Tampa Bay Equity Incubator
Join the Tampa Bay Equity Incubator’s (TBEI) inaugural cohort to help grow your organization. Go from talking to doing by discussing needs and opportunities via facilitated group discussion and receiving an analysis of recommendations. As a member of the cohort, you will receive expert cultural competence coaching, consulting, and access to workshops at no cost. This will be accomplished through culturally competent learning and development strategies that educate staff and prepare leaders and boards to be more equitable, competent, and inclusive, and increase nonprofit organizations’ capacity to reflect the communities they serve more closely.
Overview
The TBEI is a collaboration between Pinellas Community Foundation (PCF) and Inclusivity, LLC (INC) of which both are locally-based organizations with deep familiarity and roots in the community, and received initial seed funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The incubator provides the innovative solution to transform the ecosystem through a system-wide strategy and implementation benchmarks that promote equitable outcomes in the nonprofit sector by diversifying the workforce, executing equitable staff/board capacity-building strategies, and promoting inclusive, data-driven policies and practices.
Eligibility
You are eligible to apply for the TBEI Cohort if your organization:
- Has 501(c)(3) status under the code of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
- Has been operational AND providing direct services/programs in Pinellas County for at least one year prior to application.
- Has access to technology to fully participate in a virtual setting.
- Has governing and operational bodies, including board of directors, leadership team, staff, and vendors.
- Files an annual Form 990.
- Has not received an Inclusivity, LLC assessment in the years 2020, 2021, and/or 2022
- Commits to fully engaging in activities, such as uploading organizational documents within one week of request, focus groups, organizational surveys, development (coaching, workshops, peer learning) for 12-15 months.
Hospitals, schools (including colleges and universities), animal welfare organizations, houses of worship, governments, continuing care retirement communities, and grantmaking foundations are ineligible to apply, regardless of tax status.
Though this opportunity is not a grant, noncompliance with the requirements of previous PCF grants, such as not completing follow-up reports, will have a negative impact on an application.
Note: Previously TBEI required that an applicant have an in-house human resources representative. This requirement has been removed as of April 11, 2022.
Important Dates
Application Timeline
The 2022 Cohort for the Tampa Bay Equity Incubator will open on Monday, March 14, 2022. NOTE: The deadline to apply has been extended to April 30, 2022 at 11:59 PM EDT.
Selection Timeline
Announcements about the TBEI Cohort will be made in May 2022.
Cohort Timeline
The Tampa Bay Equity Incubator will require a commitment of one year, including the below phases:
- June 2022 – July 2022 – Preparation including document submissions and scheduling. Assessment and Evaluation Phases, including organizational focus groups, surveys, recommendations.
- June 2022 – May 2023 – Implementation Phase, including welcoming orientation, organizational development through coaching, workshops, peer learning
- December 2022 – Midpoint Re-assessment and evaluation
- May 2023 – June 2023 – Final Assessment and Evaluation
Review Criteria
Application proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Need: Your request to participate in the Cohort must be clearly indicated and include commitment throughout the entire Cohort.
- Operations: Crucial elements to a good application include identifying your organization’s succession strategy, providing an understanding of your program’s performance/ evaluation/ process, sharing your approach to cultural competency and capacity, and uploading all requested documents.
- Financials: We want to be sure that organizations are financially stable and/or sound. Strong applications will have a reasonable, cost-sensitive budget with achievable outcomes that display all sources of funding. If there are budget variances, they should be explained.
- Readiness: INC has developed a methodology for organizations seeking to strengthen their commitment to cultural competence and capacity building. The method determines the willingness and abilities of an organization’s readiness to drive change. The application questions allow the Selection Committee the opportunity to review your organization’s approach, readiness, and commitment as it relates to culturally competent capacity building.
Cohort Conditions
If selected to participate in the 2022 TBEI, your organization agrees to:
- Properly accredit TBEI through the use of the most recent logo on:
- Organization website
- Collateral, letterhead, and other external marketing material that feature sponsors (where appropriate).
- Grant TBEI the opportunity to visit your board of directors regarding partnerships and further opportunities with TBEI.
- Provide up to 3 TBEI partners and/or staff with a tour of facilities at once during the project period.
- Provide photos from the supported program/work.
Any exceptions to these conditions must be made in writing by both TBEI and your organization before you submit your application.
Application Format and Access
Application proposals will require the story of a client served, financial documents such as Form 990, leadership information, program performance, and demographic details of their organization. Access to the online application system can be found by clicking the APPLY NOW link on this page during the application period.
Questions and Deadline
Please see the Important Dates above to view application deadlines. Do not wait until the last week to begin the application. Questions regarding application content will only be answered up to two days before the application deadline. Please contact Delquanda Turner Smith. After this point, only technology-related questions regarding the grants platform will be answered by contacting David Bender. Applications must be submitted during the application period. Only online submissions are accepted. Please remember to click the Submit button prior to the deadline.
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