Before you can create meaningful change, first you have to talk.
TableTalk is a candid conversation about all the ways, big and small, each of us can make Central Florida a better place. Central Florida Foundation (CFF) launched TableTalk in 2019 as a single, region-wide day of conversation. Now, it belongs to the community. Anyone can host one, any time, anywhere, and share what they heard with CFF to help shape our work in the region.
Host Your Own TableTalk
The people closest to the community know which conversations it needs. You can host your own TableTalk in four simple steps:
- Gather your table. Invite friends, neighbors, colleagues, family — whoever you want around your table!
- Start the conversation. Use our three questions, or your own. They’re starting points, not rules.
- Listen for ideas. No need for consensus. Jot down big ideas, recurring themes, and solutions.
- Share what you heard. Send notes and photos to CFF in any format, handwritten or typed.
Suggested Questions
- What's working well in our community?
- What could be better?
- What ideas do you have to make Central Florida a better place to live?
Things to Keep in Mind
Make it your own. The questions, number of people, languages spoken, format. It’s all up to you and what works best for your community.
Keep it simple. No registration and no formal report required. At the end of the day, TableTalk is about a conversation with others. As long as that happens, it’s a win.
Free to attend. Never sell tickets. Hosts cover any costs, and a cup of coffee is often all it takes.
Send your TableTalk Insights to CFF
After you host, please share with us the big ideas, themes, and photos from your TableTalk!
Interested in hosting? Download our info sheet here.
How TableTalk Began
Central Florida Foundation launched TableTalk in Central Florida to give everyone in the region a voice in how our community operates today, and how it could evolve tomorrow. This idea for a community-wide conversation began with the Chicago Community Trust in 2014 as On the Table. Since then, the concept has been replicated in more than 30 communities nationally and internationally.
It began in 2019 when Central Florida Foundation invited the whole region to sit down and talk on the same day. On October 24, 2019, residents hosted tables of up to 10 people in their homes, coffee shops, offices, schools and other public places, so everyone had a seat at the table and a chance to be heard. About 3,000 people took part, including approximately 300 high school students representing every high school within Orange County Public Schools. Participants completed anonymous surveys, and ideas sparked at the table were eligible for microgrants of up to $2,000.
“Year over year, Central Florida ranks as one of the lowest in the nation in terms of social capital, meaning people who know their elected officials, give to nonprofits, volunteer or engage in discussions around community problems. TableTalk is a way to change that."– Mark Brewer, President & CEO, Central Florida Foundation
TableTalk continued virtually in 2020, and then returned in 2021 and 2023. Along the way, more than 30 ideas sparked during past TableTalks were funded through the initiative’s microgrant program, and community reports helped to guide CFF’s grantmaking and initiative building.
During the 2023 TableTalk, about 2,000 poeple across six counties came to the table. The most common topic among table groups was economic stability, with housing, poverty, and good jobs ranked as top issues. After the event, 72% of participants reported that they talked to someone new and 76% said that felt more hopeful about the next five years.
Handing Over the Table
During the 2023 TableTalk, we also heard about more needs: materials in more languages, the ability to change the questions, and more flexible timing. The people closest to the community know which conversations it needs. So in 2024, we handed the table to the community. Fourteen local organizations stepped up to host their own TableTalks between October 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025, each reaching at least 40 participants. Hosts included groups like Peace and Justice Institute, FusionFest, and Victoria Helping Veterans. Each host decided the topic, the room, the language and who to invite. Fusion Fest, for example, held conversations about creating space for cultural organizations in five languages!
Today, TableTalk belongs to the community. Anyone can host one, any time, anywhere, with anyone.
Reports and Findings
- TableTalk 2019
- TableTalk Youth Survey 2019
- TableTalk 2020
- TableTalk 2021
- TableTalk 2023
- TableTalk 2023 Letter to Central Florida Leaders
TableTalk MicroGrants
Central Florida Foundation has awarded local nonprofits microgrants to fund ideas that were sparked during TableTalk conversations. These microgrants are part of a continued effort to embrace productive conversation across our community and to fuel innovative ideas. Since 2019, Table Talk participants have started podcasts, launched cooking classes demonstrating healthy meals on a budget, created support services for trauma survivors, provided supplies for pop-up concerts and so much more. When we take action to make even small changes, the possibilities are endless.
