Critical Needs List Grant

Critical Needs List Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Community Foundation Of Tampa Bay Inc
Amount: Up to US $250,000
Last Updated: December 10, 2025

Summary

The Critical Needs List by Community Foundation Tampa Bay addresses urgent, unforeseen needs of nonprofits that threaten their ability to serve the community. This innovative program allows nonprofits to submit requests for funding up to $250,000 for critical expenses such as emergency repairs and essential equipment replacement. With a focus on supporting local organizations, the program aims to match funding with community philanthropists, ensuring timely assistance to those in need.

Overview

Critical Nonprofit Needs While nonprofits provide services to those most in need within our community, many are often under-resourced and a single, unexpected event can dramatically impact their ability to provide crucial services. To address these unexpected needs, Community Foundation Tampa Bay has created the Critical Needs Form for nonprofits to share those urgent, unexpected needs with community philanthropists. Critical Needs List A critical need is defined as unbudgeted, unforeseen, and time-sensitive, and one that significantly interferes with a nonprofit’s ability to provide crucial services or presents an imminent threat to the organization’s continued operations. It is an innovative way to share specific needs with us, our fundholders as well as other philanthropists in the Tampa Bay community. Examples of requests for need might include: Emergency repairs of building structure or mechanical systems (heating/cooling, water service, etc.) where a sudden and unexpected failure interferes with the provision of services. Replacement of essential equipment and technology where a sudden and unexpected failure interferes with the provision of services. Addressing circumstances external to the organization that interfere with the provision of mission-critical services. Examples may include:The increase in gas costs for transportation-centric programming (i.e. – mobile services, client transportation, etc.)Updated security measures for organizations, such as churches or synagogues, that are experiencing increased safety concerns due to current eventsThe local community is receiving an influx of refugees as a result of international conflict and your organization needs to purchase bedding to shelter families Focus Areas Animal WelfareArts and CultureBasic NeedsDomestic Abuse and Human Trafficking EducationHealth and WellbeingWorkforce Services and Career Development Examples of requests for need might include: Emergency repairs of building structure or mechanical systems (heating/cooling, water service, etc.) where a sudden and unexpected failure interferes with the provision of services. Replacement of essential equipment and technology where a sudden and unexpected failure interferes with the provision of services. Addressing circumstances external to the organization that interfere with the provision of mission-critical services.Examples may include:The increase in gas costs for transportation-centric programming (i.e. – mobile services, client transportation, etc.) Updated security measures for organizations, such as churches or synagogues, that are experiencing increased safety concerns due to current events The local community is receiving an influx of refugees as a result of international conflict and your organization needs to purchase bedding to shelter families New submissions are added to the list once the nonprofit has been verified, usually within 24 to 48 hours of submission. Funding After completing the simplified Critical Needs Request Form, your needs for up to $250,000 will be included within a database of other nonprofit requests from our community. If your nonprofit’s request is matched with a donation, we will notify you and transmit funds to address the request as quickly as possible. Fundholder Match Program The Community Foundation Tampa Bay has also created a Fundholder Match Program that provides a 1-to-3 match to grants made from a Community Foundation donor-advised fund or Family Foundation to directly address a need submitted on the Critical Needs List. The minimum match is $250 when $750 is granted to help meet a need on the list. The maximum match is $5,000 when $15,000 or more is granted to address a Critical Needs Request on the list.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. To be eligible for funding, a nonprofit must:Be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code Be based in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, or Citrus countiesThough our fundholders may recommend grants to nonprofits anywhere in the country, we will concentrate on addressing critical needs within our five-county region. Exhibit strong management and sound leadership. Must not have received a Critical Needs List grant within the current fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).The nonprofit must demonstrate that their need is unbudgeted, unforeseen, and time-sensitive, and significantly interferes with their ability to provide critical services or presents an imminent threat to the organization’s continued operations.Organizations must provide justification for the request including:how is the request mission-critical to the programming offered?; and 2) the amount of funding the organization budgeted in the previous fiscal year for this expense vs. anticipated amount needed in the current fiscal year and the current gap in needed funding.

Ineligibility

Generally, the Critical Needs List process is not designed to fund:Annual appeals, endowment funds, fundraising events, membership contributions, and capital campaigns Budget deficits or shortfalls Deficit funding or debt retirement General operating expenses, ongoing program costs, or payroll expenses Medical or scientific research Political campaigns or direct lobbying efforts Religious or sectarian purposes Scholarships or funding for individuals Support for travel, field trip, competition, or award ceremony expenses for schools or organizations Support to increase services provided or new programming Support to increase efficiency of services provided, i.e. equipment, software, personnel, etc. Technology upgrades