The Florida Prosperity Initiative
Together, we are ending childhood poverty in Florida.
714,768 children in Florida are living in poverty—and half of them live in just 150 (15%) of our ZIP Codes. The Florida Prosperity Initiative unites business leaders to tackle the root causes of generational poverty one ZIP Code at a time. Join the movement and help shape a future where every child in Florida has a path to prosperity.
The Florida Model
Whether you lead at the county level, within a specific ZIP Code, or as a champion of a single root cause, your commitment can make all the difference.
The Florida Prosperity Initiative is a business-led initiative created by the Florida Chamber Foundation to cut childhood poverty in half by 2030. The Florida Prosperity Initiative created the Florida Model, which focuses on understanding the unique challenges in each of Florida’s 983 ZIP Codes and addressing the 10 root causes of poverty through tailored, community-driven solutions.
The Florida Chamber Foundation research shows these are the 10 root causes of poverty:
- Food Insecurity
- Unaffordable & Unattainable Housing
- Limited Access to Healthcare
- Unsafe Homes and Neighborhoods
- Lack of Employment Opportunities
- Lack of Education & Workforce Development
- Insufficient Transportation Options
- Unaffordable & Unattainable Child Care and Family Care
- Lack of Financial Literacy
- Lack of Community Voice
Since its launch, the Initiative has developed tools like TheFloridaScorecard.org and TheFloridaGapMap.org to provide real-time data, connect leaders to local challenges, and track measurable progress. We believe the business community is uniquely positioned to drive long-term solutions at the local level—ZIP Code by ZIP Code.
We’re inviting businesses and community leaders to apply the Florida Model and take ownership of their neighborhoods. Get started today:
The 10 Root Causes of Generational Poverty In Florida
Food Insecurity
Unaffordable & Unattainable Housing
Explore the State of Unaffordable & Unattainable Housing in Your ZIP Code
Limited Access to Healthcare
Unsafe Homes & Neighborhoods
Explore the State of Unsafe Homes & Neighborhoods in Your ZIP Code
Lack of Employment Opportunities
Lack of Education & Workforce Development
Explore the State of Education & Workforce Development in Your ZIP Code
Insufficient Transportation Options
Unaffordable & Unattainable Child Care & Family Care
Lack of Financial Literacy
Lack of Community Voice
Hover over each root cause to explore the barriers to economic mobility in your ZIP Code.
THE PROSPERITY PLAYBOOK: HOW TO CHANGE OUTCOMES IN YOUR ZIP CODE
Take a deeper dive into the ten root causes of generational poverty and our roadmap for addressing them, one by one, in each ZIP Code.
Join These Leading Businesses On the Front Lines of the Movement to Eliminate Poverty in Florida
Contact Kristina Donohue, Director of Prosperity
Kristina Donohue leads the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Florida Prosperity Initiative and works with our Florida Prosperity Initiative Advisory Board to cut childhood poverty in half. She would love to talk to you about how your business can unite with us to reach this goal—feel free to contact her at kdonohue@flchamber.com.
Business Leaders Across Florida CREATING PATHS TO PROSPERITY
Promising Practices in Focus
Promising Practices for Addressing the 10 Root Causes of Poverty
We have pockets of excellence in Florida. We need patterns of excellence. These dedicated business leaders are driving change at both the state and zip code level. Have a Promising Practice to share? Click below to get involved.
Statewide Data for Statewide Action
Ending generational poverty can’t be done from the national or state level. In fact, even counties can be too large.
To end generational poverty, we must identify the hurdles blocking one’s path to prosperity, understand each neighborhood’s unique identity and troubles, and work with business leaders within those neighborhoods to provide solutions tailored to their communities. To facilitate this chain, the Florida Chamber Foundation has created an innovative set of tools that not only raise awareness to the issues in our state and its communities, but provide the insight and analysis needed to prescribe the remedies.
The Florida Gap Map
TheFloridaGapMap.org visualizes the intersection of childhood poverty and third-grade reading scores for every public school in Florida to spotlight where support is most urgently needed.
The Florida Scorecard
TheFloridaScorecard.org tracks key poverty-related metrics across all Florida counties and ZIP Codes to help leaders understand where we stand, measure progress, and drive local solutions.
Promising Practices for Prosperity In Action
The Florida Prosperity Initiative in Action
Help Create Paths to Prosperity for All Floridians
Become a Prosperity Initiative leader—whether at the state, county, ZIP Code, or root cause level—and help drive real, local solutions to end childhood poverty in Florida.