Most of the grants funded focus on animal welfare and environmental initiatives
TAMPA, Fla. (July 17, 2017) – The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has announced recipients of nearly $165,000 in funding from its latest grants cycle. Several of the grants focus on improving animal welfare and environmental conservation in the Tampa Bay area, with recipients ranging from animal shelters and wildlife preservation to environmental restoration programs.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor, an organization working to connect and protect the network of lands and waters that supports wildlife and people, received a $15,050 grant. The grant will be used to produce a video about the need to protect the lands and water within the Nature Coast, primarily in Citrus and Hernando counties, from Florida’s rapid population growth and urban development. The Florida Wildlife Corridor plans for the video to serve as a catalyst to inspire citizens to advocate for land and water conservation in their community.
Tampa Bay Watch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Tampa Bay estuary, was awarded $10,000 to support and expand its existing “Bay Grasses in Classes” program, which facilitates youth involvement in habitat restoration efforts. Over the past 20 years, the program has planted more than 300,000 plugs of school-grown plants and has helped restore more than 150 acres of wetland habitat.
Each participating school has a wetland nursery where students plant, maintain, and harvest salt marsh grasses that will be replanted into targeted coastal areas. Students work side-by-side with local scientists and learn about ecology and agriculture. With the grant, Tampa Bay Watch will complete environmental restoration programs with East Bay and Lennard high schools and expand into additional middle schools and high schools.
“The contributions of these organizations are essential to preserving Florida’s natural habitat and environment,” said Marlene Spalten, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. “We’re very proud to facilitate these grants that we believe will make a positive and lasting impact on the Tampa Bay area’s wildlife and natural resources for years to come.”
Additionally, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has awarded the following grants:
•Humane Society of Pinellas received $3,220 for its Animal Angel Fund, which offsets costs of required medical treatment for pets of low-income individuals.
•Elmira’s Wildlife Sanctuary received $17,543 to install a new fence for the exotic and wild animals in its care.
•Feeding Tampa Bay was granted $50,000 to support South Shore food programs. The Community Foundation and Feeding Tampa Bay are working with local food banks and organizations to address food insecurity in the South Shore area.
•The Centre for Women was awarded $6,778 to expand its “You Grow Girl!” Entrepreneurship Program for Women in south Hillsborough County. The program provides a safe forum for girls to overcome insecurities and pressures, to develop healthy relationships and life skills, to find support in each other, and to navigate basic needed resources within the community.
•Friends of the Library of Hillsborough County, Inc. was granted $6,000 to support art classes and a short video for South Shore Regional Library’s John Crawford Art Education Studio.
•The Wimauma Community Education Partnership received $25,524 for initiatives that support its work in education. This grant was part of a larger grant totaling $100,000, including a $74,000 match from the Foundation’s Harold William Corrigan Fund. The grant facilitates a way for all organizations involved with education and afterschool programs in Wimauma to work together to improve the lives of students and their families.
•The Sarasota Opera was granted $2,500 and CCAI (Rae’s Hope) was designated $3,500 from a donor’s Field of Interest Endowment Fund.
•The Community Foundation has reserved $25,000 in matching donations for five local women’s clubs in the South Shore area as part of an endowment challenge.
About the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
Founded in 1990, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay connects donors, nonprofits, community and business leaders, professional advisors, volunteers and residents to make the maximum positive impact in the Tampa Bay region. For the last 25 years, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has been dedicated to making giving easy and meaningful for donors as a way to strengthen nonprofit organizations and build a better, more vibrant community. Since its inception, its donors have enabled the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay to award more than $185 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country.
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