Step Up Suncoast, Inc.

Step Up Suncoast, Inc. is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Sarasota, Florida, that operates as a federal grant recipient delivering early childhood education, family support services, housing counseling, and financial literacy programs to underserved populations across Florida and nationwide. The organization acts predominantly as a grant recipient (43% prime recipient awards) with substantial sub-recipient activity (57% of awards) flowing through the Florida Department of Commerce, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions.

Step Up Suncoast's federal footprint centers on three primary capability areas. The organization is a prime recipient of a $13.0 million Head Start and Early Head Start Project Grant (CFDA 93.600) from the Office of Head Start, effective January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030, providing comprehensive early childhood education and family support services including educational instruction, health and nutritional support, and social-emotional development programming for low-income children and families in Florida. The organization also holds a five-year Early Head Start Expansion award from the Office of Head Start running through February 28, 2029, and an Early Head Start — Child Care Partnerships award running through August 31, 2026. In housing counseling, Step Up Suncoast received Comprehensive Housing Counseling (CHC) grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Assistant Secretary for Housing Federal Housing Commissioner) covering periods ending September 30, 2025, and March 31, 2025, delivering pre-purchase counseling, foreclosure assistance, and related housing services. The organization is a recurring recipient of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grants from the Internal Revenue Service, with awards in fiscal years 2022, 2023, 2024, and currently running through September 30, 2026, supporting volunteer-operated tax preparation sites serving low-income individuals, persons with disabilities, English-language learners, Native Americans, rural residents, military families, and the elderly.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward domestic social-services and family-support agencies. The top five funding entities account for 87% of awards, led by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (36 awards combined across prime and sub activity), the Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Housing Federal Housing Commissioner (17 awards), the Department of Energy (11 awards), the Internal Revenue Service (8 awards), and the Office of Head Start (7 awards). Step Up Suncoast operates primarily through sub-recipient relationships channeled via the Florida Department of Commerce, which acts as the prime grantee for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) formula grants, Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) formula grants, and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) formula awards; the organization received 47 sub-awards across these programs and others since 2021. The organization also functions as a sub-recipient under the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions for Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) grants and under the Florida Department of Health for Child Care Food Program meal service.

Recent activity has grown steadily from three awards in 2022 to sixteen in 2025, with eleven awards captured in 2026 as of mid-May. Only two awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating a low immediate recompete risk for the organization. Step Up Suncoast's federal revenue footprint totals $302 million in combined dollars obligated across 83 awards, positioning the organization as a substantial sub-recipient network operator in Florida's early childhood, housing, energy-assistance, and financial-literacy sectors rather than as a direct federal contractor.