Community Foundation Tampa Bay Chair Linda O. Simmons looks to grow nonprofit's impact, drive change

Community Foundation Tampa Bay hit a significant milestone this year, surpassing $1 billion in total donor commitments to support the region's nonprofit groups and their work to meet the community's needs. It’s a landmark achievement for the grantmaking charity organization. It’s also a springboard for future growth, says new Community Foundation Board Chair Linda O. Simmons.

“We want to leverage and grow our asset base from the $1 billion mark that we hit this year,” she says. “We want that to be the new jumping off point. We want to grow it, not for the sake of growth, but for the opportunity to reinvest those funds into our community. So our goal is not just growing the asset base, but growing the awareness of our donors on the need to spend it in the community. We want to make sure we’re getting the dollars out in the community as well as raising the dollars.” 

As that ambitious call to action suggests, Simmons hit the ground running when she started her two-year term as chair on July 1st. That’s no surprise. Simmons’s extensive background in nonprofit leadership and her and husband Randy Simmons’s status as long-time Community Foundation fundholders make her a natural fit as board chair. 

Simmons began serving on nonprofit boards during a long, successful career in banking and has continued in her current role as president of R.R. Simmons Design & Construction. Simmons, her husband, and their family construction company have deep ties with the University of South Florida. That tight-knit relationship has included leadership roles on several boards and committees. Among them, she’s chaired the USF Foundation board and served on the USF Alumni Association board. Her involvement with community nonprofits includes chairing United Way Tampa Bay’s board and later serving on the board of United Way Suncoast following the merger to have one United Way organization for the Bay Area. 

“I believe in driving positive change through proactive action, so I often find myself in leadership positions on the boards I serve on,” she says.

Simmons has been on Community Foundation Tampa Bay’s board for six years, serving as treasurer and secretary before being elected chair. She brings the type of corporate leadership experience that nonprofit groups often seek in board members. But Simmons says her time in nonprofit leadership has also benefited her in her corporate role. That’s one example of how much she values volunteer work and community involvement.

Community Foundation Tampa BayCommunity Foundation Tampa Bay Chair Linda O. Simmons“I’ve always felt every person has a responsibility to give back to the community in whatever way they can, whether it’s monetary, whether it’s volunteerism, or whether it’s sharing their knowledge,” Simmons says. “I think everybody has to share for the good of the community at large. I’ve always been involved in something.”

Growing up, her family didn’t have much in the way of financial resources. At the time, there were few to no assistance programs available. If there were, Simmons expects her family would have qualified. Instead, she worked and went to school to make a better life for herself. 

“Through education, I was able to lift myself up and be in a position to help others,” Simmons says.

That personal experience has guided her philanthropic giving. Education and scholarship programs have always been priorities.

“In many ways, it’s giving people a hand up instead of a hand out,” Simmons says. “If I had to, in a nutshell, describe the type of causes I support, it’s that. To help people improve their situation and therefore improve the community.”

With its regional reach, grant programs, and in-house expertise, Simmons notes that Community Foundation Tampa Bay is already the “backbone organization” for several initiatives that involve nonprofit partners coming together to meet a community need. She wants to see more of those collaborations. 

“We look for where there is a gap that needs to be filled and for opportunities to partner with anyone who shares our goal of helping make positive change in the community,” Simmons says. “The ultimate goal is to make the community a better place.”
 
For more information, go to Community Foundation Tampa Bay