The Giving Challenge 2020

Doubling Down on Generosity

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s Giving Challenge is the most exciting 24 hours in philanthropy, and it’s happening again on April 28 – 29 from noon to noon with the theme “Be The One.” This nonprofit-strengthening event has allowed donors throughout our region to help create lasting impact by supporting 700+ nonprofit organizations and having their gifts amplified by 1:1 matching funds from The Patterson Foundation, up to $100 per donor, per organization. 

Since the challenge began in 2012, more than $40 million in unrestricted funding has been given to support a range of causes that are transforming the lives of people throughout Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.

To learn a bit more about the true impact of the Giving Challenge, here are three organizations that have excelled in the past few challenges. Each are eagerly undergoing campaign-planning for the upcoming 2020 challenge.

Cat Depot

Cat Depot (catdepot.org) has participated in the Giving Challenge since day one, notes Claudia Harden, Director of Communications. And they are the bar of excellence when it comes to receiving support, having placed in the top 10 every single time. “The extraordinary exposure and overwhelming support we receive through participating in the Giving Challenge is second to none,” she says. 

But that success creates a problem—they’ve done so well that people sometimes assume they don’t need additional support throughout the year. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the 2018 Giving Challenge fully covered the operation costs for three weeks, the annual operating expenses are in excess of $2.5 million, Harden explains, and that’s because their programming and rescue efforts continue to grow by leaps and bounds.

“In 2019 alone,” reports Harden, “Cat Depot not only touched the lives of tens of thousands of cats and kittens in need, but also the lives of the people who love them—from visitors to the shelter looking to adopt to clients utilizing the affordable care services offered at the veterinary clinic to participants in our education and community events and service programs. Our work benefits a lot of lives, both feline and human.”

And, of course, the fine folks at Cat Depot are constantly seeking ways to assist more cats—whether it’s through increasing their intakes from the area’s municipal shelters or obtaining funding to provide free or low-cost spay/neuter surgeries on community cats. 

If you’ve never been to Cat Depot, consider stopping by. Their goal is to provide an interactive educational experience for everyone. “Whether guests are visiting to adopt, volunteer, take a tour, host a party, or just love on kitties—we know we can enhance our visitor experience with fresh educational messaging and hands-on activities.”

Harden adds that “all we are able to do would not be possible without the generous support received through our participation in the Giving Challenge, and for that we are truly grateful.”

UnidosNow

Executive Director Luz Corcuera reports that “the Giving Challenge has been an opportunity for UnidosNow (unidosnow.org) to work as a team (board, staff, volunteers) to let the community know about its mission: To empower the fastest-growing Hispanic/Latino community in the region to achieve the American Dream through education, integration, and civic engagement.” Because of the challenge, they’ve been able to garner much-needed support from volunteers and donors after they read/hear the success stories.

For those who don’t yet know, the focus of UnidosNow is on education, and their goal is to create a culture of higher education, leadership, and community service through programs at the elementary, middle, and high school level. That’s a bigger task that one might imagine, since their multigenerational approach aims to help people become culturally and linguistically competent. To that end, their tagline is “Dream Big!” 

“Our work is to empower every single student and their parents to Dream Big! so that they can live up to their full potential,” says Corcuera. “We firmly believe that we are building the next generation of leaders.  By focusing on education, we are empowering people toward civic, social, and political integration.”

Their new Future Leaders Academy for elementary school girls has given Latina girls the opportunity to explore fields unknown to them in sciences and engineering. Those participants are now competing in robotics and coding competitions, with their parents being simultaneously trained to serve as their coaches. 

“We are also in the process of solidifying our middle school program by expanding it to both Sarasota and Manatee counties,” says Corcuera. “It is in middle school that students choose their classes in high school and we believe it is important for them to explore college and careers, and to really look at the big picture.” The results of this early focus on educational futures practically speak for themselves. 

For the past 3 years, 100% of the students UnidosNow worked with on college prep have actually gotten accepted into college. 40% of them are attending selective colleges like Cornell, Princeton, U Penn, Oberlin, George Washington University, University of Florida, FSU, and USF among others. Together, they earned an astonishing $2.4 million in scholarships and grants.

“We want to express our gratitude to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Patterson Foundation, The Selby Foundation, The Manatee Community Foundation, and other partners that make the Giving Challenge possible,” Corcuera explains. “We know that it is a huge undertaking. We appreciate the opportunity to raise awareness of our organization and its mission, and also generate unrestricted funding for our work since we do not receive federal, state, or county funding.” 100% of their funding comes from a combination of grants as well as corporate and private donations like those the Giving Challenge fosters.

