Community Foundation mobilizes efforts to help local non-profits provide additional services and address physical damage after Hurricane Ian
Tampa, Fla. (October 5, 2022) — The Community Foundation Tampa Bay has expanded funding opportunities for nonprofits that have been affected by Hurricane Ian. Many local nonprofits are now seeing an increase in demand for services while simultaneously assessing damage to buildings, interruptions in operations and other unexpected challenges.
Nonprofits provide critical services to the Tampa Bay community; however, many organizations have limited resources. A single, unexpected event can dramatically impact their ability to provide crucial services, and Hurricane Ian disrupted most of Florida. Without these crucial nonprofit services, many in our community will suffer.
To address urgent and unexpected needs, the Community Foundation has expanded the criteria for its Critical Needs List to include support related to Hurricane Ian. Nonprofits can submit Hurricane Ian-related needs to the Community Foundation Tampa Bay through the Critical Needs Form. The list is updated as nonprofits submit need requests and as funding is secured for projects.
Anyone can see the directory at CFTampaBay.org/CriticalNeedsList/ and donate directly to these organizations. Click on the button that says “Hurricane Ian related” to see only Hurricane-related requests.
“After one of the strongest storms to hit the United States, it’s important for the entire Florida community to come together to alleviate suffering and overcome the dramatic change of life,” said Marlene Spalten, President and CEO of the Community Foundation Tampa Bay. “We’ve expanded existing programs and re-activated funds to rapidly provide relief.”
The Community Foundation has re-activated the Tampa Bay Rapid Response Fund, which is a trusted and reliable way to make donations to address emergency situations in our community, including the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Tax-deductible donations can be securely made to the Tampa Bay Rapid Response Fund at CFTampaBay.org/give_now/RapidResponse/. The Community Foundation will distribute the funds to nonprofits in our community that are addressing emergency needs.
The Community Foundation is multiplying the impact of donations too. It’s committing 1-to-3 match to multiply the gifts from fundholders and family foundations when providing support to one of the requests on the Critical Needs List . For example, the Community Foundation will contribute $250 when $750 is granted to help meet a nonprofit’s Critical Needs List request. The maximum match is $5,000 when $15,000 or more is granted.
“With these relief efforts, we’re looking at the ways to help quickly, and with the most impact. It’s critical to multiply and maximize the generosity of our donors to best help those who have been most impacted by this devastating storm,” said Spalten.
The Community Foundation Tampa Bay’s service area covers five counties in the Tampa Bay region. It has created a directory of trusted resources to help in other areas of Florida that have been impacted by Hurricane Ian. To see the list of trusted resources in Southwest and Central Florida, visit CFTampaBay.org/HurricaneIan/.
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 $354 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the country.
