Polk County nonprofits receive more than $717,000 through Impact Polk 2026

Thanks to GiveWell Community Foundation fundholders, 93 nonprofits received Impact Polk 2026 grants.

The following organizations and programs received full or partial funding through Impact Polk 2026:

• A Community Pregnancy Center DBA LifeChoice Pregnancy Resource Center’s Earn While You Learn Parenting Program received $5,000
• A Woman’s Choice’s Teen Impact Summer Abstinence Education and SHARE Program received $7,000
• Aerospace Center for Excellence’s ACE Education Programming received $10,000
• American Red Cross of Mid-Florida’s Emergency Housing Assistance for Home Fire Survivors in Polk County, Florida received $5,000
• Angels Care Center of Eloise’s Women’s Health Initiative received $10,000
• Best Buddies’ Polk County School Friendship Expansion Project received $5,000
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s Comprehensive Mentoring Program received $5,000
• Bok Tower Gardens’s Bok Tower Gardens For All Program received $10,000
• Breast Cancer Foundation of Central Florida’s Supporting Breast Cancer Clients During Active Treatment received $5,000
• Camp Fire U.S.A. Sunshine Council’s Summer of Sparks 2026 received $19,000
• Camp Gilead CBM Ministries of Florida’s Summer 2026 Scholarship and Financial Aid received $15,000
• Central Florida Health Care’s Improving Patient Health Through Prescription Cost Assistance received $5,000
• Central Florida Speech and Hearing Center’s Stability Training & Empowerment Program received $5,000
• Children’s Home Society of Florida’s Parents as Partners – Strengthens Family Reunification received $10,000
• Combee Connection Ministries and Church’s Helping provide much needed resources for the underserved received $5,000
• ConnectED Polk’s Viva Polk World Languages Integration Project received $10,000
• Cypress Junction Montessori’s Early Education Scholarship Fund received $5,000
• Destiknee Place’s Helping Pre and Post Incarcerated Women Regain Their Lives for a Brighter Future received $5,000
• Dream Center of Lakeland’s Building a Stronger Community by providing comprehensive basic needs support for vulnerable residents received $20,000
• Drug Prevention Resource Center dba InnerAct Alliance’s Prevention – Super Power for Youth received $2,500
• Faith in Action North Lakeland’s Thriving Seniors received $15,000
• Faith Without Works’ Camp Compassion 2K26 “Mental Health Matters” received $10,000
• Faith Xtreme’s Food For All received $5,000
• Family Literacy Academy of Lake Wales’ “Where Families Build Their Lives Through Education” received $9,500
• First Friday Kids Support Group’s Weekend Food Program received $7,500
• Florence Villa Community Development Corp.’s Youth Leadership Development Program received $2,500
• Florida Children’s Museum’s Able Arts received $5,000
• Florida Southern College’s Beyond the Pencil: Building Cursive and Digital Writing Fluency at The Roberts Academy received $5,526
• Frostproof Care Center’s Housing for a Healthier Community received $10,000
• Frostproof Dawgs’ Literacy for Athletes 2026 received $2,000
• Girl Scouts of West Central Florida’s Girl Scout Community Troop Program in Polk County received $5,000
• Good Shepherd Hospice’s 2026 Camp Brave Heart: Grief Camp for Children and Teens received $5,000
• Habitat for Humanity of East Polk County’s Repairing Homes for Dignity and Independence received $5,000
• Healthy Start Coalition of Hardee, Highlands & Polk Counties’ Beds 4 Babies Project received $5,000
• Heart for Winter Haven’s Dollars & Sense: Financial Literacy Camp 2026 received $5,000
• Heartland for Children’s Creating Safety and Security for Children in the Child Welfare System received $5,000
• HELP of Fort Meade’s HELP Fort Meade Live received $15,000
• Homeless Coalition of Polk County’s B.R.I.D.G.E. – Building Resources for Individuals to Gain Dignity and Empowerment received $10,000
• Humane Society of Polk County’s Better Together: Building a Humane Polk County Through Prevention received $2,500
• Idols Aside Ministries’ Sons without Fathers received $10,000
• Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay’s JA High School Heroes received $8,550
• Lake Aurora Christian Camp & Retreat Center’s Summer Camp Scholarships for East Polk County Youth received $13,000
• Lake Wales Arts Council’s Youth Arts Education Program received $10,000
• Lake Wales Care Center’s C.A.R.E. Plan received $7,755.99
• Lake Wales History Museum’s Kids Club at The Freight received $10,000
• Lake Wales Little Theatre’s Teen and Children’s Productions received $5,000
• Lakeland Community Theatre’s Out of the Box Theatre Troupe for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities received $5,000
