The Journey: Why & How

Although much of The Patterson Foundation’s efforts in philanthropy are focused on strengthening Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties, with 70 percent of the Foundation’s funds staying within this four-county region, The Patterson Foundation’s approach to philanthropy works beyond traditional geographic boundaries, tapping into expansive networks and movements working toward shared aspirations.

The Patterson Foundation learns insights and best practices from these broader networks, which are applied to strengthen initiatives locally. Furthermore, these new networks serve as a conduit to other people, organizations, and communities around the world working toward these same goals. Connecting these initiatives to broader networks creates new opportunities to share innovations and learnings developed in The Patterson Foundation’s home region far and wide. Collectively, the overall movement generates lasting impact regionally, nationally, and globally.

Learn more about our approach to philanthropy here.

CATALYSTS FOR GOOD

The Patterson Foundation works with people, businesses, nonprofits, government, and the media to catalyze efforts toward shared aspirations through five key actions: Connecting → Learning → Sharing → Evolving → Strengthening.

(Access the one-page PDF file of the entire "Catalysts for Good" section to download it. Or, to share an individual icon and its text, click on the icon to pull up its JPG and then right-click to save.)

Connecting

Connecting: To learn, share, evolve, and strengthen, we must first be connected. The Patterson Foundation provides opportunities to bring people, organizations, and communities together, strategically linking Internal Stakeholders (CEO/ED, board, staff, donors, and volunteers); External Stakeholders (people, businesses, other nonprofits, government, and the media); and Areas (local, regional, statewide, national, and global communities).

 

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Learning

Learning: The time spent listening, asking questions, and exploring builds mutual understanding, and mutual understanding fosters the development of trust.

 

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Sharing

Sharing: The Patterson Foundation believes that important assets — including information, knowledge, skills, and expertise — strengthen the impact of initiatives when they are spread through collaboration. Sharing is the pivotal point linking the power of connecting and learning to opportunities for evolving and strengthening.

 

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Evolving

Evolving: “Change happens at the speed of trust” is one of The Patterson Foundation's key tenets. As confidence grows, the belief in new possibilities begins to emerge, and meaningful changes are made toward positive transformations.

 

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Strengthening

Strengthening: The Patterson Foundation supports the efforts of people, organizations, and communities by focusing on issues that address mutual aspirations, foster wide participation, and encourage learning and sharing.

 

 

Importance of Alignment

While everything collaborators do requires trust, The Patterson Foundation has learned that the alignment of five characteristics — leadership, willingness, readiness, capacity, and culture — is critical to success.

(Access the one-page PDF file of the entire "Importance of Alignment" section to download it. Or, to share an individual icon and its text, click on the icon to pull up its JPG and then right-click to save.)

Leadership

Value of collaboration is understood
and used to drive impact

Willingness

Enthusiasm about working together
and with others accelerates change

Readiness

Available to embrace the journey

Capacity

Ability to bring assets to the work and
implement strategic recommendations

Culture

Shared belief that strengthening the future
starts with passionaries and possibilitarians

 

 

MOVING THE NEEDLE

Finding ways for people to engage and create their desired future.

(Access the PDF file of the entire "Opportunities for Impact" section to download it. Or, to share an individual icon and its text, click on the icon to pull up its JPG and then right-click to save.)

Scarcity

Abundance

Expanding a narrow scope of thinking to a broad view of the collective resources from multiple sectors

Issues

Aspirations

Shifting the focus from problems, challenges, and barriers to a shared vision and new possibilities

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Enabling

Engaging

Rather than taking actions that perpetuate problems, creating opportunities that change realities

Silos

Systems

Rather than acting in isolation, exploring, discovering, and working together in a shared ecosystem

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Outputs

Outcomes

Rather than focusing on short-term actions, optimizing efforts toward long-term impact

THE FIVE C’s

No matter the circumstances, The Patterson Foundation (TPF) enters each day focused on five constants that power its ability to thrive in the face of change while harnessing that change to work in new, impactful ways. This is achieved through five key actions:
Caring → Connecting → Collaborating → Creating → Strengthening.

(Access the one-page PDF file of the entire "The Five C's" section to download it. Or, to share an individual icon and its text, click on the icon to pull up its JPG and then right-click to save.)

Caring

Caring: With its many initiatives — regardless of the aspiration or geography involved — TPF channels empathy and compassion for our world. The unfettered charter undergirding its efforts allows TPF to undertake work in ways others are not doing, cannot do, or will not do. This affords TPF unique opportunities to create meaningful change through its philanthropy, and it’s one for which we are ever grateful. Knowing and embracing what’s possible through our work allows each of us to live and work in the spirit of joyful stewardship.

 

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Connecting

Connecting: TPF's approach is organized around the principle that, to learn, share, evolve, and strengthen, we must first be connected. TPF provides opportunities to bring people, organizations, and communities together, strategically linking Internal Stakeholders (CEO/executive director, board, staff, donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries); External Stakeholders (people, businesses, nonprofits, government, and the media); and Areas (local, regional, statewide, national, and global communities).

 

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Collaborating

Collaborating: When TPF seeks to strengthen outcomes within shared aspirations, it looks to the organizations and entities at the forefront of the ongoing work in that space. Rather than arrive at its work with the answer, TPF strives to learn from those actively creating the kind of future people aspire to live in, finding opportunities to strengthen their efforts while continuing to introduce them to other mission-aligned causes and organizations.

 

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Contributing

Contributing: As a fully endowed charitable entity, TPF has substantial resources to help strengthen those with which it collaborates. However, the true value of TPF’s support goes far beyond any one-time check. With an eye toward long-term thrivability and mission impact, TPF exercises agility in its response to emerging funding opportunities while creating opportunities to catalyze additional support from donors big and small to these organizations and networks.

 

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Creating

Creating: Beyond sharing promising innovations within these networks, TPF actively works with them to identify opportunities to innovate organically — from idea to implementation. Developing high-tech platforms and virtual experiences can connect more people, organizations, and communities to proven solutions and approaches that advance shared aspirations in new, exciting ways.