Giving Compass' Take:

• The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay successfully initiated local philanthropy efforts to create a Nonprofit Needs List that matched local nonprofits with givers to provide resources. 

• How are you engaging in local philanthropy? Do you have the network to do so? 

• Learn more about philanthropic needs on a local level. 

The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has mobilized both its funding resources and its ability to connect to the community during the coronavirus crisis by establishing collaborative tools to match local nonprofits' needs with givers.

Since the crisis began less than a month ago, the Community Foundation has injected nearly $2 million into local nonprofits. And the numbers are growing as others -- including businesses, foundations and individuals -- respond to immediate requests from nonprofits that the Foundation has been gathering in a central location since March 25.

The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay created the Nonprofit Needs List, a centralized list of local nonprofits' greatest needs during the pandemic and the specific dollar amounts needed to fund each project.  In just two weeks, the Nonprofits Needs List has collected more than $14.5 million in needs from more than 315 nonprofits across the Foundation's five-county service area. Needs range from $500 to $1 million, and cover all aspects of nonprofit service.

"Some of the most immediate appear to be in basic needs, such as housing and food, resources for domestic violence, access to mental health services and alternative ways to engage and education students. We're continuing to analyze the requests to see trends," said Marlene Spalten, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. "Nonprofit leaders are being very creative in finding new ways to serve our community while maintaining the health of their staff and volunteers."

Donors are encouraged to contact nonprofits on the Nonprofit Needs List directly to make a donation. The Foundation has offered matching incentives when its own fundholders contribute to a need on the list.

Alternatively, donors can make a contribution to the Community Foundation's Tampa Bay Rapid Response Fund, a trusted and reliable way to donate to relief efforts.

 Read the full article about local philanthropy by  Missy Hurley at Patch.