What would it take for every Pinellas family to thrive—and what could we accomplish if we built the path together?

Lasting community well-being and stability don’t come from any one organization or sector. They emerge when people with different experiences, expertise, resources, and perspectives come together to learn, build, test, and improve solutions.
 
The strongest solutions are built together.

What is JOIN Pinellas?

Joining Opportunities, Investment, and Neighbors

JOIN Pinellas is a convening of community organizations coming together to create lasting change for Pinellas. This monthly convening series will work to improve outcomes related to food security, homelessness, housing, and behavioral health—some of the most pressing challenges facing individuals and families in Pinellas today.

Pinellas Community Foundation, with backbone support from Reed Community Consultingand Building Social Good, is launching JOIN Pinellas in 2027!

JOIN Pinellas Objectives

  • Innovate and develop collaborative initiatives that improve household well-being and economic stability.
  • Build social connections and networks with community leaders who are committed to improving food security, homelessness, housing, and behavioral health.

  • Improve key community indicators, including:

    • Reduce # food insecure in Pinellas County
    • Reduce # homeless in Pinellas County
    • Reduce the deficit of affordable housing units for households less than 80% AMI
    • Reduce # of adults with poor mental health
  • Put shared learning into action by strengthening practices within participating organizations.
  • Prepare collaborative ideas for investment opportunities.

Why Participate?

  • Build meaningful relationships with other community leaders.
  • Have a voice in shaping solutions that will leave a lasting impact in our community.
  • Gain valuable knowledge from your peers through interactive, in-person convenings focused on shared learning, challenges, data, and opportunities.
  • Move ideas toward investment with fund development support to identify and pursue potential funding opportunities.
  • Gain visibility by presenting promising collaborative ideas at the JOIN Pinellas Summit in 2028.

Interest Form Dates of Significance

Date Process
October 19, 2026 Interest Form Launch
November 13, 2026 Interest Form Due
December 1-11, 2026 Interest Form Committee Review
December 15, 2026 Selection Committee Meeting
December 18, 2026 Selected Organizations Notified

Eligibility and Selection Considerations

  • Issue and Focus Area: Organizations must advocate for or work on improving food security, homelessness, housing, and behavioral health in Pinellas County, or be able to relate their work to one or more of these areas. We are looking for a diverse range of participants across these focus areas.
  • Region: Organizations must provide programs and services that support residents in Pinellas County. We are looking for a diverse range of participants across all of Pinellas County.
  • Connection and Knowledge of Community: Organizations must have experiential knowledge and understanding of the needs of Pinellas residents.
  • Organizational Maturity: Applicants must represent organizations with a demonstrated history of serving Pinellas County residents. This experience should reflect a clear understanding of the needs, challenges, and issues facing the populations and communities they serve.
  • Organizational Commitment: Selected organizations are asked to commit two representatives (an executive who is the key decision-maker of your organization, as well as a staff member who works directly in/with the community) for a minimum of three and a half hours per month over the course of one to three years. Staff will actively participate in a series of facilitated convenings and relationship-building activities. The convenings are intentionally designed to be fluid, and additional activities and expectations for your organization may be co-created during initial meetings.

Convening Schedule

All convenings will be held in person at a Central Pinellas County location.

Date Time
January 26, 2027 4PM – 6PM, Special Kick-off Event 
February 2, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
March 2, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
April 6, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
May 4, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
June 22, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
August 3, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
September 7, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
October 5, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
November 2, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
December 7, 2027 8AM – 11:30AM
Early 2028 JOIN Pinellas Summit

Frequently Asked Questions

Approximately 20 organizations will be selected for this initiative.

A minimum of three hours per month over the course of one to three years. Participants will actively engage in a series of facilitated meetings and relationship-building activities. JOIN Pinellas is intentionally designed to be fluid, and additional activities and expectations for your organization may be co-created during initial meetings.

Pinellas Community Foundation will provide a modest stipend to organizations that attend all convenings to help offset the time commitment. JOIN Pinellas is not a grant opportunity. The initiative is designed to bring organizations together to innovate and develop collaborative programs, services, and initiatives that improve household well-being and economic stability across Pinellas County. These relationships and plans can help organizations prepare for future funding opportunities that require established partnerships before a proposal is submitted. JOIN Pinellas will also provide fund development support for ideas that emerge from the convenings.

Not necessarily. Your organization may have a lead volunteer or board member who is best suited to participate. Organizations are asked to have two representatives: one who is a key decision-maker for your organization and one who works directly in/with the community. One or both of these may be volunteer roles.

No, this initiative is designed for people who sit within established organizations. The reason for this is that organizations have more capacity to implement initiatives developed from the convenings and to submit funding proposals. Individuals may be invited as subject matter experts if they are not affiliated with an organization. If you would like to be considered as a subject matter expert, please email us at jo**********@********cf.org.

JOIN Pinellas is designed as an in-person, collaborative initiative, and consistent participation is essential to building relationships, developing trust, and moving collaborative work forward. We understand that occasional scheduling conflicts may arise; however, both participants of selected organizations must attend all convenings. If either participant anticipates missing more than one session, this opportunity is not the best fit at this time.

The convenings will be held in person at a mid-county location in Pinellas County. The final location will be shared with selected participants.

Some follow-up activities arising from the convenings may be held virtually.

Topics and speakers will focus on household well-being and economic stability in Pinellas County, including food security, housing, homelessness, and behavioral health. Sessions will be designed as interactive working sessions, with local experts and community organizations providing data, insights, and ideas. Participants will then work together to apply what they learn, identify solutions, and put ideas into action.

The team that aligns, coordinates, and facilitates the group’s work.

The JOIN Pinellas Summit will bring together participating organizations, community investors, and other community leaders and stakeholders. Participants will have the opportunity to share collaborative ideas and solutions developed through JOIN Pinellas at the Summit.

Yes. While participation in the JOIN Pinellas convening series is limited to selected organizations, the Summit will be open to a broader group of community organizations and stakeholders. Additional details and registration information will be shared closer to the event.

Fund development support will focus on helping collaborative ideas that emerge through JOIN Pinellas move toward funding. This may include identifying funding opportunities, supporting collaborative proposals, and networking with funders. This support is not intended to meet individual organizations’ existing fundraising needs, but participating organizations may benefit from new funding opportunities arising from collaborative projects.

Lift Jax – A convening of business and community leaders working towards eradicating generational poverty in Jacksonville. They are working towards improvements in measures related to housing stability, education, health, access to care, ability to pay for other expenses, and employment.

HousingASAP through Hawaii Community Foundation – Convened homeless service providers over three years in a collaborative learning network that met regularly to examine data, learn promising practices, strengthen organizational capacity, and work together toward a shared goal of moving families into permanent housing faster and helping them remain housed. After the convenings, the state saw the first homeless reductions in over 5 years. Among the participating organizations, recidivism decreased, with some seeing rates drop by 70%.

Questions?

Please email jo**********@********cf.org.