Scroll & Read Our Snapshot Highlights
Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Wraps With 10K Business Pitch Competition
The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) – Eleuthera, a collaborative initiative between One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) and the U.S. Embassy Nassau, culminated in an official graduation ceremony on Friday, January 30, 2026. Held under the auspices of U.S. Chargé d’Affaires, Kimberly Furnish, twenty-one women entrepreneurs walked the stage and cohort finalists participated in an exciting 10K business pitch competition. The night’s big winners:
Bekera Taylor, of Taylor Made and TST Entrepreneur Village, a shared hub for culture-based experiences and adventures, and Devanna McCartney of 5-Stars Concierge, a premium concierge service delivering personalized support and hospitality services. These ladies each secured $5,000 in seed funding to help advance their business ventures.
CTI-HITS & Wake Forest University’s 3rd Annual Entrepreneurship Intensive & Pitch Day
Congratulations to: 1st Place Winner ($5,000), Dorlan Curtis of Food Post Farms; 2nd Place Winner ($3,000), Jehu Francis of A3 Washing & 3rd Place Winner ($2,000), Kadian Newton of Sizzle & Serve.
The 3rd Annual Entrepreneurship Intensive and Pitch Day, a signature program of CTI’s Harbour Island Trade School and Wake Forest University was again a resounding success!
This year’s immersive week of collaboration, world-class business training, skills development, and mentorship culminated in a community business pitch on January 10th, 2026 where three deserving students took home a combined $10,000 in seed funding from OEF to fuel their business dreams.
OEF Expands Learn-to-Swim Program into South Eleuthera’s Primary Schools
In partnership with the Ministry of Education and The Sean Connery Foundation, OEF expanded its free Learn-to-Swim (LTS) Program into South Eleuthera’s public primary schools in September. This ongoing initiative provides weekly transportation and swimming instruction at the CTI campus pool.
Children in grades 3 and 4 at Tarpum Bay Primary and Rock Sound Primary now have access to year-round water safety and swimming lessons. Fundraising is underway to expand this program to as many local schools as possible. In the meantime, the OEF LTS free summer swimming camp is slated for July. Thanks to the generous support of donors, this community program has provided nearly 400 participants, mostly children under 14, with life-saving swimming lessons and drowning-prevention skills.
CCO Attends St. Croix Foundation for Community Development’s Philanthropy Retreat
In February, Chief Communications Officer Yolanda Pawar represented OEF at the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development’s 8th Annual Philanthropy Retreat, joining regional leaders to explore new approaches to collaboration, coherence, funding resilience, and nonprofit innovation across small island contexts. Led by President Deanna James, the retreat reinforced the importance of connection, shared learning, and solid partnerships.
Over two days of fellowship, breakouts, and panel discussions, the group explored moving from fragmentation into formation, asset-framing in marginalized geographies, using system bypasses to navigate structural failure, and how place-based trust stabilizes entire civic ecosystems, especially when funding is challenged. These insights will directly support OEF’s Social Good Accelerator vision and deepen our commitment to coalition building within the sector and across The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean region.
Click to watch the recap video:
CTI-HITS Celebrates Another 59 Graduates
The nationally accredited certifications gained by students will increase Eleuthera’s “skills bank,” equipping young people with practical, income-generating capabilities and opening pathways to employment and entrepreneurship.
In a significant milestone for workforce development, fifty-nine students from North Eleuthera graduated from CTI’s Harbour Island Trade School on February 20th. Ready to advance their careers, students completed a range of in-demand programs, including Electrical Installation Level II & Single-Phase Electrical Installation, Entrepreneurship:101, and QuickBooks with Accounting (levels I & II).
7th Annual MOT Food & Craft Fest Is A Hit
Every year, the festival brings together patrons of all ages to celebrate culture while providing an economic boost for participants. From Junkanoo rushouts to fire dancing to souvenir crafting and fresh conch cracked fresh out of the shell, this event continues to delight and support South Eleuthera’s community and economy.
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism’s 7th Annual Food & Craft Fest, hosted in partnership with OEF at the CTI Campus, continues to evolve and grow. The event, celebrated by locals and visitors alike every February, showcases the many talented artisans, fine artists, chefs, craftmakers, manufacturers, musicians, and entrepreneurs who keep Eleuthera’s heritage vibrant and strengthen the island’s Orange Economy.