• Lakeland Habitat for Humanity’s Leaky Roofs received $5,000
• Lakeland Police Athletic League’s 2026 Summer Youth Engagement Initiative received $10,000
• Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine’s Pathways to Wellness received $5,000
• Learning Resource Center of Polk County’s Camp READY! Lakeland 2026 received $19,706
• Leverage International’s Middle School Youth Mentoring Breakfast Club received $5,000
• Liberty Link Foundation 360 Non-Profit’s WellSmile: Oral Health Impacts Overall Health received $6,000
• Meals on Wheels of Polk County’s Angel “No Cost” Meal & Reduced Cost Program received $10,000
• Mentors, Music, & Sports’ Youth Empowerment Through Music and Arts 2026 received $5,000
• Merkaii Medical Societe’s Kaii Healthcare Workforce Empowerment Initiative received $7,500
• Mi Escuela Montessori ’s Brain Building Beginnings: Birth to Four received $2,500
• Mulberry Community Service’s Meeting Community Needs One Family at a Time received $5,000
• Museum of Science & Industry’s MOSI in Motion Programming for Polk County Title I Schools received $10,000
• Narrow Path Outreach’s Robotics STEM Camp For Elementary and Middle School Students received $5,000
• Operation Warm’s New Shoes or Coats for Under-Resourced Polk County Children received $5,000
• Peace River Center’s Laundry upgrades for Lakeland Domestic Violence Shelter received $6,000
• Platform Art’s PlatformKIDS Art Festival 2026/2027 – Improving Student Academics through Art received $10,000
• Polk County Public Schools’ The Renaissance Program: A Student Success Initiative Focused on Strengthening Academics, Behavior, and Attendance received $5,000
• Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s Project Safe and Sound received $2,500
• Polk Education Foundation’s Building Better and Resilient Readers – Polk Reads received $15,000
• Polk Vision’s Early Literacy Initiatives received $5,000
• Project Love of Eloise’s Lots of Laundry Program received $2,500
• READ Lakeland’s Technology in the 21st Century: Transportable Literacy Connection received $3,000
• Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA)’s Expanding Access: After-School Enrichment and Scholarships at RCMA Mulberry Community Academy received $10,000
• Society of St. Andrew’s The Florida Gleaning Network received $5,000
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul South Pinellas’s SVdP CARES Delivering Dreams – Polk received $5,000
• Solid Foundation Ministries Church’s HOPE in Highland City received $15,000
• Southeastern University (SEU)’s Robert and Sandra Graper Early Childhood Center (Early SEU Pre-K Classical Education) received $20,000
• Step Up For Students’ Step Up For Students: Expanding Awareness of Educational Scholarships in Polk County received $5,000
• Talbot House Ministries of Lakeland’s Solutions Employment and Life Skills Program – Winter Haven Center for Women and Children received $15,000
• The Cosmo Project’s Serving the homeless and at-risk of homeless population of Lakeland received $3,000
• The Freedom Tour’s Food Cruiser For Kids received $10,000
• The Haley Center’s Improved Quality of Life: If you cannot see, you cannot perform efficiently or effectively received $10,000
• The Mission of Winter Haven’s Nourishing Children, Building Futures received $4,500
• The Vanguard School of Lake Wales, Florida’s Scholarships for Polk County students received $5,000
• Theatre Winter Haven’s Arts for the Underserved received $5,000
• Tri-County Human Services’ Detox to Aftercare received $5,000
• Victory Ridge Academy’s Schoolwide Behavior Management System received $2,500
• Warner University’s Scholarships for Low-Income Students from Polk County received $10,000
• Watson Clinic Foundation’s HeART of Care received $2,500
• Webber International University’s Skilled Workforce Training Scholarship Program received $15,000
• West Central Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Sports Elementary After School Leagues received $3,000
• Wheelchairs 4 Kids’ Let’s Roll received $10,000
• WonderHere Education Foundation’s Wonder on Wheels received $5,000
• YMCA of West Central Florida’s Kindergarten Safety Around Water ’26 received $10,000
• Young Life of Polk County’s Summer Camp Transportation received $10,000
• Youth for Christ of Polk County’s Summer Camps with “At-Risk Youth” in Polk County received $20,000

Impact Polk 2026 Overview

Grants By Program Type:

The United Community Needs Assessment (UCNA) for Polk County, Florida, conducted by GiveWell Community Foundation and United Way of Central Florida, identified six (6) domains that impact the lives of residents in Polk County. This year, Impact Polk’s focus was on the following areas: