Community Voices: Nonprofit survey launches today

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

The St. Petersburg Foundation, Pinellas Community Foundation and the University of South Florida have partnered to conduct a countywide survey of the Pinellas County nonprofit sector, which launches today. All nonprofit organizations serving Pinellas County are invited to complete the 2022 Nonprofit Survey. 

The survey is a followup to the 2018 Nonprofit Scan and Survey, commissioned by the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. The 2022 survey organizers are making a push to boost survey participation above the levels achieved in 2018 through robust and inclusive outreach. It is hoped the survey will be completed once per organization by the executive director, CEO, chairperson or the person with the deepest knowledge of current organizational dynamics. Survey results will be released in Spring 2023, with deeper dives on specific topics released throughout the year. 

The survey will be conducted through USF’s Customer Experience Laboratory, recognized as national experts in survey methodology and analysis. The collaboration also leverages the expertise of the Pinellas Community Foundation and its knowledge of the county’s nonprofit ecosystem.

The nonprofit sector plays an outsized role in addressing community needs, creating innovative solutions to complex problems, and activating necessary – even lifesaving – services and functions in Pinellas County. Additionally, nonprofits are vital to our community’s economy, drivers of philanthropic activity, contributors to education, health, wellbeing and cultural connectedness, as well as key to successful public-private partnerships.

“Nonprofit organizations responded valiantly to the unique circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Duggan Cooley, CEO of the Pinellas Community Foundation. “We would like to learn more about pandemic-related challenges as well as the innovation it inspired so that we can better support their work.”

“Besides examining areas of opportunity pertaining to nonprofit organizations in a post-pandemic world, the survey will uncover issues that are most pertinent to specific organizations based on criteria such as organizational size and mission focus,” said Professor Philip Trocchia of USF’s Customer Experience Laboratory.

If you are a nonprofit leader whose organization is based in Pinellas County or delivers significant amounts of services In Pinellas County, please complete the survey. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Duggan Cooley at the Pinellas Community Foundation, dcooley@pinellascf.org or Karen Chassin at the St. Petersburg Foundation, karen@stpete.foundation.

Pinellas Community Foundation (PCF) was created in 1969 and holds millions of dollars in assets invested for the community’s benefit. PCF funds effective solutions for our most challenging social, environmental, and educational issues while supporting the advancement of arts and culture. More than 400 charitable organizations have received more than $95 million in donor-funded grants to support their community programs. The purpose and mission of PCF are made possible through the generosity of thousands of donors giving at all levels.

The St. Petersburg Foundation builds capacity at the organizational and community level for social impact. We leverage public, private, and philanthropic resources to help solve our community’s most challenging issues.

University of South Florida – Led by outstanding faculty and professional staff, the University of South Florida conducts innovative scholarship, creative activity, and basic and translational research, and delivers a world-class educational experience promoting the success of our talented and diverse undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. 

Karen Chassin is executive director of the St. Petersburg Foundation.