Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant aids hurricane recovery & increases disaster preparedness
Summary
This grant will help Tampa Bay nonprofits with ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Idalia and increase the resilience of local nonprofits in handling hurricanes, tropical storms and other emergencies.These resiliency and preparedness efforts are needed because Tampa was rated as the planets seventh-most vulnerable city to major storms, according to a recent World Bank study. The four initial grants were provided through two of the Community Foundations many funding vehicles: Critical Needs List and Competitive Grants.Two grants were provided to organizations that had lasting effects from Hurricane Idalia: Community Food Bank of Citrus County feeds more than 70,000 people monthly and received $45,000 to replenish supplies after the Community Food Bank fully stocked more than sixty food pantries, ministries, shelters, and soup kitchens across the Nature Coasts Hernando, Sumter, and Citrus counties in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. A $30,000 grant was used to replenish operational funds that were significantly impacted by the unexpected damages and ensure services would continue.In addition, the Community Foundation Tampa Bay awarded two grants to nonprofits that are working on increasing community preparedness and resiliency efforts to prepare for the next hurricane or disaster: Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay is an organization focused on repairing homes of Floridians on fixed incomes. They were awarded a $25,000 grant to educate residents about hurricane preparedness steps and assist homeowners with repairs in the wake of natural disasters. Donate to the Tampa Bay Rapid Response Fund, which provides quick-response grants to nonprofits that are responding to local residents needs when a disaster or crisis in our region.