Community Planning

United Way of Tampa Bay is active at a number of community tables. We work with coalitions, collaborative groups, and with our Partner Agencies to engage in consultations and planning that helps ensure the community is addressing issues and challenges in the best ways possible. Here are some current/recent examples:

United Way’s Community Impact Teams
Currently, three Impact Teams are working hard on United Way’s Family Well-Being Agenda. Subject matter experts, service providers, business leaders, and government representatives sit on the three teams. Each team is charged with identifying outcomes, strategies, and an overall plan in each of the three Family-Well-Being focus areas: Adult Education, Workforce Participation, and Child Care. Overseen by the Community and Partnership Development Committee of the Board, the Impact Teams will work together to deliver an integrated Family Well-Being Plan in late 2006.

United Way of Tampa Bay Community Impact Conference
Strengthening Partner Relationships by Creating Focus and Building Capacity
Click HERE for Online Real Time Record
Summary: On March 17, 2006, United Way of Tampa Bay and our Partner Agencies met for a day at the Collaborative Labs of St. Petersburg College. The conference focused on identifying major community issues and ideas to address them; capacity building for human service agencies; and United Way’s Family Well-Being Agenda. Nearly 100 participants worked all day to identify a range of "big ideas" which United Way is currently reviewing and incorporating into our future plans. The conference was sponsored by the Collaborative Labs at St. Petersburg College and through a grant from the Metlife Foundation.

The PCCH is about to begin its first year of implementation. Numerous municipalities are represented as is county government, JWB, faith communities, and others. First year costs of the implementation are approximately $200,000.

Key elements of the HLN’s 10-year plan are:

• Establish a system to oversee the efforts and the way money is spent on programs to help the homeless
• Create or lobby for a way to pay for the effort.
• Improve coordination among governments, social service agencies and other players.
• Work to prevent homelessness through education, early intervention, access to resources and better-paying jobs.
• Work on outreach to the homeless in streets, woods and elsewhere.
• Ensure that adequate levels and types of shelter are available

Addressing Homelessness in Hillsborough County
The Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County is actively addressing funding, public policy, advocacy, and planning opportunities to address homelessness and affordable housing issues in Hillsborough County. As many as 60 organizations have been involved with the coalition. United Way been involved with a "33612" group that was called together as a result of an emergency housing crisis in the 33612 zip code area of Hillsborough County experienced by a Children’s Board funded program called Positive Spin. A collaborative of organizations has been working for months on the development of a more integrated case management system between Positive Spin and other emergency service providers. Based on our involvements above, United Way has committed to taking a lead on bringing all the right groups together to develop a vision and country wide plan to move forward on the issues. One idea is to organize an affordable housing conference within the six months or so.

Also see the county's Affordable Housing Task Force Web site.