The Florida Community Innovation Foundation (FCI) conducts groundbreaking work connecting Florida’s citizens with trusted information and resources to navigate challenging times. We do this by building innovative, human-centered technology, and persuasive public education campaigns that move the needle on access to services and compliance with public health guidance. FCI was originally born as a citizens’ collaboration to help communities cope holistically with COVID-19. We recognized that the COVID-19 crisis pushed an unprecedented number of people into the social safety net, while eroding public trust in institutions. We designed FCI to bridge this gap, providing a trusted voice originating from within local Florida communities while leveraging a national network of professionals as volunteers. This allows FCI to build professional-grade software and communications products that are deeply in touch with the needs of, and persuasive to, Florida’s citizens.