Civic Reflection Grants

A Series of Community Conversations:
A special initiative of the Florida Humanities Council that requires only a letter of intent from a qualified nonprofit organization.

The Florida Humanities Council seeks to partner with community organizations interested in convening meaningful conversations among citizens about the challenges we face in trying to improve our public life through community service.

The FHC Board of Directors has allocated grant funds to encourage community conversations among Floridians involved in civic life. We seek to engage the many citizens who are working to improve some aspect of our public life through joining associations, serving on boards, giving and raising money, participating in projects, and staffing and leading non-profit organizations.

Citizens who lead and work with non-profit organizations make complex choices that affect the larger society every day. Yet rarely do they have an opportunity to take a step back and examine those choices, to talk with each other, to move beyond the everyday routine and explore their work in relation to the broader good of society. An emerging body of research and practice has shown that coming together to reflect on the nature of giving and serving through reading and discussion - a practice called Civic Reflection - has multiple payoffs for the individuals, organizations, and their communities.

Programs held in Jacksonville and Orlando were designed to create stronger connections among the local nonprofit community.  Local leaders were refreshed and reinvigorated, capable of thinking through, and articulating, both the challenges and the joy of their work.

AmeriCorps programs in Tampa and Melbourne engaged community volunteers and addressed questions about the importance of service to individuals and the community.  Participants developed a richer, in-depth appreciation of the meaning of community service.

A program in Sarasota brings together employees of a hospital system to explore the difficulties, rewards, and ethical dilemmas that face health care workers.

FHC Civic Reflection grants offer those who work with nonprofit organizations and other groups involved in civic life a chance to reflect on their work using facilitated discussions of short texts drawn from literature, history, and philosophy. Many brief but provocative readings that open up fundamental questions of 1) giving, 2) serving, 3) leadership, and 4) community building provide the basis for participants to think about the importance of their work to the community.  From Homer and the Bible to Andrew Carnegie and Eudora Welty, these readings are linked by a common thread:  what are the values we bring to civic involvement.  The Florida Humanities Council is eager to work with nonprofit and philanthropic groups to arrange a series of readings, a format (a single session, multiple sessions over several weeks or months) and to hire a scholar-facilitator to lead the discussions.

How It Works

This project works as a partnership between the Florida Humanities Council and your organization. The Florida Humanities Council will provide funds and guidance to help you host a conversation for a group of your choosing. You in turn identify and recruit participants, choose a location and mail out meeting materials.

Funds up to $1500 are available to defray the costs of the facilitator, texts, and basic recruitment materials. Other costs for administration, facilities, and refreshments will be the cost share contribution of the sponsoring organization.

The Project on Civic Reflection is a national initiative and further information on the value of civic reflection, resources for creating a program in your community, and guidelines can be found at http://www.civicreflection.org/home.php.

No formal application is necessary.  Merely write a letter of intent on your agency stationery explaining why the Civic Reflection project is appropriate for your organization.  Send it to Florida Humanities Council, 599 Second St., S., St. Petersburg, FL 33701 attention Grants Department.  The FHC staff will help with the next steps.  If you have questions, please contact Susan Lockwood, Grants Director, slockwood@flahum.org or 727-873-2011.