Tallahassee – Volunteer Florida announced today that it is awarding $286,000 in federal funding to 22 nonprofits and service organizations across the state. Each organization will receive a $13,000 grant. The nonprofits and service organizations will match the funding with $287,560 in local investments, bringing the total investment in Florida communities to $573,560.

Volunteer Florida CEO Chester W. Spellman said, “As the lead agency for service and volunteerism in Florida, we are proud to announce this investment in communities across the state. Our grantees will put volunteers to work providing STEM education opportunities, helping job-seekers find employment, and teaching financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship to Floridians.”

The Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) is funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service and administered by Volunteer Florida. In 2016-2017, Volunteer Florida’s VGF program will help local nonprofits recruit, manage, and support approximately 6,600 skills-based volunteers, who will collectively contribute 44,000 hours of service throughout the state – a value of $876,660. Skills-based volunteerism expands the impact of community organizations by leveraging the skills of professionals, such as accountants, IT consultants, attorneys, and teachers. Each grantee will recruit 300 volunteers. These volunteers will serve a total of 44,000 hours.

The 2016 Volunteer Florida VGF grantees are as follows:

Big Brothers Big Sisters
Miami-Dade County
Big Brother Big Sisters Miami provides young people between the ages of five and 18 facing adversity with strong, enduring, professionally-supported, one-to-one mentor relationships with adult volunteers to help children reach their potential and have a permanent, positive impact on their lives.

Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County, Inc. 
Palm Beach County
Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County, Inc. serves high-risk, underrepresented children and teens between the ages of six and 18 by providing academic and social enrichment programs after school.

BRACE (Community Organizations Active in Disaster, Inc.)
Escambia County
BRACE, a community-based disaster coalition, works with families before, during, and after disasters to prevent homelessness.

Catholic Volunteers in Florida Incorporated
Orange County
Catholic Volunteers in Florida Incorporated provides support to the St. Vincent de Paul Re-Entry Project, which improves job access and economic opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals across the state of Florida.

Chapman Partnership
Miami-Dade County
The Chapman Partnership operates two Homeless Assistance Centers with 800 beds located in Miami and Homestead. Chapman Partnership serves approximately 5,000 men, women, and families with children annually, providing emergency housing, meals, health, dental, and psychiatric care, day care, job training, job placement, and assistance with securing stable housing.

Communities in Schools of Florida Inc.
Leon County
Communities in Schools of Florida Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that connects resources from public and private sectors with at-risk students, utilizing the power of partnerships to serve students, schools and communities.

Franklin’s Promise Coalition
Franklin County
Franklin’s Promise improves access to local services and promotes positive youth development while emphasizing the reduction of substance abuse and other negative behaviors.

Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Service Inc. 
Pinellas County
Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, Inc. is a non-sectarian, community-based nonprofit that serves families and individuals in crisis.

HandsOn Broward
Broward County
HandsOn Broward inspires, equips and mobilizes people to effect positive change in Broward County.  Volunteers will be engaged in expanding HandsOn Broward’s project leader training program to include specialized training focused on environmental initiatives.

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Broward County
Broward County
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Broward County works to reduce infant deaths by strengthening families through a comprehensive approach to prenatal care, including parenting education and support services.

Junior Achievement of North Florida
Leon County
Junior Achievement Big Bend, a satellite office of Junior Achievement North Florida, will put community volunteers to work to provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give K-12 students knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship.

Junior Achievement of South Florida
Broward County
Junior Achievement empowers young people to own their economic success. Their volunteer-delivered, K-12 programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills.

Learning for Success
Miami-Dade County
Learning for Success, Inc. manages the KAPOW program throughout South Florida. KAPOW is a national network of business and elementary school partnerships which introduces students to career awareness through professionally designed lessons taught by business volunteers in the classroom and visits to work sites.

Lightner Museum of Hobbies
St. Johns County
The Lightner Museum is a nonprofit museum in the historic downtown district of St. Augustine. Skills-based volunteers will create public learning experiences in each of the Museum’s gallery spaces and support education initiatives.

Museum of Science
Miami-Dade County
The mission of Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science (Frost Science) is to inspire people of all ages and cultures to enjoy science and technology, in order to better understand ourselves and the world.

Saint Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum
St. Johns County
The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum is dedicated to discovering, preserving, presenting and keeping alive the story of the Nation’s Oldest Port.

Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science
Leon County
The Tallahassee museum of History and Natural Science will use volunteers to address community education needs by providing STEM-based education opportunities, including natural sciences and environmental stewardship, to students with limited access to STEM programs.

The Emerald Coast Science Center Inc.
Okaloosa County
The Emerald Coast Science Center inspires exploration, discovery, and interest in science through interactive exhibits and the highest quality educational programs.

United Methodist Cooperative Ministries/Suncoast Inc.
Pinellas County
UMCM Suncoast is a social services agency of the Gulf Central District of the United Methodist Church in Florida. Incorporated in 1975 as a not-for-profit, faith-based corporation, UMCM provides services to persons seeking to overcome obstacles in their lives.

United Way Of Brevard County Inc.
Brevard County
United Way of Brevard Health Initiatives includes strengthening the wellness of children and adults in the community. Skills-based volunteers will support the Healthiest Weight Brevard initiative to eliminate the risk of obesity for residents.

United Way Of Collier County Inc.
Collier County
United Way of Collier County works to advance the common good by focusing on the building blocks for a good quality of life – education, income, health, and safety net services. UWCC’s skills based volunteers will address two key interrelated challenges in the community: lack of economic opportunity and low high school graduation rates.

United Way of the Florida Keys
Monroe County
United Way of the Florida Keys leads a community-wide partnership with a diverse set of established volunteer-selected nonprofit agencies in Monroe County, Florida. Volunteers will be engaged in STEM educational programming and disaster services.

Click here to see a list of VGF grantees.