Our Purpose
At Grilled Cheese, we’re more than a foundation—we’re a place of warmth, growth, and opportunity, much like the comfort of a simple grilled cheese shared during hard times. Through our three unique scholarships, we offer at-risk and underserved children a chance to explore their passions and grow their talents. Our ‘Find Your Passions’ scholarship fuels dreams by funding extracurriculars; our ‘Fresh Start’ scholarship gives new college freshmen a strong start; and ‘Go the Distance’ keeps past recipients on the path to college success. By paying it forward, Grilled Cheese serves up hope and opportunity, expanding horizons one future at a time.
We serve Alachua, Lake, Marion, Monroe, and Sumter counties.
The Founder
"When you have a passion you pursue it, when you have a calling you live it." Charisse Rivers lives her passion every day in both her personal and professional life. Charisse, a known financial advisor, University of Florida graduate, philanthropist, and mother of two, is passionate about educating people on effective financial planning. Charisse is the founder and CEO of Zinnia Wealth Management and popular radio show host for Retirement Coffee Talk podcast. As a result of her passion to pay it forward, she founded the Grilled Cheese Foundation, a non-profit organization offering scholarships to help sixth graders through college age students that enable them to discover their passions and pursue education with purpose.
The Story behind Grilled Cheese Foundation
"When you’re a kid you don’t necessarily know you are living in poverty until you do." Charisse was raised, alongside her two siblings by a single Dad in the Florida Keys. He was a tree trimmer, and work wasn’t always plentiful and neither was food. During one particularly rough patch Charisse's father took Charisse and her two siblings to a local restaurant. Sadly, he only had enough money for them to share one grilled cheese sandwich. You could say these experiences helped shape the rest of her life. The owner of the restaurant saw the need and gave each of them their own grilled cheese sandwich and then something else happened. The entire community rallied around this single father who was devoted to raising his three young children. In that small town, there were two dance studios, some amazing moms, a local restaurant, and a couple of families that helped shape their lives. Charisse learned the value of hard work and resiliency from her father and the importance of community in times of need. She knew that it took hard work to achieve a goal and that the reward of self-accomplishment was priceless. Charisse also recognized that her father didn’t understand how money worked and that his life could have had a different outcome if someone had taught him a few important personal finance skills. Charisse has made it her mission in her businesses to do everything she can to educate people on how they can control their future by understanding how to manage their finances. Charisse embodies the statement “knowledge is power” and “how this knowledge inspires confidence.” Charisse pays it forward to the community who once gave to her and to the local communities she lives and works in. Charisse models this passion by support for local veterans, anonymous gifts, and contributions during Christmas for children and parents in need and through founding the Grilled Cheese Foundation for middle school and high school students to help them pursue their dreams.