OEF Partners With BTC on Easter Farmers Market for Staff
In April, OEF partnered with BTC CEO Sameer Bhatti to host another healthful and fruitful Easter Farmers Market at the company’s headquarters in Nassau. For the fourth consecutive year, BTC employees were treated to a day dedicated to their health, well-being, and enjoyment. The training farm at CTI proudly supplied the bulk of fresh, nutritious, locally grown produce for employees to fill their baskets.
This year’s program included other Eleuthera-based farmers, who, alongside OEF, are helping to keep local agriculture thriving! Staff goodies included a variety of vegetables and fruits, organic farm-fresh eggs, bush teas, traditional hot cross buns, and lively backyard farming demos from SoilSista & Soul and Soil Composting. Staff got the opportunity to meet the Eleuthera farmers themselves and learn about farming in the country. We love supporting initiatives that align with our mission to strengthen local agriculture, empower communities, and promote healthier, more sustainable living.
OEF Goes "On The Record" with Jerome Sawyer
From advancing food security to educating hundreds of residents to fill skills gaps, his popular show “On The Record” delved into OEF’s revolutionary work and nation-building in a double feature.
Aligned with our 14th Anniversary, nationally acclaimed television host and journalist, Jerome Sawyer, recently visited OEF and the CTI Campus to learn more about the impactful community and sustainable development work being pioneered by OEF.
Click below to watch both shows:
Make your 14th Anniversary Gift today. Together, let’s keep proving that change is possible and attainable for Eleuthera and The Bahamas.
The Next Chapter Begins with You
Fourteen years ago, a committed circle of early supporters and visionaries launched a bold Shared Vision for Eleuthera’s future. They believed that a place-based organization invested deeply in its community could transform lives, teach...
A Campus for Everyone: CTI as a Community Gathering Place
Over the past decade, the CTI campus has expanded into much more than a training facility. It has become a gathering place for Eleutherans to gather, grow and celebrate community events and milestones.Throughout the year, students, faculty,...
The Deep Blue: Exploring Opportunities in the Blue Economy
The ocean has long sustained life and livelihoods across Eleuthera and The Bahamas. Today, it represents one of the country’s greatest resources for sustainable economic growth and management.Through new research initiatives and stakeholder...
Strengthening the Third Sector: Building Out the Social Good Accelerator
Across The Bahamas, nonprofit organizations play a critical role in advancing education, health services, youth development, environmental protection, community resilience, and more. Yet many organizations have very limited access to training,...
A Living Classroom Takes Flight: The Bird’s Eye View Nature Trail
Eleuthera’s natural landscapes are among its greatest treasures and one of its greatest opportunities. The newly launched Bird’s Eye View Birding and Nature Trail is transforming conservation into education, tourism development, and community...
Innovation in Action: Building the CTI Regenerative Food Forest
Across the Caribbean, communities are exploring new agricultural systems capable of restoring soil, increasing biodiversity, and improving climate resilience. CTI’s 1-acre Regenerative Food Forest (RFF) is taking root and placing nature’s blueprint...
Growing Food Security: Why the CTI Training Farm Matters More Than Ever
Food security is one of the biggest and most urgent challenges facing small island nations and family islands like Eleuthera. The Bahamas’ dependence on imported food increases vulnerability to supply chain disruptions, climate change, and rising...
Rooted at Home: Technical Training That Builds the Workforce of Tomorrow
Across small island communities, one of the greatest challenges facing development is the steady migration of young talent seeking opportunity elsewhere. For years, this “brain and talent drain” has limited economic growth and reduced the...
A Message From The President and CEO | April 2026
Dear Friends, Fourteen years ago, One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) began with a simple but powerful idea: that communities thrive when people, environment, culture, and opportunity grow and flourish together. Today, that vision continues to take root...
Protecting Nature, Empowering People: OEF Unveils the Bird’s Eye View Birding & Nature Trail
Eleuthera’s forests are alive with biodiversity, history, and stories waiting to be told. OEF is on the final stretch and proudly preparing to open its newest eco-tourism and conservation initiative. Located within the lush Coppice Forest at the...
Learning, Service & Sustainability: Educational Tourism Strengthens Eleuthera’s Communities
This year, OEF proudly celebrated another impactful season of educational tourism - an initiative that blends academic study, cultural immersion, community service, and sustainable development. Through its strong university partnerships and...