Current Initiatives

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: A Walk to Respect

Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass: A Walk to Respect is a moving production sharing the deep connection between two of America’s most revered leaders across their differences. Through this theatrical experience, The Patterson Foundation invites audiences to consider where common ground can be uncovered and to focus on shared aspirations, offering Lincoln and Douglass’ example as a blueprint to build trust that transcends differing views and ideologies.

Advancing Philanthropic Leadership

In collaboration with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy — the first school dedicated solely to the study and teaching of philanthropy — The Patterson Foundation’s Advancing Philanthropic Leadership initiative encompasses a series of creative efforts to strengthen the capabilities of emerging philanthropic leaders. Within each of these endeavors, the next generation of leaders has the opportunity to build their willingness, capacity, and foresight to incorporate innovative strategies for long-term change.

Aspirations to Actions

The Patterson Foundation believes that change happens at the speed of trust. Aspirations to Actions aims to provide space for the first step in building trust - strengthening connective tissue. From uplifting people to facilitating community conversations, Aspirations to Actions is an adaptive and innovative initiative working to keep time with the ever-evolving challenges of today and tomorrow.

Aspirations to Actions: North River Manatee County Initiative

The North River Manatee County Initiative is a partnership empowering residents, nonprofits, and local leaders to take action and shape lasting, positive change in one of Florida’s fastest-growing regions. This initiative is made possible through a partnership with the Bishop-Parker Foundation, The Patterson Foundation, and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation.

Aspirations to Actions: The New Civic Path Book Circles

People nationwide share a desire to connect and strengthen their community. How might we create a path forward that taps into our innate goodness? How might we build together, even amid our differences, and create a new trajectory of hope in this country?Through its Aspirations to Actions initiative, The Patterson Foundation is investing in the future through a series of book circles exploring The New Civic Path: Restoring Our Belief in One Another and This Nation, the new book by president and CEO of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, Rich Harwood.

Center for Disaster Philanthropy

In the wake of disasters at a scale never before seen, donor generosity is reaching record amounts — but giving is often based on emotion, impulse, and limited information. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy is the only full-time resource dedicated to helping donors maximize their impact through expert resources, community-driven grantmaking, and philanthropic consulting services.

Community Impact: Optimizing Assets Beyond Initiatives

The Patterson Foundation believes that meaningful change is achieved by strengthening people, organizations, and communities in ways that foster wide participation around shared quality-of-life aspirations. Community Impact seeks out catalysts for good that are imagining a possible future and creating new realities for Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. Ultimately, the initiative's components are designed to interweave and strengthen the greater ecosystem. The goal is to shift community thinking from issues to opportunities.

Community Preparedness, Recovery, and Resiliency

Our communities have long been vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and, more recently, increasingly higher temperatures and the pandemic. Disasters of all types have the potential to significantly alter our quality of life. Understanding the realities and dangers disasters pose can create opportunities to thrive beyond their effects. People, organizations, and communities are diligently examining this complex topic locally and worldwide, yielding compelling models, data, and learnings that can inform the Suncoast’s response to its challenges.

DeSoto County Ahead

The Patterson Foundation believes that communities can shape their own future by involving people and organizations in the process. DeSoto County Ahead is a result of many months of trust-building through purposeful and meaningful facilitated conversations. During these conversations, eight themes and twelve aspirational actions to uplift the community were identified. The goal is to move from merely recognizing aspirations to taking actionable steps.

Digital Access for All

Digital Access for All explores the efforts of multiple sectors working to enhance access to technology that connects people in ways that foster inclusion and well-being.

Digital Navigator Program

The Patterson Foundation’s Digital Navigator Program trains local organizations to connect asset-limited families and individuals with opportunities to obtain digital connectivity, devices, skills, and support. Through a series of trainings, implementation meetings, and knowledge-sharing sessions with other nonprofits, consultants help participants embed the responsibilities of the digital navigator into the organization’s daily work and culture.

Fueling Dynamic Fundraising

Fueling Dynamic Fundraising helps nonprofit organizations strengthen their fundraising capacity and expand their mission impact. Through a partnership with The Fund Raising School at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, The Patterson Foundation brings nationally recognized fundraising expertise to our community through proven courses, cohort-based learning, and ongoing implementation support.

Giving Challenge

The Patterson Foundation supports strengthened giving during the Giving Challenge by providing matching funding and prizes that encourage people to be generous. Building awareness about The Giving Partner — an online tool providing comprehensive and in-depth information — and encouraging the tool’s use strengthens philanthropy in Florida’s Charlotte, Desoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties by helping donors make informed decisions. With the minimum gift amount set at $25, the Giving Challenge, held over a 24-hour period, furthers the idea that anyone can be a philanthropist.

