Community Impact Investments

Community Impact Investments is sponsored by United Way Suncoast. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

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For more information, activate the button labeled "Explore your accessibility options". United Way Suncoast’s capacity building efforts may be best defined with a singular word: investment. That’s because our investments in partner programs and capacity building efforts yield a return for the community.

**Every dollar we invest in increasing the capacity of our partners returns a value of $2. 75 to the community. ** We’re not just funding programs; we’re investing in people, outcomes, and long-term community transformation.

We’ve built our capacity building efforts on a foundation of care that’s data-informed, people-focused and determined to do the best for ALICE families across our three impact areas:**Educational Opportunity**,**Financial Security**and**Community****Resiliency**.

To achieve high quality community impact, our investment strategy includes supporting the development and growth of the people running our partner programs as well as sharing our expertise and eliminating our partners’ administrative barriers. Instead of just ask ing our partners about their plans for sustainability, we contribute to it:**our partners****leveraged an additional $2.

9 million****through additional grants and donations as a direct result of our investment. **When we strengthen the skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources that organizations need to survive, we increase the impact of our investments and our leadership. ### Results Team Applications now open Applications to the United Way Suncoast Results Team Program are now open!

Expand your organization’s capacity and grow your results by applying today. **Click here to complete your application** by Friday, July 10. Applicants will be notified by Monday, July 27.

* **Program Description** * **Participant Expectations** * [](https://tinyurl. com/mnsx62sp "https://tinyurl. com/mnsx62sp")**2026-2027 Program Timeline** Testimony from a recent participant: _**“We had lost a considerable amount of funding… without true results we wouldn’t have been as impactful.

After this, we not only got funding back, we launched a new program that is exploding. ”**_ To learn more about all our capacity building efforts, how we collaborate with partners, upcoming grant application periods, and other support initiatives, keep an eye on this space or email **communityinvestments@uwsuncoast. org**.

### Community Impact Investment One of the cornerstones of our capacity building, the Community Impact Investment, will deliver $14. 13 million to **67 high-impact programs** between now and June of 2028.

* The multi-year funding, a dynamic approach welcomed by our partners, will fuel programs that address urgent needs in educational opportunity and financial security throughout our five-county region: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto. * These investments reflect a growing commitment to the ALICE population (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed), with $9.

07 million allocated to educational programs supporting kindergarten readiness, grade-level reading, youth development and high school graduation and $5. 06 million to financial security initiatives including workforce training, job placement and financial literacy services.

* The competitive selection process involved 40 external reviewers from local industry, community organizations and philanthropy, ensuring thorough evaluation of all applications. Each application received five independent reviews before we finalized our funding decisions.

* **Our latest round of Community Impact Investments funds 92% of an applicant’s request, which includes funding more than half of the approved programs at 100% of their request. ** Spurred by our 2022-2025 Community Impact Investments, ACE Grants (**A**ccess,**C**apacity,**E**quity) provide one-time unrestricted funding for organizations making under $2. 1 million.

It’s designed to help unlock barriers to innovation and spark the next steps forward. * **A**ccess: Services and solutions are only as effective as they are accessible. What does your organization need to effectively reach ALICE families?

* **C**apacity: Barriers such as inflation and unequal resources hit community -serving organizations especially hard. What would help your organization create the time, space, or experience to expand your ability to achieve meaningful outcomes? * **E**quity: UWS is committed to challenging all factors of inequity and the impact they have on our community.

What would allow your organization the opportunity to be more inclusive in your services? **The next round of grant applications will take place in the Spring of 2027. ** More detailed information on eligibility and UWS priorities can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions quick-link below.

Please consult this document before proceeding with your application. * **Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions** * **Application and Reporting Questions** * **Sample Grant Terms and Agreement** * **ACE Grant Partner full list** ### Together We Recover Grants United Way Suncoast has distributed $1.

2 million in partner grants in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton,in addition to over $750,000 in additional grants through the collaborative Tampa Bay Resiliency F und.

* Initially, we prioritized emergency relief — food, shelter, home and business repairs and mental health support – but as the media turn its attention to other issues, United Way Suncoast amplified its efforts with recovery dollars that funded everything from resource cards for essentials to childcare needs, car repairs, cleaning items, emergency preparedness activities, furniture, medical equipment, first aid and hurricane kits.

* In the spring, we partnered with VISTRA Communications and Adcock Financial Group to extend our recovery support to small businesses. We distributed nearly $70,000 to 19 small businesses, including a number of early learning centers. * The work continues with an emphasis on recovery and resiliency for the next storm that’s likely to come.

We’ve partnered with Verizon, United Way Worldwide and Habitat For Humanity to develop training and workshops to ensure communities are better prepared for emergencies. * **Overall, the dissemination of Together We Recover Funds has served more than 148,000 individuals and 56,000 households. ** The UWS Results Team Program provides the space, tools, and expertise to help nonprofits achieve greater gains for those they serve.

Partners, regardless of whether they’ve received a grant from us, can access technical assistance opportunities for data collection and reporting, grant development, and networking with peers across the Suncoast Region. * The program intentionally focuses on one specific program or project within an organization. We want each participant to have a practical way to apply the methodology beyond the theoretical.

The broader goal is for each organization to apply what they learn in the Team Program to all aspects of their impact work. * Participants report measurables such as increased client registration, more effective data collection, and more efficient program designs with a focus on outcomes.

* Each cohort participant engages in a showcase at the end of the training, allowing them to detail what they learn and the impact of the increased knowledge. **More than 70 groups have participated in the Results Team Program since it launched in 2023.

** ##### Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties Bay Area Youth Services (DBA BAYS) Florida Institute for Community Studies – FICS Goodfellas Impact Coalition Inc. Hearts and Hands for the Homeless Pace Center for Girls, Pinellas Speak Up Tampa Bay Public Access Television, Inc. D. B. A.

Tampa Bay Community Network (TBCN) The House of Grace Incorporated The Stephanie A.

Wynn Foundation ##### Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto Arcadia Main Street Program, Inc. Drug Free DeSoto Coalition Hope DeSoto Long Term Recovery Group, Inc. Sarasota Music Conservatory Sisters Sowing Seeds, Inc ### Specific Initiatives Funding​ United Way Suncoast also invests in specific initiatives such as financial wellness,increasing literacy and team ing w i th other service providers in our communities of focus – all of which involve monetary support of our partners.

Our data shows that capacity building extends the impact of programmatic work in the community like ripples in a body of water, allowing us to help more ALICE households, those families and individuals living paycheck to paycheck who stand just one unexpected expense away from dire circumstances. **United Way Suncoast’s complete impact investments will total more than $13 million this year. **