When Hurricane Helene struck Tampa Bay last fall, it devastated homes, knocked out power, and left our communities scrambling to recover. Just one week later, Hurricane Milton made landfall, compounding the damage and overwhelming already strained resources.
Entire neighborhoods were without power. Families were displaced. Critical nonprofits that serve our most vulnerable neighbors were suddenly navigating a crisis unlike anything we’d seen before. But in the wake of the back-to-back storms, something powerful happened. Through the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund, support moved swiftly, because people like you made it possible. At a time when many were waiting for help to arrive, your generosity ensured it was already on the way.
Built for Moments Like This
Created in 2020, the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund was established with a clear mission: To respond to disasters in Tampa Bay and promote the resiliency of nonprofits in the region.
It is a strategic collaboration led by:
- United Way Suncoast
- Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
- Allegany Franciscan Ministries
- Pinellas Community Foundation
Together, we’ve worked not just to meet urgent needs, but to ensure that frontline organizations are never left to navigate disaster alone.
Who We Reached
(a map of the 34 nonprofits who received funding through the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund during the 2024 hurricane season)
The Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund has supported nonprofits across multiple counties since the start of the 2024 hurricane season:
Cycle 1: Hurricane Relief (September–December 2024) Focused on immediate response following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton → Funded: $257,900 to meet emergency needs
Cycle 2: Preparedness & Recovery (January–May 2025) Focused on long-term infrastructure and systems strengthening → Funded: $740,432 to help nonprofits prepare and expand capacity
In total, 33 distributions were awarded to 34 nonprofit grantees, serving:
- Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties (primary areas of investment)
- Sarasota and Manatee Counties
- Desoto County, where one grantee brought resources to a deeply underserved area.
This was a truly regional effort, ensuring that every corner of our community had the support it needed.
What We Accomplished Together
Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund at Pinellas Community Foundation
Thanks to donors and partners like you, a total of $998,332.00 was granted to nonprofits across the Tampa Bay area.
Your generosity helped:
- Provide food for 2,200+ individuals, including grocery gift cards and mobile food delivery
- Distribute 2,500+ disaster preparedness kits to families with young children
- Offer rental assistance and emergency shelter to displaced residents
- Equip nonprofits with generators to continue services during outages
- Repair vital community buildings serving children, families, and seniors
- Connect hundreds to case managers for support navigating disaster recovery
A Closer Look at the Two Phases of Resilience
Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund at Pinellas Community Foundation
Cycle 1: 2024 Hurricane Relief
Total Granted: $257,900
This first cycle was shaped by a needs assessment led by Pinellas Community Foundation, which gathered responses from nonprofits across the region. By engaging directly with the community, PCF was able to identify gaps quickly and distribute funds with precision and care.
Funded efforts included:
- Emergency food assistance
- Grocery gift cards and delivery support for residents with disabilities
- Rental and direct financial assistance
- Disaster kits for newborns and young children
- Facility repairs and generator installation
- Temporary shelter and transportation assistance
- Salary support to keep critical nonprofit staff in place
This phase was all about restoring stability, safety, and dignity.
Cycle 2: 2025 Preparedness & Recovery
Total Granted: $740,432
In Cycle 2, the fund transitioned to a regional needs assessment process led by United Way Suncoast, identifying unmet needs while avoiding duplication of efforts with other funders.
Investments included:
- Backup generators to ensure continuity of care
- Infrastructure improvements to support food storage and communication
- Repairs to service sites supporting children, seniors, and medically fragile individuals
- Disaster planning and nonprofit preparedness programs
- Continued outreach and case management
This cycle moved us from emergency response to long-term resilience.
“This fund wasn’t just built to respond to a moment—it was built to evolve alongside the needs of our community,” says Duggan Cooley, CEO of Pinellas Community Foundation. “Every grant cycle has been shaped by listening: to nonprofit partners, to families, to the frontline workers who see the ripple effects of disaster firsthand. Preparedness, we’ve learned, isn’t optional, it’s essential.”
Why Your Support Matters Now
A local nonprofit funded by a grant through the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund.
We’ve seen the devastation firsthand, and not just in the days immediately following the storm. Back-to-back disasters like Helene and Milton showed us just how vulnerable our systems really are. What our region endured wasn’t just physical damage. It was the emotional aftermath, the housing insecurity, the job loss, the isolation, and the gaps in systems that weren’t built for crisis. We witnessed the long-term effects of storms that kept echoing for months, especially for those with the fewest resources.
That experience changed our approach to hurricane season.
It showed us what truly being prepared looks like—not just having supplies on hand, but building stronger systems, better networks, and more responsive organizations. It showed us the urgency of investing in resilience now, not later.
Your support allows us to do exactly that: prepare, protect, and prevent deeper harm the next time disaster strikes. Because there will be a next time. And we want to meet it with clarity, compassion, and readiness.
Donors Who Made This Possible
Rob Gronkowski of Gronk Nation Youth Foundation donates $315,000 to the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund.
We are deeply grateful to the funders whose generosity fueled this impact. Major donors include:
- Gronk Youth Nation Foundation – $315,767.59
- The Hearst Foundations – $150,000.01
- AARP Foundation Disaster Fund – $100,000 (with $50,000 going to Senior Citizen Services grants)
- Allegany Franciscan Ministries – $50,000.00
- The Parallel Foundation, Inc. – $42,247.42
- Ken Marks Sr. Fund – $30,000.00
- T. Rowe Price Program for Charitable Giving – $25,000.00
- Anonymous Donors – $23,709.75
To every individual, foundation, and business that gave, we thank you.
View the full list of donors here: Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund Donors
Who Received Support
A local nonprofit funded by a grant through the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund.
Funding from the Resiliency Fund was granted to 34 nonprofit organizations serving communities across Tampa Bay. These grantees represent the heart of our region’s disaster response, showing up day after day to deliver food, shelter, safety, and dignity.
View a full list of grantees here: Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund Grantees
Ready to Help? PCF is Matching Up to a Total of $25,000.
Disasters don’t wait. And thanks to you, neither do we.
When hurricanes hit Tampa Bay just one week apart, you helped us respond with urgency, care, and coordination. You helped feed families. Restore power. Repair homes. Deliver hope.
Now, as we look ahead to another storm season, we’re not just bracing, we’re preparing. With your support, we can build a region where nonprofits are equipped before the first wind hits. Where families know help is already on the way. Where recovery begins sooner, because resilience is already in place.
Your donation to the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund is an investment in that future.
💚 And right now, your gift goes twice as far.
Pinellas Community Foundation is matching all donations, dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $25,000.
That means every dollar you give will directly support nonprofits providing food, shelter, safety, and dignity when it matters most—and now, it will go even further.
Whether it’s $5 or $5,000, your generosity helps write the next chapter of resilience.
DONATE NOW
With Gratitude,
The Pinellas Community Foundation Team
In Partnership with United Way Suncoast, Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, and Allegany Franciscan Ministries.
Questions?
Reach out to us at info@pinellascf.org
Or give us a call at 727-531-0058