“Microgrants are a great way for people in organizations of all sizes to take a spark on an idea and turn it into something tangible.”– Sandi Vidal, Vice President of Community Strategies and Initiative, Central Florida Foundation
2019
- Bridge the Gap Coalition: To conduct a community needs-based assessment in Parramore, determine effective social interventions, and host a monthly breakfast to educate on available resources
- The Bros in Convo Initiative (fiscal sponsor: Miracle of Love Inc.): For the Kitchen Table program to highlight delicious and healthy dietary options based on the average dollar amount of a food stamp (SNAP) recipient, which is $4 per person, per day
- Coalicion Hispana de la Florida Central: For the Puerto Rican Cultural Project to offer traditional and folkloric programs to youth and adults that are tied to Puerto Rican ancestry
- College Park Neighborhood Association: To hold quarterly Table Talk events for the College Park community
- Eatonville Cultural & Heritage Foundation: To create a phone booth-like space with audio or video recording for the community to share their thoughts, opinions, ideas, to be collectively shared with the community
- Helpers of People Enslaved Inc.: To pay for social media ads prior to the start of the 2020-2021 school year to promote human trafficking awareness, resources etc. to a targeted high-risk area
- Institute for Successful Leadership, Inc. (fiscal sponsor: Center for Change): For the Radiance Roundtable, a conference for Black women to discover and discuss diversities among each other, with a goal of creating innovative ways to improve health status and outcomes
- Muslim Ambassadors for Peace Student Club at Valencia College (fiscal sponsor: Muslim Women’s Organization): To host Community Talks that will help combat stereotypes, prejudices, and bridge the gap between Americans and Muslims
- Muslim Women’s Organization: To host a gathering of intersectional women to build mutual respect, understanding, and genuine friendships by sharing stories
- One Orlando Alliance: To host a three-part employment and empowerment series with a dedicated goal of getting trans/GNC/nonbinary people sustainable, livable wages
- Peer Support Space (fiscal sponsor: Peer Support Coalition of Florida Inc.): To hold 4 panels aimed at de-stigmatizing mental health in Black communities
- Professional Opportunities Program for Students, Inc: To engage students from Evans High School in a summer theater program that performs social-emotional educational plays to children at nearby daycares
- Sauda JoAnne Jackson: To conduct a multi-generational storytelling project in and around Sanford by pairing youth and elders to conduct interviews, exchange stories, and create a photo for a pop-up exhibit
2020
- Celebration Foundation Inc.: To purchase supplies for the Sidewalk Serenades pop-up concert program
- DeLand Pride: To provide diversity training to businesses in Downtown DeLand and provide window stickers (or similar) as recognition to participants
- Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation: To build a composting system in partnership with Eco Strategies Group in order to grow micro greens for cancer patients.
- L.O.V.E. Our Youth, Inc.: To the LOVE Our Connections program to connect participants with existing community resources.
- Stand Up Survivor Inc.: To host two events in 2021 to promote awareness and support to male and LGBTQ+ domestic violence survivors.
- The Victim Service Center of Central Florida: To develop and implement a promotion campaign for the new “Healing Begins Here” podcast.
2021
- All 4 Schools (Liberty High School): For the BOLT (Be Open Let's Talk) program. They will utilize one class period a month for all students and educators to complete activities focused on the social and emotional health of all.
- The Community Nook (partnering with Eatonville Chamber): For Women’s Changemaker meetings and a podcast.
- Cornerstone Connections: Community Connections Day - An outdoor celebration of community, and connecting people once again with one another as well as local businesses having an opportunity to promote their products, as well as getting to know the community
- League of Women Voters of Orange County Florida: Build trust and establish partnerships with community groups and transform our current culture that is dominated by white women. Intense training in DEIA is an important next step
- Lake Dot Neighborhood: To help neighbors repair fences they have torn down but can't afford to fix it or board vacant properties that are a safety risk etc.
- The Male Wellness Collective: To host a monthly roundtable during the 2022 calendar year that aims to spotlight three individuals, one each from the patient/community, clinical/wellness, and the public service/nonprofit sectors to discuss a themed topic (guided by National Health Observances) from that month. This endeavor aims to provide a conduit for conversation
- New Image Youth Center in partnership with City District: 10 solar-powered charging stations to be placed at and secured at different high-traffic locations within Parramore such as bus stops, near community resources, parks, and schools.
- Orlando Day Nursery Association: Materials for unstructured play in our school's Outdoor Learning Environment for 2 outdoor play days for families in the nearby community.
- Peer Support Coalition of Florida Inc.: For Lived-Experience Led Advocacy Workshops allow for an opportunity for aspiring allies, health providers, organizations, and other professionals to learn about communities from their subject matter experts - those with lived experience
- Senior Resource Alliance: For an interactive, experiential learning program where participants experience sensory changes associated with aging through simulation
- SkyBuilders 4 All: For a tricycle with a well-decorated trailer attached to distribute books to children in the community
2023
- Cornerstone Connections: Support for “Let’s Talk About it” project, which will consist of monthly conversations on the region’s economic stability
- Florida Community Innovation: Stipends for students working on outreach and Spanish-language elements for the Florida Community Resource Map
- Gliding Stars of Central Florida, Inc.: Program development for athletes with disabilities
- Habitat for Humanity Greater Orlando & Osceola County: Development of a Habitat U Youth Summit to promote money management skills
- Largest Heart Corporation: An outreach campaign that will provide free fentanyl testing strips
- L.O.V.E. Our Youth: Development of an accountability group that supports nonprofit leaders
- Modern Widows Club, Inc.: Creation of an LGBTQ Widow Support community, led by trained widow leaders
- Muslim Women’s Organization: Monthly dinner discussion with members of different faiths to promote meaningful dialogue
- Runway to Hope: Collaboration of Central Florida’s pediatric cancer charities
- Samaritan Resource Center: Support for Humanity Unhoused campaign
- Special Hearts Farm: Providing transportation stipends for individuals with disabilities to join the Supported Employment Program
