Community Foundation of Tampa Bay

Community Foundation of Tampa Bay

Founded in 1990, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay operates as a public charity and philanthropic intermediary for the Tampa Bay region. CEO Marlene Spalten, who took the role in 2012, oversees a platform that connects professional advisors, individual donors, and nonprofits to channel capital into community initiatives. The foundation deploys capital across a mix of traditional endowment assets, private business interests, and real estate. Its balance sheet includes donated commercial, residential, and mixed-use properties concentrated in the Tampa Bay region, alongside an art collection and a cryptocurrency donation program. Direct investments include positions tied to Lindell Investments. The foundation participates in funds of funds, co-investments, and secondaries, with a strategy stack covering venture, growth, and special situations. Board governance ties the foundation to Tampa’s business community. Chair Linda O. Simmons runs R.R. Simmons Design & Construction; Immediate Past Chair Oscar J. Horton leads Sun State International Trucks; trustee G. Robert Blanchard Jr. is CEO of WRB Enterprises; and trustee Janice Ferman Straske is a director at Ferman Motor Company. Major donor Carl Lindell Jr., founder of Lindell Investments, further anchors the capital base. The foundation also operates LEAP Tampa Bay College Access Network and early childhood initiatives Spark Pasco Hernando and Thrive By Five. The foundation’s structure as a grant-maker with permanent endowment capital and a network of 129 family foundations creates a distinct model: it aggregates philanthropic intent at scale while deploying directly into local real estate and private business interests, blending community foundation staples with opportunistic private-market exposure.