Collaboratory

What Collaboratory does

Collaboratory (formerly Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) community foundation founded in 1976 and headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida. The organization stewards more than $184 million in charitable assets across 480+ donor funds and operates as the regional convener for collective impact initiatives spanning Lee, Hendry, Glades, Charlotte, and Collier counties. Its core programs include grantmaking ($12.0 million distributed in the most recent year, totaling more than $132 million since founding), fund development and management, community leadership, nonprofit capacity building, and scholarships ($1.5 million awarded to 218 scholars).

Collaboratory coordinates several major cross-sector coalitions aligned to 2040 regional goals: FutureMakers Coalition (workforce and education-to-career pipeline), Health & Wellness Coalition, Community Infrastructure Coalition, and the more recent SWFL HI AI Innovation Hub. It also operates the SWFL Resilience Fund for disaster response and an Impact Dashboard tracking regional outcomes. FutureMakers has documented measurable progress, with the percentage of working-age adults holding post-high-school credentials rising from 39% in 2013 to 44.3% as of recent reporting (more than 62,600 credentials earned).

The foundation's revenue mechanics are tied to philanthropic flows rather than commercial pricing. It manages donor-advised funds, field-of-interest funds, and organizational endowments, earning administrative fees on assets under management. Grants are funded by donor contributions, foundation grants (e.g., Lumina Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Bank of America, Philos Foundation), and government funding (notably the $22.9 million EDA Good Jobs Challenge Grant awarded to the FutureMakers Coalition in 2022). The organization maintains no proprietary technology products and employs between 11 and 50 staff. Revenue concentration is moderate: Bank of America has been a continuous funder for over 25 years, but the donor base is broad with hundreds of philanthropic funds and diverse coalition partners. Customer segments include donors and philanthropists (primary), regional nonprofit organizations (primary), students and adult learners (primary), and professional advisors (secondary).

Name

Collaboratory

Legal name

Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://collaboratory.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Collaboratory is a 50-year-old Southwest Florida community foundation stewarding over $184 million in charitable assets across 480+ donor funds and coordinating regional coalitions to advance workforce, health, infrastructure, and education outcomes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF), Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Community foundation services
• Grantmaking and scholarships
• Donor fund management
• Nonprofit capacity building
• Collective impact coalitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Myers

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Fund Management: Collaboratory manages donor funds and charitable investments, stewarding more than $184 million in assets. They distribute grants and scholarships funded by these endowments and donor contributions. The foundation earns administrative fees for managing charitable funds on behalf of donors.
2. Grantmaking: Collaboratory distributes grants made from donor-advised funds, organizational endowments, and field-of-interest funds to support community programs. Last year they made $12.0 million in grants. They also receive grants from foundations and government entities to support specific initiatives like the Equitable Jobs Pipeline.
3. Fiscal Sponsorship and Administration: Collaboratory provides administrative support for donor funds and initiatives, including handling the Jordan Ashley Gutheim Foundation fund which has issued $695,461 in grants over 10 years.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Collaboratory is a regional community foundation that stewards charitable funds and distributes grants and scholarships across Southwest Florida's five-county region. Its core offerings include grantmaking, donor fund development and management, scholarship administration, community convening and leadership, and nonprofit capacity-building training. It coordinates cross-sector coalitions—FutureMakers (workforce), Health & Wellness, Community Infrastructure—around shared 2040 regional goals.

