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To significantly improve the quality of life in the communities we serve, Gulf Coast Community Foundation leverages resources and expertise to effect positive, long-term change. One requirement of this community leadership role is to inform and advance public policy on emerging issues of critical importance to our region.
The Foundation is uniquely positioned to help set the agenda for public discourse on community problems and opportunities. In this section of our Web site, you will find a forum on public policy initiatives in which the Foundation is taking a key role.
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Florida Health News
 In October 2007, the Foundation awarded a grant of $75,000 over three years to the Florida Health Policy Center to support the startup of Florida Health News. FHN is an independent, nonprofit online news service whose mission is to inform the public on state and local health policy and finance issues as they develop. Seeded by the Florida Health Policy Center and supported by Florida funders including the Foundation, FHN seeks to be recognized as a national model for consolidating and disseminating health information that drives actions by health decision-makers, media, and the public.
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Medicaid Reform
 The Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee conducts nonpartisan research, deliberation, training, and education on public policy and leadership issues of importance to the community, region, and State of Florida. The Institute seeks to help shape the future social, economic, and governmental environments that influence the lives of citizens by serving as an effective, high-quality knowledge resource, broker, and facilitator.
In May 2007, the Foundation partnered with the IPPL to present a public policy forum, Medicaid Reform in Florida: Impact and Consequences in Southwest Florida. The forum explored the experience gained to date in implementing Medicaid reform and the impact in the counties in Southwest Florida.
Visit the IPPL Web site for videos of presentations by researchers, public officials, health-care providers, and others from the event.
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Marine Policy
 Mote Marine Laboratory created the Marine Policy Institute in 2006 to help improve the connection between scientific research and policy. The MPI’s primary mission is to improve the connection between science and society by providing timely, credible policy assessments and advice to decision-makers and stakeholders.
In April 2007, the Foundation awarded Mote a $400,000 grant to fund infrastructure costs and initial work deliverables during the institute’s first two years of operation. In August, the MPI released its first policy assessment, providing an overview of past and current research on red tide and recommendations for future efforts. Learn more here about the Marine Policy Institute.
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Boca Grande Community Planning
 As a community on a barrier island that straddles two counties and is home to a largely seasonal population, Boca Grande faces unique and pressing challenges. Recognizing the crossroads at which their community stands amid unprecedented regional growth, Boca Grande residents partnered with the Foundation to identify the most urgent of these issues and tackle them head on.
In early 2007, the Foundation facilitated a series of community meetings in Boca Grande, from which volunteer groups emerged and set to work addressing such issues as growth and preservation, nonprofit sustainability, and lifelong learning opportunities. The Foundation also offered to secure expert resources to help the work groups plan their efforts, and in March 2007 we invited Tim Center, director of the Council for Sustianable Florida, to address residents on regional growth and planning and how to influence policymakers.
Click here to view Center's presentation, "Florida's Future: Conservation and Growth."
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