The Community Foundation of Sarasota County recently issued $1,400,592 in grants to 30 nonprofits and educational institutions, funding everything from hurricane recovery efforts to LGBTQ+ youth programming, research into neurological disorders, arts events and more. Priority areas included expanding access to mental health services, providing financial aid and other forms of assistance to students, funding disease research and education, and increasing access to health care. Grants were allocated to nonprofits working in all corners of the foundation’s geographical area of focus, which includes Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.

“The Community Foundation is guided by a commitment to identifying our community’s most pressing needs and allocating resources to help nonprofits meet them, wherever they may arise,” says Community Foundation of Sarasota County Vice President of Community Impact Kirsten Russell. “This latest round of grants will boost nonprofits throughout our entire region, reaching everyone from newborns to seniors.”

Recent grants supporting youth programming and educational advancement were awarded to:

• ALSO Youth: to support programming and events for LGBTQ+ youth
• ARAY: All Rainbow and Allied Youth: to support programming and events for LGBTQ+ youth
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties: to support summer programming for students in grades K-3
• Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County: to support child care and college savings programs
• Girls Inc.: to help families with financial needs participate in summer programs
• Ringling College of Art and Design: to support the Environmental Discovery Awards Program
• School Board of Sarasota County: to purchase cosmetology kits for Suncoast Technical College students with financial needs
• South Florida State College Foundation: to support students who may not qualify for other financial aid programs
• Take Stock in Children of Sarasota County: to support the organization’s Pathway to Success program
• United Community Centers: to support the emergency replacement of failing air-conditioning systems to allow for summer camp programming

The following organizations received grants to expand access to health care and mental health services:

• CASL: Community Assisted & Supported Living: to support the purchase of behavioral health software
• The Florida Center for Early Childhood: to provide mental health support for students enrolled in Innovation Academy
• Harvest House: to support on-site mental health services for clients
• Hemophilia Foundation of Greater Florida: to support Von Willebrand disease outreach and education
• Planned Parenthood of Florida: to support access to family planning and reproductive health services
• Resilient Retreat: to support trauma-informed daytime retreats for local agencies
• Roskamp Institute: to support research into effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases
• Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation: to support a nurse navigator position, address patient needs through the hospital’s pregnancy care team and support a respiratory therapy pilot program
• SRQ Strong: to provide mental health programming for pregnant and postpartum teens
• VWD Connect Foundation: to support an education workshop on Von Willebrand disease

Arts and culture nonprofits that received grants included:

• Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County: to help small and mid-sized arts nonprofits increase their capacity
• The Bay Park Conservancy: to support public programming
• Florida Studio Theatre: to support the naming of a stage management booth in honor of Muriel O’Neil
• John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Foundation: to fund community events and exhibitions and enhance accessibility
• Sarasota Ballet: to support the ballet’s artist-in-residence program
• Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative: to support sustainability and education efforts
• Trust for Public Land: to support the expansion of trails in Newtown
• Women’s Resource Center: to support the work of a strategic planning consultant

And, finally, hurricane recovery grants were awarded to:

• Gulf Coast Partnership: to address unmet hurricane recovery needs in Charlotte County
• Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay: to support disaster readiness and recovery in DeSoto County
• United Way of South Sarasota County: to support storm recovery efforts

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About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County: The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $544 million in nearly 1,600 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $56 million last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $500 million to nonprofits in our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families and businesses. For more information, visit cfsrasota.org or call 941-955-3000.