The Hypatia Collaborative Named One of 23 Local Innovators to Receive the Tampa Bay 2025 Innovation Award

Recognition Honors Partnership with City of St. Petersburg & Pinellas Community Foundation in Advancing Nonprofit Capacity-Building
St. Petersburg, Fla. — The Hypatia Collaborative is proud to announce that it has been selected as one of 23 local innovators to receive the Tampa Bay 2025 Innovation Award, in recognition of its transformative partnership with the City of St. Petersburg and the Pinellas Community Foundation. This award celebrates local organizations driving creative impact and institutional change across the Tampa Bay region.
The Hypatia Collaborative was one of three organizations in the Partnership of the Year category for its pioneering Shared Services Organization (SSO) model in St. Petersburg, which pools capacity resources and administrative support for small community-serving nonprofits. In collaboration with municipal and philanthropic partners, Hypatia has launched an SSO that offers free or subsidized access to grant writing, legal and financial consulting, technology, training, and strategic planning services leveraging a network of regional small businesses and contractors.
Dr. Linsey Grove, CEO and Veatrice Farrell, Chief Community Officer, are founders and co-owners of Hypatia Collaborative. This recognition follows acknowledgment by USF, which cited Dr. Grove, as a two-time alumni of the USF College of Public Health. (University of South Florida).
A Bold Model of Collective Capacity-Building
Hypatia’s SSO is a bold innovation in how local government, philanthropy, and the nonprofit sector can work together to strengthen organizations that otherwise lack access to infrastructure. Rather than each small nonprofit building duplicative back-office capacity, Hypatia offers a collaborative hub of expert services tailored to each organization’s needs. (hypatiacollaborative.co)
The City of St. Petersburg’s public ARPA grant recipient announcement outlines its commitment to this model, emphasizing Hypatia’s role in reducing administrative burdens for grassroots nonprofits through shared resources and technical support. (hypatiacollaborative.co)
Nonprofits participating in Hypatia’s SSO undergo a diagnostic intake and capacity assessment, from which an individual client services plan is co-designed. Throughout the cohort period, progress is monitored and benchmarks adjusted in partnership with client organizations. (hypatiacollaborative.co)
This public-private partnership leverages municipal support, philanthropic capital, and the operational infrastructure of Hypatia and its network of vendors to deliver services more equitably across the region.
What the Award Means — and What Comes Next
Being named a Tampa Bay Innovation Award recipient is both a validation of Hypatia’s model and an invitation to scale. The award raises regional visibility, strengthens stakeholder confidence, and positions Hypatia to attract additional partnerships and funding to sustain and expand its reach.
“We are honored to join this cohort of innovators in Tampa Bay,” said Dr. Grove. “This award recognizes a different way forward: one where nonprofits don’t compete for scarce capacity, but share it, grow together, and build resilience as a whole.”
For the City of St. Petersburg, the recognition underscores a new approach to civic investment in nonprofit ecosystem health. For the Pinellas Community Foundation, it further cements its role as a strategic funder committed to systems change.
As Hypatia enters its next phase of growth, this award signals momentum: more nonprofits, especially in historically under-resourced communities, can gain access to high-quality administrative capacity at lower cost — enabling them to focus on mission delivery rather than operations.