The Gift of Alignment: Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Patterson Foundation

For 40 years, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County (CFSC) has helped tens of thousands of people by focusing on community impact.

Over the years, The Patterson Foundation (TPF) and CFSC have worked together, with shared aspirations. While each works uniquely, each brings expertise and resources to optimize impact.

Approaching its tenth year, TPF's work with CFSC reflects impressive, measurable results:

• 54 Schools empowered with a Student Emergency Fund
• 250 Explorations in experiential learning funded through EdExploreSRQ
• $21 Million given to support neighbors through Season of Sharing
• $40 Million in donations to the Giving Challenge over six challenges.
• More than $9 million in endowments to support Patriot Plaza, EdExploreSRQ, Season of Sharing, and Student Emergency Fund.

In alignment, TPF (an independent foundation) and CFSC (a public foundation) have connected to work together on meaningful initiatives that continue to strengthen the efforts of people, organizations, and our community.

Student Emergency Fund
TPF worked with the CFSC to meet one-time emergency funding needs for students in Sarasota County, Florida, through the Student Emergency Fund. This fund helps eliminate barriers that keep students from learning and engaging in the classroom. In addition to funding the current needs, TPF offered a matching challenge that resulted in a $600,000 endowment to assist children in future years.

Season of Sharing
To strengthen community generosity, TPF has been providing matching funds for several consecutive years to support Season of Sharing. The campaign has raised millions of dollars to help thousands of families on the verge of homelessness. Research shows that spending $1 to prevent a family from losing their place to live is a much better return than spending $8 to get a homeless family back into housing.

Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (Sarasota)
Dozens of nonprofits, schools, community organizations, and individuals are doing meaningful work related to the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties.

In addition, lead partners in each community have stepped up to help guide and implement the Suncoast CGLR's strategies; CFSC is the lead partner in Sarasota County.




EdExploreSRQ
Research shows experiential learning helps students understand and apply concepts, motivates them, and creates new interests. Since its inception, EdExploreSRQ has provided more than 300,000 student experiences for children in grades K-12. Today, nearly 70 provider organizations and teaching artists have more than 250 Explorations posted on the site. All have been vetted by Sarasota County Schools for alignment with curriculum standards.

CFSC has provided more than $649.000 in grant funding for 461 explorations since 2013 with funding matched by TPF. The Education Foundation of Sarasota County also offers grant funding annually and is now focused on career explorations.




Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition
TPF and CFSC are committed to strengthening the collaboration and impact of the Suncoast Nursing Action Coalition by helping to cultivate an environment for success. This includes providing facilitation, knowledge, and strategic and tactical expertise. A more highly educated nursing workforce leads to improved patient outcomes, infection rates, and mortality rates.

The Bay
Through The Bay, the community is engaged in a multi-year journey to fulfill its vision to transform 53 acres of the city's most precious land on Sarasota's bayfront into a public park that is free, open and welcoming to our diverse region while offering fitness, health, cultural, recreational, and educational activities and events.

"As leaders in our region's philanthropic sector, we affirm our belief in The Bay and commitment to its realization. We encourage our fellow community members and leaders to sustain our shared momentum and create reality from the dreams our community has articulated." – Five Foundations Support The Bay

 

Giving Challenge
The Giving Challenge is a 24-hour giving event supporting more than 600 nonprofits serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties in Florida. Since 2012, donors have provided more than $28 million in unrestricted funding to support nonprofits listed on The Giving Partner. The 2020 Giving Challenge is April 28–29, 2020.




The Giving Partner
Through The Giving Partner, people make more informed decisions about giving based on in-depth information provided by nonprofits.