The Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation has awarded nearly $7.1 million in new grants to strengthen supports that help Sarasota-area residents remain housed, healthy, connected, and prepared for opportunity, including Second Heart Homes, Rebuilding Together Greater Florida, Newtown Business Council, Embracing Our Differences and Oyster River Ecology.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County recently awarded more than $2.1 million in scholarships to 566 students, from recent high school graduates heading off to college to students returning to school in search of a degree or certification that will enhance their careers.

UnidosNow recently received a four-year commitment of $600,000 from the Johnson Scholarship Foundation in support of the UnidosNow Future Leaders Academy through 2029. The Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation is matching the funds for the first year of the grant, which is dedicated exclusively to the organization’s Future Leaders Academy and the College Completion Program.

The Patterson Foundation has committed $500,000 to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund. The funding will support ongoing and future long-term recovery and resilience efforts in areas of Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties impacted by hurricanes and other disasters.

Forty Carrots recently received $75,000 grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation for the agency’s mental health internship and training program.

The Library Foundation for Sarasota County was recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. This grant supports the library’s Summer Learning program, designed to spark imagination, inspire creativity, and support life-long learning for all ages.

Forty graduating high school students from Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties have been selected by the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation as 2026 Selby Scholars. Each student will receive a renewable scholarship award of up to $7,000 per year of college based on individual financial need. 

Harvest House has been awarded a $105,000 grant from the William G.
and Marie Selby Foundation to support the purchase of two generators that will power its’ resilience hubs during emergencies.

A $1,250 grant from The Lake Club Women’s Giving Circle and a  $2,500 grant from the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation will assist JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation in the funding of transportation to diagnostic testing and anti-seizure medication for individuals and families in Lakewood Ranch and the surrounding region.

Learning for Life, a provider of character and career education in Southwest Florida, has received a significant $24,750 grant from the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation. This investment will be instrumental in expanding the reach of the program’s innovative, research-based curriculum to more than 13,000 students across the region, including many in high-need Title I schools.

Arts Advocates recently announced that 10 Sarasota and Manatee county students have each been awarded $5,000 scholarships for the 2026-2027 school year. 

Embracing Our Differences has awarded $1,000 renewable scholarships to three graduating high school seniors and renewed funding for eight college students who previously received the honor. 

The Florida Center for Early Childhood received a $6,500 grant from the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation to support Starfish Academy, The Florida Center’s inclusive preschool.

Spark ALC has been awarded a $5,100 Capacity Building Grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to support the hiring of a fundraising consultant and strengthen the organization’s long-term sustainability efforts.

The Patterson Foundation has matched more than $177,000 total in investments to four regional nonprofit organizations working to develop and implement revenue-generating plans to sustain their missions: Arcadia-DeSoto County Habitat for Humanity, Key Chorale, The Florida Center for Early Childhood and WSLR+Fogartyville. Each organization is participating in Margin & Mission Ignition, a 30-month opportunity presented by The Patterson Foundation for nonprofits to strengthen organizational capacity, revenue and impact by learning and applying earned-income strategies.