2020 Giving Challenge Prizes Award More than $286,000 to Local Nonprofit Organizations

During a virtual celebration with some 450 attendees, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, alongside other foundation and media partners, awarded more than 260 prizes totaling over $286,000 to nonprofit organizations in recognition of their efforts and achievements during the 2020 Giving Challenge. Nonprofit award recipients demonstrated excellence in transforming planning, strategy, and creativity into successful campaigns through several superlative prize opportunities, such as Best Overall Campaign, Best Nonprofit Partnership, and Best Turnaround. All prize opportunities are designed to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit organizations, ensuring they have the skills and abilities to thrive.

“For months, nonprofit organizations thoughtfully developed fundraising plans, communications campaigns, and collaborative events to connect with donors and grow their involvement with causes close to their heart, and then COVID-19 uprooted all of that,” said Roxie Jerde, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “In a matter of weeks, nonprofits bravely pivoted their strategies with no small amount of flexibility and creativity to create and executive some of the most successful campaigns we have seen in the last six challenges combined. This effort speaks volumes to our community’s desire to overcome these challenging times and move forward together with our nonprofit partners, stronger and more united than ever before.”

New prize opportunities this year included: Best All Volunteer Organization and Best Online Event, which arose out of the emerging realities of social distancing to ensure our community could remain digitally connected

Volunteer committees made up of community leaders reviewed and judged the more than 430 applications submitted by participating nonprofit organizations to determine the final award recipients. Nonprofits were divided into three categories: Small (annual operating budgets under $60,000), Medium (annual operating budgets between $60,000 and $500,000) and Large (annual operating budgets greater than $500,000).

All prize opportunities were made available through the generosity of local foundation and media partners. The Community Foundation’s Board of Directors approved $200,000 to be awarded for this year’s prizes, with additional funding support from The Patterson Foundation, the Manatee Community Foundation, the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, and the Charlotte Community Foundation. Media partners included: Harbor Style Magazine, the Herald-Tribune Media Group, iHeart Radio, Observer Media Group, Sarasota Magazine/Sagacity, SCENE Magazine, SNN TV, Solmart Media, SRQ Media, WUSF, and WWSB-TV/ABC7.

Overcoming the uncertainty of our times, the 2020 Giving Challenge raised $18.4 million in just 24 hours for 686 local nonprofit organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. With $10.9 million provided in community support from 58,947 donors and 106,570 total gifts, along with $7.5 million in matching funds from The Patterson Foundation, the 2020 Giving Challenge set a new standard for community generosity, outperforming the previous six challenges. In total, seven Giving Challenges have collectively provided more than $58 million in unrestricted funding since 2012.

Winners of the 2020 Giving Challenge prizes are as follows:

Most Unique Donors Award

The Patterson Foundation awarded $51,000 in prizes to organizations that cultivated the highest number of unique donors during the 2020 Giving Challenge. Prizes were awarded across three categories based on the size of each organization (Small, Medium, Large):

Small

1. Humane Society At Lakewood Ranch Inc

2. Sarasota High School Mast Research Institute Boosters Incorporated

3. Venice Challenger Baseball Inc

4. Venice Cat Coalition

5. Circus Ring of Fame Foundation

6. Sarasota Bradenton Kappa Alpha Psi Project Guide Right Inc.

7. Transition Sarasota Inc

8. Dial Hope Foundation Inc

9. Fruitville Elementary School PTO Inc

10. Lost Pet Services Inc

Medium

1. Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinson’s

2. WSLR Inc

3. Wildlife Center of Venice Inc. d/b/a Paul A. and Veronica H. Gross Wildlife Center of Southwest Florida

4. Urbanite Theatre Inc

5. Fox Foster Kittens Inc

6. Young Life of Manatee County

7. St. Joseph Food Pantry

8. Galatians 6:2 Inc (dba Hope 4 Communities)

9. South County Food Pantry Inc

10. The Twig Cares

Large

1. All Faiths Food Bank, Inc.

2. Venice Theatre

3. Florida Studio Theatre Inc

4. Honor Sanctuary, Inc. d/b/a Honor Animal Rescue

5. Mote Marine Laboratory

6. Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee, Inc.

7. Cat Depot

8. Animal Welfare League of Charlotte County Florida Inc

9. Operation Second Chance Inc

10. Humane Society of Sarasota County Inc

Best Overall Campaign

Sponsored by: Community Foundation of Sarasota County

*9 Prize Awards: $6,000 to first place, $5,000 to second place, and $4,000 to third place in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations) with the best overall campaigns.

