Bank of America Charitable Foundation Awards $341,000 to Tampa Bay-area Nonprofit Organizations

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is awarding $341,000 in grants to 15 Tampa Bay area nonprofits offering job training, education programs and support services that help connect the unemployed, underemployed, veterans, youth and those with disabilities with employment opportunities.

“Our support is enabling individuals in the Tampa Bay area to achieve the education and skills needed to compete in today’s and tomorrow’s workplace,” said Bill Goede, Tampa Bay market president, Bank of America. “The bank’s investment in the Tampa Bay area is just one of the ways we are supporting education and workforce development organizations in our community and improving local economies across the country.”

Computer Mentors Group, a non-profit service organization in Hillsborough County comprised of computer professionals and others interested in the future job opportunities of disadvantaged youth, will use the grant to expand its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Corps program. The STEM Corps program enables students to perform service projects for non-profit organizations under the mentorship of information technology professionals. The program is intended to assist at-risk students in starting careers in information technology.

Creative Clay, an organization that provides educational, expressive and vocational opportunities in the arts for people with disabilities, will use the grant to support its Artlink program to provide job training, apprenticeship and placement for artists with disabilities in local arts-related venues.

100 Black Men of Tampa, a community service organization that provides mentoring, health and wellness, education and economic development resources, will use the grant to fund its six-week Next Generation for Youth Entrepreneurship program. The program teaches leadership, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, web development and college awareness classes.

Grants are also being awarded to Boys and Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, Junior Achievement of West Central Florida, Pinellas Education Foundation, Pinellas Public Library Cooperative, Starting Right, Now, Worknet Pinellas, Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, Javamo Art for Autism Foundation, Vincent House, Hispanic Business Initiative Fund and Metropolitan Ministries.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is awarding more than $22 million in grants to over 1,050 nonprofits in 34 states that support workforce development and education initiatives.  According to estimates provided by grant recipients, the funding will enable them to reach more than six million people, match over 100,000 youth with mentors, and help 29,000 students graduate with a degree or certification. The grants will focus on low- and moderate-income communities that have been hardest hit in the economic downturn.  The funding is part of our intensified philanthropic focus on three core issues vital to the economic health of communities: housing, jobs and hunger and represents an important component of Bank of America’s lending, investing and giving activities to help advance local economies.