The Community Foundation Tampa Bay has provided $202,720 in funding to 11 local nonprofits that are working to create a more vibrant community. The grants are part of more than $1 million provided to 47 Tampa Bay-area nonprofit organizations during the 2022 competitive grants cycle.
Community vibrancy is a focus area for the Community Foundation’s competitive grants funding because a vibrant, active community is essential for the well-being of its residents and for building a sense of community.
“Funding for community vibrancy is important because residents who live in engaged communities are more likely to be healthy, well-educated, and secure,” said Marlene Spalten, President and CEO of the Community Foundation Tampa Bay.
The Community Foundation Tampa Bay focuses on projects that increase access to and appreciation of arts and culture; support resources to help our local environmental flourish; and foster collaboration. These types of projects may include arts and culture; resiliency and environmental sustainability; and community-based projects with widespread impact.
“These funded projects are significantly strengthening our community in a variety of ways, from feeding our hungry neighbors to increasing access to the arts to restoring our natural environment,” said Jesse Coraggio, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Community Impact at Community Foundation Tampa Bay. “Nearly every resident will benefit from this important work.”
The 11 organizations which received grants for community vibrancy projects are:
• 360 Eats, Inc. received $40,000 for its “360 Eats Food Truck” mobile food truck that will serve North Pinellas County homebound seniors, mentally disabled adults, at-risk youth, and families with limited reliable transportation, unpredictable work schedules, and without functioning kitchens.
• Audubon Florida received $25,000 to support its “Invasive Vegetation Removal Project & Maintaining South Hillsborough Bay Bird Sanctuaries” program to clear invasive vegetation and place native plants in three island bird sanctuaries: Green Key, Whiskey Stump Key, and the Richard T. Paul Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary Critical Wildlife Area.
• Friends of Carrollwood Cultural Center, Inc. was awarded $15,000 to bring national touring group Blind Visionaries for a performance and workshop, and to purchase an assistive listening system for blind and visually impaired patrons.
• Gasparilla Music Foundation received $12,000 for its Recycled Tunes program that collects, refurbishes and donates used musical instruments to classrooms at Hillsborough County Title I elementary schools.
• IDEAS For Us received $6,000 for Tampa Bay ecological shoreline restoration projects in St. Pete Beach and Tampa’s Ulele Springs.
• Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay was granted $20,000 to integrate environmental and sustainability topics in the experiential learning experiences at Junior Achievement’s BizTown and Finance Park, which focuses on Hillsborough County 5th and 8th grade students.
• Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg received $23,220 for its “Picture of Health: Art for Well-Being” series of programs that will use the arts to create a positive impact on mental health and well-being.
• Reach Services, Inc. was granted $20,000 to support a mobile grocery store that provides fresh and healthy food to people who live in Pinellas County’s food deserts with a bus donated by Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA).
• Seaside Seabird Sanctuary received $12,000 to enhance its education center and expand on the educational experience for its visitors who learn about the ecosystem and how coastal birds, fish, and plants are being affected by humans.
• University of South Florida St. Petersburg received $14,500 for its “Growing More Vibrant Communities through Conversations: A Pilot Project to Reignite the Power of Neighborhood Associations in St. Petersburg,” a pilot project designed to increase civic participation, commitments to collective action, and neighborhood vibrancy.
• Winthrop Arts, Inc. received $15,000 to expand its “Winthrop Arts Mobile Art Factory” that brings free arts instruction to low-income or migrant children in Wimauma and Plant City.
The funds are part of this year’s competitive grant cycle, which provided $1,041,646 to 47 local nonprofits, a record number. Nonprofits selected for grants focus on five areas—community vibrancy, economic mobility, empowering women and girls, mental well-being, and positive education.
To learn more about the competitive grant process and how to apply visit: https://cftampabay.org/grants/
About the Community Foundation Tampa Bay
Founded in 1990, the Community Foundation 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 more than 30 years, the Community Foundation 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 Tampa Bay to award more than $345 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country. Learn more at CFTampaBay.org.