Rooted in Community. Built for Lasting Change

Practical, community-rooted work that expands opportunity and strengthens the foundations for lasting progress.

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Rows of leafy greens growing in the NativeFresh aquaponics greenhouse behind the Weaver Center.

A mission rooted in community.

Founded in 1989 by the Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III, FreshMinistries began with a simple conviction: lasting progress depends on people having the tools, skills, and opportunities to shape their own futures.

That conviction continues to guide locally grounded work that builds capacity, expands economic opportunity, and strengthens resilient communities.

Today, FreshMinistries carries this work forward through an integrated portfolio of programs linking financial capability, workforce preparation, enterprise development, food systems, and family well-being.

Each program is designed to address practical needs while creating durable routes to greater stability, participation, and opportunity.

FreshMinistries is guided by a commitment to human dignity, inclusive service, and long-term community partnership. Its programs and partnerships welcome people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and circumstances.

Lasting change is built through trust, consistency, and sustained engagement.

The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III, founder and chief executive of FreshMinistries, in his office.

Meet our founder

The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Lee founded FreshMinistries in 1989, drawing on a career that has brought together pastoral leadership, civic engagement, and community development. His leadership has ranged from long-term partnerships in Jacksonville to national public service and international collaboration through the worldwide Anglican Communion and development networks in Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond.

Among a broader record of civic, faith, and international engagement, he has served on the Presidential Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and the Governor's Faith-Based Advisory Board; is a member of the Compass Rose Society; and has been inducted into the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. These examples represent part of a career defined by collaboration across community, public, philanthropic, and faith-based institutions.

Throughout, Dr. Lee has focused on turning shared priorities into practical work: building the relationships, systems, and opportunities that help people and communities move forward.

Meet the team

A Record of Service and Partnership

From community-based work in Jacksonville to partnerships across the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa, FreshMinistries has grown through practical delivery, long-term relationships, and a commitment to locally grounded opportunity.

1989

Rev. Robert V. Lee III as a young priest, holding an infant after a baptism.

FreshMinistries is incorporated in Jacksonville, establishing a long-term commitment to expanding opportunity through practical community development.

1994

Neighbors gather in the street for a ribbon-cutting outside restored homes on Jacksonville's Eastside.

The organization expands into full-time operations, building permanent capacity for financial capability, life-skills development, and workforce preparation.

2010

The Beaver Street Enterprise Center in Jacksonville.

The Beaver Street Enterprise Center is recognized as Business Incubator of the Year, reflecting its role in supporting entrepreneurs and small-business growth in northwest Jacksonville.

Visit Beaver Street

2014

A group of students holding up their completion certificates.

With support from the U.S. Department of Labor, FreshPath launches to provide coordinated education, mentoring, workforce-readiness, and family support for court-involved and at-risk youth.

Explore FreshPath

2017

The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee III beside the growing towers in the aquaponics greenhouse.

NativeFresh Aquaponics opens in Jacksonville as a commercial food-production and training site, creating a practical setting for testing systems, developing skills, and strengthening community access to fresh food.

See NativeFresh

2021

FreshMinistries and local partners breaking ground on a greenhouse site in the Caribbean.

Island Fresh opens on St. Croix as a six-greenhouse, off-grid aquaponics facility. In 2025, FreshMinistries transferred the completed facility to the University of the Virgin Islands for continued operation and learning.

2022

Volunteers tend grow beds inside the FreshMinistries greenhouse in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga.

FreshMinistries establishes a food-production and training facility in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, South Africa, advancing a locally led partnership focused on practical skills, food security, and community economic participation.

2024

Vegetable towers under the roof trusses of the aquaponics training greenhouse in Randburg, Johannesburg.

A regional training facility opens in Randburg, Johannesburg, providing a standardized site for operator training, technical learning, and ongoing support across Southern Africa.

2026

The study in the Tutu family home in Soweto: a portrait of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela above a bookcase, and a purple hard hat bearing the Archbishop's name on the table.

The Desmond Tutu Programme enters a new phase of development in Soweto, where the Tutu family home is being developed as a focal point for partnership, learning, and locally led food-systems.

Our global work
Explore our programs

Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals

FreshMinistries contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals through connected work in education, workforce development, enterprise, food systems, health and well-being, and long-term partnership.

The organization's programs address immediate needs while strengthening the capabilities, systems, and local relationships that support durable progress. Contributions are pursued and assessed through program-level evidence, local context, and accountable partnership.

Core areas of contribution

  • Goal 1

    No Poverty

    Opportunity and economic participation

  • Goal 2

    Zero Hunger

    Local food systems and food security

  • Goal 3

    Good Health

    Health, counseling, and family well-being

  • Goal 4

    Quality Education

    Skills, credentials, and lifelong learning

  • Goal 8

    Decent Work & Economic Growth

    Workforce and enterprise

Enabling contributions through systems and partnership

  • Goal 5

    Gender Equality

  • Goal 6

    Clean Water & Sanitation

  • Goal 7

    Clean Energy

  • Goal 9

    Innovation & Infrastructure

  • Goal 10

    Reduced Inequalities

  • Goal 11

    Sustainable Communities

  • Goal 12

    Responsible Production

  • Goal 13

    Climate Action

  • Goal 16

    Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions

  • Goal 17

    Partnerships for the Goals

FreshMinistries and Be The Change International

One Organization.One Shared Mission

FreshMinistries and Be The Change International are two names used by one organization, united by a shared commitment to opportunity, dignity, and lasting community progress.

FreshMinistries

United States–based programs and partnerships.

Be The Change International

Global programs and partnerships.

Lasting Change Requires Long-Term Commitment

Sustainable progress depends on trusted relationships, consistent delivery, and the ability to remain engaged beyond a program launch or grant cycle.

FreshMinistries builds for the long term, working alongside communities as needs evolve and new opportunities emerge.

Partner in the Work

Partnership with FreshMinistries sustains practical, locally grounded work across youth development, workforce training, enterprise, food systems, and family well-being.

We welcome philanthropic, institutional, and community partners ready to expand opportunity and strengthen local capacity.

Give today Volunteer Become a partner
FreshMinistries graduates and staff together with their certificates beneath the FreshMinistries logo.

The people behind the mission

Behind every program, partnership and new possibility is a team committed to creating lasting change in communities near and far.

The Rev. Dr. Robert V. Lee IIIFounder & CEO
Shelly MarinoChief of Staff
Bobby LeeDirector of Organizational Strategy & Partnerships
Michelle HarcourtExecutive Director, Weaver Community Center
Terrance BrisbaneBSEC Executive Director
Debra DixonFinance Director
Meet the full team Meet the board