CASF Foundation

CASF Creates Philanthropic Foundation to Promote Construction Trades

The Construction Association of South Florida has recently created the CASF Foundation, Inc., to expand its efforts promoting careers in the trades. In addition, the Foundation will encompass and expand CASF’s diverse community-service initiatives.

CASF’s long history of promoting the skilled trades, dating back decades when its initiatives included in-school programs and “open houses” featuring heavy equipment. In 2009, CASF became a charter “storefront” at the Junior Achievement (JA) World on the Broward College campus. Today, that storefront is regularly touted by youth as the most popular attraction at JA. The JA construction storefront exposes every student in the Broward County Public School District to viable career options in 13 construction trades.

In addition to its JA Storefront, CASF has long-standing endowments that each year present scholarships to deserving students at the University of Florida M.E. Rinker, Sr., School of Construction Management, as well as the Florida International University Moss School of Construction, Infrastructure and Sustainability. Moving forward, the CASF Foundation will maintain and expand these programs with its stated mission “to educate, train, provide scholarships and promote initiatives with an emphasis on skills needed in the construction industry.”

Despite adding 31,700 jobs over the past year and exhibiting the highest percentage of job growth (6.3), Florida’s construction industry continues to be challenged by an acute shortage of skilled labor. The CASF Foundation’s ability to develop successful initiatives and beneficial training programs will not only help address that ongoing industry concern, it will enrich its member communities by helping South Florida residents find fulfilling and lasting careers in the industry.

Those efforts will align with the other rail of the CASF Foundation, which is to encompass of CASF’s current and future philanthropic activities. Since its inception in 1950, CASF has been a staunch supporter of community organizations throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Over the past decade alone, CASF’s annual charity golf tournament has generated more than $1 million for youth-related causes for Children's Aid Club, SOS Children's Villages Florida, and Children's Opportunity Group.