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2006-07 Annual Report.
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Notice of Compassion Florida Mini-Grant Awards

The Volunteer Florida Foundation is pleased to announce its 2008 Compassion Florida mini-grant recipients.

More than $200,000 was awarded to 20 community and faith-based grassroots initiatives to strengthen their leadership, financial management, resource development, and collaborative capabilities for their organizations.

OrganizationOffice LocationAward
Advocating for Kids, Inc.Sorrento$6,344
ALSO for Gay Youth, Inc.Sarasota$2,100
ASAP Homeless Services, Inc.St. Petersburg$12,976
Avenue D Boys’ ChoirFt. Pierce$7,597
Coptic Orthodox Charities, Inc.Clearwater$16,500
DeSoto County Homelesss Coalition, Inc.Arcadia$8,420
Extended Hands Community Outreach, IncWest Palm Beach$7,299
Fostering Hope Florida, Inc.Clearwater$15,399
Horizon Communities in PrisonsWinter Park$19,647
Linking Arms, Inc.Pensacola$5,500
Leland Family MinistriesBartow$18,316
Mt. Zion Primitive Baptist Church Foundation, Inc.Tallahassee$4,569
Neighbors First, Inc.Boynton Beach$3,400
New Beginnings of Lake County, Inc.Clermont$5,000
Pathways for ChangePensacola$13,500
Okaloosa Walton Homeless Continuum of Care/Opportunity, Inc.Ft. Walton Beach$9,450
Pinellas Village, Inc.Largo$10,535
The Refuge at Jumper Creek, Inc.Bushnell$4,970
S4P Synergy, Inc.Ft. Walton Beach$13,088
Word Alive Ministries Community Service Corporation, Inc.Lakeland$17,814








Compassion Florida rolls out training, technical assistance, mini-grants for grassroots groups

If you're a faith-based, community-based nonprofit in Florida with a modest budget and big plans to help our neediest citizens, then Volunteer Florida Foundation has some great news for you.

Starting last January, with funding from US Dept. Health and Human Services, the Foundation has unveiled an extraordinary program to bring individualized technical help and group training to the smaller nonprofits across the state.

The Foundation is proud to partner with the Florida Institute of Government on this amazing project to strengthen and grow the faith-based, community-based organizations that we know are doing so much for so many -- and with far too few resources.

Resource Roundtables

For executives or development officers for smaller faith-based or grassroots organizations, Resource Roundtables are learning circles that are open to just 15 members each, and they meet six times in 2008. Communities where these Roundtables convene are Leesburg, Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Treasure Coast, Tallahassee and Tampa. You must apply to be considered for a Roundtable.

Roundtable participants will work with Foundation and other experts on issues such as fund-raising, board development, marketing, strategic planning and issues that are individually important to the members. Each meeting focuses on upcoming grants, speakers from the fund-raising and grants management field, strategic planning for three years ahead and creating eight-week goal setting for the duration of the Roundtable. You won't want to miss this opportunity to take your nonprofit to the next level.

Roundtables are led by Volunteer Florida Foundation and Florida Institute of Government nonprofit experts and are open to faith-based and community-based organizational leaders with annual budgets of under $500,000.

Mini-grants

The Foundation is awarding approximately 20 mini-grants by May 2008. These grants will be awarded competitively to organizations that have never before had a federal grant. By establishing a good track record, the mini-grant recipients will then have stronger footing when applying for federal, state or private funds in the future. The grants may not be used for direct services, but only for building a stronger organization.

The grant competition for 2006 has closed, but another will be held in 2009.

For details on any of these opportunities, contact Suzanne.Yack@vfffund.org.



Important Links

National Websites
State Websites

Faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) have a long tradition of helping Floridians in need and together represent an integral part of our social service network. Since 2002, the Faith-based and Community Initiative has provided education to and communication among the state’s many FBCOs – large and small. VFF’s work in this initiative is carried out in three ways: bringing FBCOs together through conferences; conducting education and training workshops; serving as administrative support to a newly-created Faith-Based and Community Advisory Council to Florida’s Legislature.