the largest youth development organization in Palm Beach County, BGC-PBC provides nationally recognized programs to deliver three priority outcomes: Academic Success; Good Character and Citizenship; and Healthy Lifestyles. The success rate is high, with a 99% graduation rate in 2017, and 75% continuing on to post-secondary education.
Florida Community Loan Fund (FCLF) provided $8.4 million in federal NMTCs for the Smith & Moore Family Teen Center. The investor is US Bank CDC. This transaction was completed in April 2019.
“Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County reach children with invaluable mentoring emphasizing career counseling and workforce readiness, in addition to providing a safe space. It’s gratifying to be part of a project that provides such needed services to the youth of Belle Glade, a community that continues to struggle with persistent poverty and unemployment. Financing through the NMTC Program allows worthy projects such as this to happen right now, rather than years in the future.” – Nelson Black, FCLF Chief Lending Officer
Community Profile:
- Income 43% of AMI (area median income)
- 35% Unemployment Rate – 4x National Average
- 51% Poverty Rate
- FEMA-Designated Disaster Area, Brownfield, USDA Food Desert
Learn more at www.bgcpbc.org.
View more photos of Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County here in FCLF's Flickr album.
Pictured above, the new Smith & Moore Family Teen Center. Below, existing facility that was replaced with a new building financed by NMTC, and ribbon cutting at the new Family Teen Center in April 2021
