In 1979, members of the South West Florida Estate Planning Council created the Sarasota County Community Foundation with one lofty ambition: to make local charitable giving easy, flexible, permanent and effective.

From its original office in a back room of the Florida West Coast Symphony, the Community Foundation has evolved into Sarasota County’s trusted relationship-building partner: the powerful engine of effective charitable giving for donors and the professionals who advise them, the nonprofits they support, and the important causes that make a difference in the lives of the people of Southwest Florida.

In 1985, when the foundation’s total assets were only $175,000, it made its first grant to establish the area’s very first comprehensive human services directory through First Call for Help. That modest directory has since become 2-1-1, an important 24/7 emergency referral service.

Since 1988, when Stewart W. Stearns was hired as the first full-time CEO, the Community Foundation has grown from $300,000 to $160 million in assets and has awarded more than $63 million in grants and scholarships.

That growth was fueled by a commitment to building permanent endowment one donor at a time and forging relationships with hundreds of individuals, corporations and nonprofit agencies based on mutual trust and faith in the Commu-nity Foundation’s ability to be a catalyst for a better future. 

In 1991, the Community Foundation had just 10 named funds. Today there are more than 600. More than 300 people have joined the Legacy Society with a pledge to make a gift to an important charitable cause in their estate plans. Thanks to a magnanimous gift from past Community Foundation chair Leila Gompertz and the generosity of the board of directors, the old Elks Club property on Fruitville Road was purchased in 2004. The landmark Leila & Michael Gompertz Center opened shortly thereafter. It not only houses the Community Foundation and its Nonprofit Resource Center but also provides state-of-the-art meeting rooms used by more than 14,000 nonprofit administrators and volunteers each year. Nonprofits also benefit from the continually expanding services and innovative programs offered by the Nonprofit Resource Center, a one-stop resource that builds and sustains the capacity of more than 1,400 charitable organizations in our community.

In 1994, the Community Foundation received a $250,000 grant from the John M. and James L. Knight Foundation to create a permanent endowment for Manatee County that eventually formed the Manatee Community  Foun-dation  (MCF).  Since 1998, when MCF became a supporting organization of its Sarasota County “sister,” it has been thriving and growing. In its 10th anniversary year, assets have reached
$16 million.

Over the past 30 years, the Community Foundation has sparked change and been a catalyst for improvement in many areas of life in our community. Here are just a few key accomplishments:

Aiding families in distress: The Helping Hand Fund for emergency assistance has provided more than $500,000 to needy families. And along with the Herald-Tribune Media Group, the Season of Sharing campaign has raised more than $1.7 million to prevent homelessness for our community’s most vulnerable families.

Engaging the community: The Community Foundation spearheaded efforts to create SCOPE and Community Youth Development and has continued to support both generously.

Strengthening families and assisting the elderly: A three-year Connecting  Fathers &
Families initiative  created  
with Children First and Sarasota Memorial Hospital continues to give dads the tools they need to be effective parents. The foundation was also the founding sponsor of the award-winning Falls Prevention initiative at Senior Friendship Center, which helps seniors increase their balance and stay in shape so they can age in their homes.

Simply in terms of dollars, the Community Foundation story is one of ever-increasing impact. The largest dollar amount in grants recorded prior to its new Grant and Program Services initiative was $6 million a year. In 2007-2008, foundation donors made it possible to give the community more than $10 million.

“In these uncertain economic times, our grantmaking, our nonprofit capacity building services and our board development services are more critical than ever,” Stearns says. “Bringing our community together around solutions is vital.”