FLIPANY (Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth)
FLIPANY (Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth) was founded in 2005 by Lynne Kunins, FLIPANY’s president and CEO. Lynne had been involved with a successful Open Gym program for children with a parent in prison. When the funder ended the program, Lynne was determined to find funds to keep the program going and to include all of the kids that wanted to participate. She created FLIPANY and made her dreams come true.
FLIPANY’s first hire was a dietician, and its first major partner was Share Our Strength/NoKidHungry. In 2006 FLIPANY was named Florida Lead Partner to deliver Cooking Matters® food skills programs. During that same year, FLIPANY launched its first FLIPANY 5K Fun Run/Walk and hosted running clinics at schools and community centers to encourage fun physical activity. FLIPANY’s three-part signature programming was established,
(1) start with whole foods (2) participate in fun, physical activities (3) learn about nutrition by learning to prepare healthy meals.
By the end of its second year of existence, FLIPANY had an operating budget of over $100,000.
In the following years, FLIPANY added an important mentorship component to its growing physical activity programs with Soccer for Success and two biking programs: Earn-a-Bike and FLIPANY’s Annual Spring Break Adventure Mountain Bike Camp. FLIPANY also launched Worksite Wellness programs that support mentoring and peer-mentoring for adults. To deliver these personalized and culturally adapted programs, FLIPANY continued to build a diverse team of health and wellness professionals.
In 2016, food and nutrition once again became the focus of FLIPANY programming. As a Tier III Food Sponsor for the federal Child Nutrition Program, FLIPANY began to Sponsor afterschool programs who were not utilizing the nutritional benefits of the state and federal food program. Providing technical assistance and oversight for all aspects of the (complicated) food program, FLIPANY has helped hundreds of afterschool programs to improve the lives of the children they serve through consistent, high-quality nutritious meals. FLIPANY’s rapid expansion of services from Food Sponsorships pushed FLIPANY’s operating budget to over six million dollars.
In early 2020, when schools closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, FLIPANY redesigned its Food Sponsorhsip program within three days to become South Florida’s leading Emergency Food Assistance Provider. FLIPANY’s network of community partners helped identify families in need, including the farthest corners of the Tri-County area of South Florida. FLIPANY’s retooled Food Program helped thousands of families and supported local caterers and food distributors throughout the crisis.
Now that schools are open once again, FLIPANY looks to the future. With its portfolio of streamlined operating systems, a deeply ingrained culture of service and respect, a professional team that is agile and adept, FLIPANY will continue to serve more neighborhoods and more participants. But our work will not be finished until every child has the opportunity to live a healthy life no matter where they live.
Milestones
2012
Broward Non-Profit Organization of the Year, finalist
2013
Jim Moran Institute For Global Entrepreneurship Award
2014
Rising Star Award from the Florida Department of Agriculture
2015
Lynne Kunins attends Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Celebration at the White House in recognition of FLIPANY’s Healthy Cities Campaign
2016
Excellence in Healthcare Award for Wellness/Lifestyle Programs from Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce
2017
Turnip the Beet! High Quality Summer Meals Gold Level Award for improving nutrition and quality in summer meals program from U.S. Department of Agriculture (Consecutive years, 2017-2018-2019. Award closed in 2020.)
2020
The Children’s Trust Program of the Year winner
2021
Knowledge for Impact Award to Lynne Kunins, Wharton School of Business Executive Education Program
Other Recognition
Guidestar; Charity Navigator scoring 100% 3rd party evaluation
Nonprofits First Excellence award, 5th consecutive year
Nonprofit Executive Alliance of Broward member and Board member
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FLIPANY 2860 W. State Road 84 Suite 103 FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33312
Contributions benefit FLIPANY, a not for profit tax-exempt organization. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF FLIPANY, CH21961, MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES AT www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com OR BY CALLING TOLL FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE OF FLORIDA. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.