June 2, 2018 – TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Volunteer Florida announced the availability of grant funding to help nonprofits recruit and retain skills-based volunteers. The Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) will allow nonprofits to use these volunteers to serve Florida students, families and communities. Volunteer Florida will distribute a total of $360,000; each grantee will receive $15,000.

VGF is funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and administered by Volunteer Florida. In 2018-2019, Volunteer Florida’s VGF program will help local nonprofits manage and support approximately 9,600 skills-based volunteers, who will collectively contribute 72,000 hours of service throughout the state – a value of $1,679,760.

Volunteer Florida National Service Programs Director, Cat Keen, said, “As Florida’s lead agency for volunteerism, we are excited to announce this grant funding that will strengthen the operations of nonprofits in the state. Our investment will put volunteers to work in diverse and high-impact positions, such as teaching financial literacy, providing disaster recovery and helping job-seekers find employment.”

Skills-based volunteerism expands the impact of community organizations by leveraging the skills of professionals, including teachers, IT consultants, accountants and attorneys. Special consideration will be given to organizations involved in disaster services and organizations that work to reduce or prevent prescription drug or opioid abuse. The nonprofits will match the funding with $360,000 in local investments, bringing the total investment in Florida communities to $720,000.

To view the notice of funding opportunity and learn more, visit Volunteer Florida’s Grants page.

A technical assistance call is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST via GoToMeeting.

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Volunteer Florida is the Governor’s lead agency for volunteerism and national service in Florida, administering more than $32 million in federal, state and local funding to deliver high-impact national service and volunteer programs in Florida. Volunteer Florida promotes and encourages volunteerism to meet critical needs across the state, and also serves as Florida’s lead agency for volunteers and donations before, during and after disasters. For more information, please visit www.volunteerflorida.org