Palm Beach County, located 67 miles north of Miami, is home to just more than one million residents and is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. Racially, ethnically and economically, Palm Beach County is a highly diverse community: a microcosm of the emerging New America. The most compelling proof is in the public schools, where over 195 different countries of origin and 121 different languages are represented. Countywide, residents of Hispanic/Latino heritage comprise 12% of the population; those of African descent, 13.5%; and those of Asian origins, 1.5%. Demographically, the county is fast becoming reflective of the diversity that is spreading nationwide.

In 1999, several Palm Beach County citizens participated in a series of study circles’, a process for small group deliberation on the issues of race and ethnicity and their impact on the community. The circles were sponsored by the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties through its Human and Race Relations Program. From one of these circles came the idea to form an initiative that would address these critical issues on a more sustained basis. Study circle participants, area funders and other interested parties formed a Steering Committee to more fully develop the idea of an initiative, determine its structure and construct a plan for facilitation. As a result of this collaboration: Toward a More Perfect Union: An Integrated Community Strategy for the 21st Century was created.

Toward a More Perfect Union (TMPU) represents a sustained effort by some of Palm Beach County’s leaders to help our communities better understand and appreciate the racial and ethnic mix of the county.

A nonprofit organization created in 2000, TMPU resulted from a study circle (see Programs) that the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties convened for its Human and Race Relations Program. Funders include the Community Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Children’s Services Council and the Quantum Foundation.

Toward a More Perfect Union is a Florida nonprofit 501c(3) organization.

A copy of our official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of Consumer Services by calling 1-800-435-7352 toll-free within Florida. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the state. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Registration #CH-15085.