Product overview

Collaboratory is a community foundation offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and initiatives. Core services include grantmaking, fund development and management, community leadership, nonprofit capacity building, and scholarships. Major initiatives include the FutureMakers Coalition (workforce development), Health & Wellness Coalition, Community Infrastructure Coalition, and the SWFL HI AI Innovation Hub. The organization also operates the Impact Dashboard for tracking regional progress toward 2040 goals, and provides meeting/event spaces at its Fort Myers venue.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grantmaking Core grantmaking program that distributes donor funds to the Southwest Florida community; since 1976, over $132 million has been distributed to address social challenges across the five-county region.
• Fund Development and Management Manages donor funds (480+ funds) and coordinates public, private, and nonprofit investments toward regionally coordinated 2040 goals on behalf of philanthropists and organizations.
• Community Leadership Provides community leadership to resource, engage, and coordinate regional coalitions of cross-sector partners (FutureMakers, Health & Wellness, Home/Community Infrastructure) aligned around shared regional goals.
• Nonprofit Capacity Building Provides training and resources (e.g., Grant Writing Community of Practice workshops, Impact Skills Series) to regional nonprofit partner organizations to strengthen their collective ability to solve community problems.
• Scholarships Provides financial support to students in Southwest Florida pursuing education and skills aligned with in-demand careers; awarded $1.5 million to 218 scholars in a recent year across multiple scholarship funds.
• FutureMakers Coalition Collective impact initiative strengthening Southwest Florida's education-to-workforce pipeline by advancing system-level solutions from early learning through career attainment; includes 260+ individuals and 180+ organizations and is a designated Lumina Foundation Talent Hub.
• Health and Wellness Coalition Collective impact initiative working to transform Southwest Florida to be among the healthiest communities in the nation by exceeding the 90th percentile for health indicators by 2040.
• Community Infrastructure Coalition Leverages collective impact strategies to improve community infrastructure outcomes across Southwest Florida, ensuring accessible, sustainable, and resilient communities.
• Impact Dashboard Interactive dashboard showing key regional goals that partners are working toward, with the aim of solving social issues in Southwest Florida by 2040.
• Grant Writing Community of Practice Workshop Series Monthly workshop series (offered virtually and in person) teaching nonprofit organizations grant readiness, organizational positioning, narrative writing, budget development, and funder relationship building.
• SWFL HI AI Innovation Hub Regional coalition dedicated to advancing human-centered AI (Human Intelligence first) across Southwest Florida, bringing together education, business, healthcare, government, nonprofits, and community leaders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased percentage of working-age adults with post-high school credentials from 39% to 44.3% since 2013, equaling more than 62,600 credentials earned.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Florida College Access NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboratory selected for Talent Strong Florida High-Value Pathways Initiative led by Florida College Access Network and supported by Lumina Foundation, receiving $50,000 over 18 months to expand access to postsecondary pathways tied to in-demand careers.
• Florida Gulf Coast UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner in FutureMakers Coalition and Equitable Jobs Pipeline. FGCU leveraged the pilot project to secure $22.9 million EDA Good Jobs Challenge Grant for the Southwest Florida Equitable Jobs Pipeline. Partnership includes debt forgiveness programs for returning students.
• Florida Southwestern State CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner in FutureMakers Coalition. Developed GED Pathway program and Last Mile & Gap funding to prevent student dropouts. Partnership agreements with public school systems for data sharing.
• National League of Cities and CAELmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of LaBelle selected to join National League of Cities and CAEL's Municipal Action Cohort: Connecting Adults to Postsecondary and Workforce Success. Hendry County and FutureMakers Coalition supporting this initiative connecting adults with educational opportunities leading to good jobs.
• CareerSource SWFLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce development partner in FutureMakers Coalition and Southwest Florida Equitable Jobs Pipeline initiatives.
• CivicLabmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFutureMakers Coalition selected for CivicLab's three-year national incubator program, receiving training, technical assistance, and direct financial support valued at $150,000 to develop system-level strategies for low-income learners in Hendry County.
• Center for Progress and Excellence (CPE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-based organization focused on behavioral health outcomes. Collaborating with Collaboratory's Health and Wellness Coalition on a $10,000 crisis prevention data sharing and quality measurement pilot to strengthen crisis mental health services in Southwest Florida.
• Southern Technical CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived $285,000 grant from FutureMakers Coalition through SWFL Equitable Jobs Pipeline to offer surgical technology scholarships (60 students at $6,000 each) at Port Charlotte campus.
• Lee County School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey education partner in FutureMakers Coalition. School of Lee County Health Occupations Coordinator leading nursing retention pilot project. Partner in healthcare workforce development initiatives.
• Hendry County School District Adult EdcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation partner in FutureMakers Coalition and City of LaBelle's National League of Cities initiative to connect adults with postsecondary education and good jobs.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gulf Coast Community Foundation: Community foundation serving parts of Southwest Florida (Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties). Direct competitor for donor-advised funds, regional grants, and nonprofit capacity-building services within overlapping Southwest Florida geography.
• Central Florida Foundation: Community foundation serving Central Florida with a comparable portfolio of grantmaking, scholarships, donor-advised funds, and collective-impact coalitions. Operates a similar business model and serves an analogous set of donor and nonprofit segments.
• The Miami Foundation: Florida-based community foundation stewarding comparable assets and offering grantmaking, scholarship administration, and collective-impact initiatives. Direct comparable for regional community-foundation operations in Florida.
• Chicago Community Trust: Large U.S. community foundation operating collective-impact initiatives, donor-advised funds, and scholarship programs. Closely comparable business model and product set, though operating in a much larger metro area.
• Cleveland Foundation: One of the oldest and largest U.S. community foundations; offers grantmaking, donor-advised funds, scholarships, and civic-leadership programming directly analogous to Collaboratory's portfolio. Strong model for what a mature community foundation scales into.
• Greater Houston Community Foundation: Regional community foundation managing donor-advised funds, conducting strategic grantmaking, and convening cross-sector coalitions across a multi-county region. Directly comparable scale, structure, and product mix.

Regional players

• The Patterson Foundation: Florida-based private foundation actively engaged in workforce, education, and community-impact initiatives across Southwest Florida. Operates in the same geographic market but as a private (non-community) foundation, so competes for some grants and partnerships but not for donor-advised funds.
• Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg: Florida-based place-based foundation funding health, economic opportunity, and community initiatives in Pinellas County. Comparable in operating model (place-based, multi-issue, community-led) but focused on a different Florida geography.

Broad incumbents

• Lumina Foundation: National private foundation focused on post-secondary attainment that has designated Collaboratory/FutureMakers as a Talent Hub and Community Partner in Attainment. Functions as both a peer in the education-attainment space and a major funder/strategic partner.
• Kresge Foundation: National foundation supporting place-based community development, education, and health equity. Co-funder with Lumina on Talent Hub designations and active partner in the FutureMakers model; comparable in grantmaking orientation and education/workforce focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHKSUs2eIUKFRJo7oJaMLcQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/collaboratorysocial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/collaboratorysocial
• Instagraminstagram.com/collaboratorysocial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Collaboratory