$1 Million BE BOLD Prize to Get Broward Back to Work; Community Foundation Seeks Innovative Idea/Solution

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Foundation of Broward (CFB) has announced a $1 million dollar BE BOLD Prize to get Broward County residents back to work within the next two years.  The BE BOLD Prize encourages new ways of thinking that move beyond traditional workforce development programs and embrace an innovative idea and solution for transformative community impact.

Due to economic fallout from COVID-19, Broward's unemployment rate stood at 7.3 percent in November 2020, representing 73,879 unemployed Broward residents, according to the latest data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.  That is more than double the County's 2.7 percent unemployment rate from November, 2019.  Nationally, the U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs during the month of December, according to a federal jobs report issued Friday morning.  Florida's and Broward County's December 2020 unemployment statistics will be released at 10 a.m. on Friday, January 22.

Workers in leisure and hospitality have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with a loss of 187,500 jobs statewide, or 14.9 percent, according to the state report.  Unemployment among African-Americans in Broward has historically been higher than unemployment among the general population.  

"Our goal is to tackle COVID-19 job losses in Broward County and their amplified impact on communities of color," said Sheri Brown, Community Foundation of Broward Vice President of Community Impact.  "We want to help affected Broward County residents to gain stable employment within the next two years."

The $1 million BE BOLD Prize grant is open to nonprofit, government and for-profit entities.  Collaboration among organizations is encouraged and employer involvement is a critical element.  Preference will be given to organizations located in Broward County; organizations outside of Broward may also apply as long as they can demonstrate high-quality programs and direct impact on employment of Broward County residents.

Community Foundation of Broward has posted a BE BOLD Prize request for proposals with application details at: https://cfbroward.link/Be-BOLD-Prize. The RFP notes specific objectives, including employment for a significant portion of currently unemployed Broward residents, a focus on employment for people of color and creation of a unique or scalable idea which is sustainable beyond the 2-year time period of the grant.  The challenge is to create new initiatives or scale up proven initiatives.

Applications are due no later than Friday, April 9 at 11:59 p.m. with announcement of the winner by the end of May.

For more information about the $1 million dollar BE BOLD Prize grant, please contact Sheri Brown, Vice President of Community Impact for Community Foundation of Broward at [email protected] or 954-761-9503.

For more information about Community Foundation of Broward, please contact Kirk Englehardt, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Community Foundation at [email protected] or call 954-761-9503.

About Community Foundation of Broward: 

Founded in 1984, Community Foundation of Broward (CFB) helps families, individuals, and corporations create personalized charitable Funds that deliver game-changing philanthropic impact.  473 charitable Funds represent more than $212 million in assets, distributing $119 million in grants over the past 35 years.  CFB provides bold leadership on community solutions and fosters philanthropy that connects people who care with causes that matter – which empowers visionaries, innovators and doers to create the change they want to see in the community – and BE BOLD. www.cfbroward.org. 

Media Contact:
Kirk Englehardt
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Community Foundation of Broward
[email protected]
(M) 786-562-4282 (O) 954-761-9503 x105

SOURCE Community Foundation of Broward