Margin & Mission Ignition

By engaging No Margin, No Mission, a national consulting firm and social enterprise, The Patterson Foundation is igniting interest in earned-income possibilities. Margin & Mission Ignition (MMI) is an initiative where nonprofits who have demonstrated leadership, willingness, readiness, capacity, and culture are invited to undertake a 30-month rigorous business-planning, implementation, and coaching process that builds thrivability and strengthens their organization in countless ways.  

National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

The mission of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is to disrupt the generational cycle of poverty by improving the prospects for early school success for children growing up in economically challenged, fragile and otherwise marginalized families. The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading advances this mission by focusing on two critical inflection points: grade-level reading by the end of third grade and, more recently, on-track development by the end of kindergarten. Research, practice and common sense confirm both as critical to the early school success that predicts later school achievement and high school graduation, the first rung of the “success sequence” leading to employment and earnings.

Nonprofit Internship Program

Aspiring philanthropic leaders have the opportunity to catalyze innovations to strengthen people, organizations, and communities around the world. While the potential for these innovations is vast, harnessing it takes leaders who have the capacity and drive to promote long-term change — ones able to create a shared vision within their organization while engaging and collaborating across sectors to achieve shared aspirations. Investing in nonprofit leadership development by supporting undergraduate and graduate interns is an effective way to equip the next generation at the helm of our vital nonprofits and foundations with the experience, approach, and skills necessary to guide organizations toward positive outcomes.At the same time, strengthening nonprofits by investing in human capital through student internships builds the capability to thrive. By connecting with student leaders imbued with deep knowledge of and experience with the philanthropic sector, nonprofits will become stronger and better able to tackle today's challenges.

Nonprofit Thrivability

The Patterson Foundation recognizes that lasting community impact depends on strong, sustainable nonprofit organizations. Through its Nonprofit Thrivability initiative, the Foundation invests in nonprofit leaders and organizations as they build the capacity needed to sustain and grow their mission impact.

Patriot Plaza

In 2014, through a first-of-its-kind partnership, The Patterson Foundation donated Patriot Plaza — a 2,800-seat ceremonial amphitheater at Sarasota National Cemetery in Florida — to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Patterson Foundation connects the community, including schools in Charlotte, Desoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties, with Patriot Plaza by working with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, which facilitates Patriot Plaza Tours and EdExploreSRQ EdExplorations. The Patterson Foundation realized that the primary concern for educators when selecting any EdExploration is transportation funding. As a result, The Patterson Foundation began funding these field trips to Patriot Plaza for any school in the four-county area.

Season of Sharing

Season of Sharing is a vital safety net helping individuals and families in crisis from Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties in Florida through one-time financial assistance for rent or mortgage, utility bills, childcare, transportation, food vouchers, or other essential living expenses. Managed through a partnership between the Herald-Tribune Media Group and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Season of Sharing inspires neighbors to help neighbors regain stability in the face of unforeseen hardship.

Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

The Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a four-county effort in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties to help children from birth through 3rd grade, especially those from asset-limited families, succeed in life by ensuring they read on grade level. Part of a nationwide movement, the region is focused on addressing the most common issues and obstacles that impact a child’s ability to read through five solutions areas: school readiness, attendance, summer learning, family engagement, and health determinants.

Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund

Established by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in response to Hurricane Ian’s historic landfall in 2022, the Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund gives generous donors the opportunity to support long-term, long-range programs to sustain human service agencies serving Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. The Fund helps communities heal holistically after a catastrophic weather event, with greater resilience to future threats.

The Gap

Through The Gap, part of the Digital Access for All initiative, The Patterson Foundation creates opportunities for asset-limited families and individuals to benefit from low-cost internet, devices, and digital skills to foster inclusion and well-being — closing this enrollment gap.

The Patterson Foundation Fellowship

TPF Beyond Network

To Propel Fellows Beyond Network (TPFBN) is a community of possibilitarians consisting of current, past, and incoming individuals in The Patterson Foundation Fellowship. Brought together by a common commitment to our values and goals, The Patterson Foundation Fellows are a diverse group of individuals striving to create the future as we imagine it can be. Focused on possibilities, we work individually and collectively to advance philanthropic leadership and philanthropy as a sector. Knowing each Fellow brings their own unique skills and strengths, all Fellows are open to learning, growing, evolving, and stretching in pursuit of a more inclusive and vibrant world.

Voter Education

The Patterson Foundation created its Voter Education initiative to make nonpartisan information on Primary and General elections easily accessible to eligible and potential voters. The initiative equips voters with information and materials from trusted local and national sources to make independent and informed decisions based on their own analysis and priorities.