Small

1. Community Broadband Radio Association Inc

2. Sarasota Chorus of the Keys

3. Farmhouse Animal and Nature Sanctuary Inc

Medium (Tie)

1. Urbanite Theatre Inc & Young Life East Manatee

2. UnidosNow

3. Peace River Wildlife Center Inc

Large (Tie)

1. Mote Marine Laboratory & Humane Society of Sarasota County Inc

2. N/A

3. Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, Inc. & Barrier Island Parks Society Inc

Best Online Event

Sponsored by: Community Foundation of Sarasota County & SRQ Media

9 Prize Awards: $2,000 prizes awarded to three winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations)

Small

· Community Broadband Radio Association Inc

· Farmhouse Animal and Nature Sanctuary Inc

· Literacy Council of Manatee County, Inc

Medium

· Canine Castaways, Inc.

· Charlotte Players Inc

· The Children’s Garden

Large

· Harvest House

· Solve Maternity Homes

· Mote Marine Laboratory

Best Use of Social Media

Sponsored by: Manatee Community Foundation & Herald-Tribune Media Group

*6 Prize Awards: $2,000 to two winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations)

Small

· Farmhouse Animal and Nature Sanctuary Inc

· Strings Con Brio

Medium (Tie)

· Also for Gay Youth Inc

· Canine Castaways

· UnidosNow

Large

· Foundation for Dreams Inc

· Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center

Best Nonprofit Partnership

Sponsored by: William G. and Marie Selby Foundation

$4,000 to three winning partnerships, $4,000 is split between partners

· Boys & Girls Clubs of Charlotte Inc & Animal Welfare League Of Charlotte County Florida Inc

· South West Florida Therapy Animals & Manatee County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition Inc

· UnidosNow & Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County Inc

Best Business Partnership

Sponsored by: William G. and Marie Selby Foundation & Sarasota Magazine / Sagacity

6 Prize Awards: $2,000 to two winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations)

Small

· ensemblenewSRQ

· Farmhouse Animal and Nature Sanctuary Inc

Medium

· Animal Network, Inc.

· The WareHouse of Venice Inc

Large

· Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County Inc

· Humane Society of Sarasota County Inc

Best Board Member Engagement

Sponsored by: William G. and Marie Selby Foundation & WWSB-TV/ABC 7

3 Prize Awards: $2,000 to the winners of each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations)

Small

· Literacy Council of Manatee County, Inc.

Medium

· UnidosNow

Large

· Turning Points (Community Coalition on Homelessness Corporation)

Best Giving Challenge Video

Sponsored by: Community Foundation of Sarasota County & Suncoast News Network SNN TV

6 Prize Awards: $2,500 to two winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations)

Small

· Empowerment Gulfcoast Inc

· Healthy Teens Coalition of Manatee County, Inc.

Medium

· A Life Story Foundation

· The Literacy Council of Sarasota Inc

Large

· Cat Depot

· Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center

Best Giving Challenge Turnaround

Sponsored by: Community Foundation of Sarasota County & SCENE Magazine

6 Prize Awards: $2,000 to two winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations) with the best turnaround performance from the 2018 Giving Challenge.

Small

· Gotta Van Productions Inc (DBA SaraSolo Productions, Inc.)

· Strings Con Brio

Medium

· JoshProvides Epilepsy Assistance Foundation

· Peace River Wildlife Center Inc

Large

· Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation

· The Players Inc. dba The Players Centre for Performing Arts

Best Giving Challenge Newbie

Sponsored by: Charlotte Community Foundation and Harbor Style Magazine

6 Prize Awards: $2,000 to two winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations) with the best overall campaigns as first time Giving Challenge participants.

Small

· Farmhouse Animal and Nature Sanctuary Inc

· Sarasota Chorus of the Keys

Medium

· Child Evangelism Fellowship of Southwest Florida

· Young Life East Manatee

Large

· Imagine School at North Port Inc

· The Bay Park Conservancy Inc

Best All Volunteer Organization

Sponsored by: Community Foundation of Sarasota County & Solmart Media

*6 Prize Awards: $2,000 to two winners in each category (Small, Medium, Large Organizations) with the best overall campaigns as all volunteer organizations. No organizations qualified in the Large category.

Small

· Community Broadband Radio Association Inc

· Sarasota Chorus of the Keys

Medium (Tie)

· Animal Network, Inc.

· Canine Castaways, Inc.

· Survivors in Sync

Honorable Mentions:

Throughout the judging process, there were a handful of campaigns that lived and breathed creativity and uniqueness, so much so that the judges wanted to recognize several organizations for their monumental effort. From outstanding collaborations to impressive peer-to-peer fundraising, these honorable mentions go above and beyond to highlight the spirit of the 2020 Giving Challenge.

· Ghanaian Mothers Hope Inc.

· Giving Alliance of Myakka City Inc

· Loving Hands Ministries

· Satchels Last Resort

· Suncoast Science Center | Faulhaber Fab Lab