The Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative Launches Strategic Plan to Level Up Efforts to Unite Florida Leaders on the Path to Prosperity

By: Kyle Baltuch, SVP of Equality of Opportunity, Florida Chamber Foundation

Over the past year, the Florida Chamber Foundation has been working diligently to take our efforts to the next level to ensure every child in Florida has an equal opportunity at earned success. This has included first of its kind research into the state of the root causes of poverty throughout Florida, updates to the Florida Gap Map that provide Florida’s business and community leaders deeper insights into  their communities, and the continuation of our statewide summits focused on bringing together the best and brightest to learn about new and innovative solutions  addressing these challenges at all levels throughout Florida.  Thanks to the dedication of our volunteer leaders in the business community, the word about the Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative has amplified, and with it, more adoption of the Florida Model. Recently, you may have noticed a lot of new content coming out of the Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative. This is strategic. With more stories to tell and continued adoption of the Florida Model, we are kicking our outreach efforts into high gear. Below are just a few ways we have leveled up our engagement plan to continue to spread the movement:

• • “Root Cause Matters” Webinar Series: Each month, our team is hosting webinars to educate Florida leaders on the ten root causes of poverty and their business and community impacts, highlight the promising and replicable practices of organizations that are already engaging throughout Florida, and to encourage involvement down to the zip code level. Our February webinar focused on Food Insecurity, which can be accessed HERE>, and we look forward to hosting our March 23 webinar which will focus on Childcare. I invite you to REGISTER HERE>. Thank you to Florida Chamber Foundation Board Trustee Charles Hokanson and Helios Education Foundation for sponsoring this important topic.
  • Opportunity Insights Newsletter: This monthly newsletter released by the Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative aims to unite Florida’s leaders around the ten root causes of poverty and ways to address each root cause with replicable solutions down to the zip code level, as we work to cut childhood poverty in half by 2030. Each newsletter theme is focused on the same root cause addressed in the webinar series that month. Check out our inaugural newsletter release focused on Food Insecurity HERE>.
  • Soon-to-be Released “2023 Florida Childhood Poverty Analysis” E-Book: An in-depth root cause analysis of the recently released childhood poverty numbers.

I encourage you and your organization to engage in the efforts above, our other ongoing efforts, and to spread the word throughout your network.  Additionally, we would love to share with you one-on-one how the Florida Model, based on zip code level investments, can improve outcomes in your community.

If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved in one or more of the Florida Equality of Opportunity Initiative’s three projects focused on securing the path to prosperity for ALL Floridians, visit our webpage HERE> and contact Zenani Johnson at zjohnson@flchamber.com or 850-521-1291.