Empowerment Gulfcoast

Empowerment Gulfcoast, Inc. (empowermentgulfcoast.com) has a simple mission—reach out to working young adults who are struggling financially and have limited or no sources of help, and need a supportive hand up. As their lives become harder, they lose hope. As they lose hope, they turn to self-destructive behavior, oftentimes compromising housing. 

Empowerment Gulfcoast counters that struggle by offering a multi-faceted approach: professional counseling (if needed), financial assistance, a mandatory budget class, and ongoing mentoring. The outcome of these efforts is the restoration of hope and increased financial stability in 18- to 35-year-old working adults. And Empowerment manages this despite being a 100% volunteer organization.

Empowerment Gulfcoast’s work in initial stabilization is vital, but the Launch Program takes the program one step further, building self-sufficient earners using community expertise and mentorship. Second jobs are a great way to boost earnings but cannot be expected to last a lifetime, and continuing education is not always an option. Sometimes self-employment is a better, more reasonable choice.

Nominees are asked to submit a business plan, which is then used by the Launch team to seek out grants. Empowerment commits funds, as well. The recipient meets with the Launch team formally on a monthly basis in which reports, data, and questions are answered, and expert advice is always given. Additionally, the clients continue to consult with their Empowe­­rment mentor. When a crisis arises, a minimum of four dedicated volunteers are immediately called in to help.

One of the many success stories is Tasha Ganey, referred to Empowerment in 2018 through the nonprofit’s partnership with another nonprofit, Mothers Helping Mothers. “She possessed the right amount of creativity, skill, maturity, work ethic, and perseverance it takes to become financially self-sufficient and she was chosen as the first Launch Program recipient,” says Connie Kauffman, founder of Empowerment Gulfcoast.

Tasha was hard-working and very bright, but struggling to support two teenagers, one of whom has a special needs disability. The children’s father was in prison due to domestic abuse. Tasha had moved on, was engaged to a new man, and explored opening a food truck catering business when her fiancée passed away. With the unexpected death, plans were put on hold and the money earmarked for the new business venture was instead used for day-to-day survival. 

Although Tasha worked full time, she remained one catastrophe away from homelessness. A Certified Financial Planner established that she was doing all she could to prevent that from happening, but without a viable way to make more money, without intervention, she and her family would never achieve financial stability. Empowerment Gulfcoast decided to reignite her entrepreneurial dream by allocating a portion of available funds for the project and applying for a grant for the estimated start-up costs for truck/smoker, supplies, food, etc. 

Today, she runs a BBQ food truck in Bradenton M-F at 4210 Lorraine Road, and on most weekend nights, it operates at Joyland in Bradenton. 

“We are deeply grateful to the Athena Progressive Giving Circle for their grant to add to the Launch fund to help this young woman turn her life around,” says Kauffman. “We also express gratitude to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County for encouragement, training, and prompting organizations like ours to apply for grants that help strengthen our community. Empowerment Gulfcoast, Inc. is honored to stand with giants.”

Kauffman adds that “the Giving Challenge offered by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with matching funds from the Patterson Foundation helps small organizations like ours expand our reach as well as verify that our financial and legal credentials are in order. Potential donors are also reassured that all gift giving is made through a secure, third party that issues IRS donation letters on the organization’s behalf.”

The most important benefit might not be financial, however. As Kauffman notes, “Participation in the Giving Challenge opens doors, helping us to meet other organization leaders and opening opportunities for partnerships. We look forward to the 2020 Giving Challenge on April 28-29, confident that we are operating in a manner that meets expectations and knowing our donors’ gifts are securely handled.”

To help incentivize giving for the 2020 challenge, The Patterson Foundation is providing $51,000 in prizes to organizations that cultivate the highest number of unique donors. “It’s so exciting to be part of this impactful event,” says Debra Jacobs, President and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. “With the 2020 ‘Be The One’ challenge, we have another fresh opportunity for each of us to rally behind the organizations working tirelessly to fulfill our shared aspirations for our region. That’s an opportunity The Patterson Foundation is honored to support.”

Jacobs adds: “Imagine the possibilities of having no limit on the amount of money that can be raised for your favorite organization…and having it doubled? It’s all in the imaginative planning and spirited delivery this coming April 28 and 29!”

“It’s become a real pride point for our community, demonstrating how giving and passionate people are about nonprofits,” says Roxie Jerde, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, noting that the low minimum gift of $25 attracts donors across a range of ages and incomes. “It gives everyone the opportunity to impact a cause and ultimately the community. That is the true purpose of the Giving Challenge and The Giving Partner—to support and enhance our nonprofits to make our entire community better.”

For more information on the 2020 Giving Challenge, please visit CFSarasota.org, call 941.556.7171, or email GivingChallenge@CFSarasota.org.

Since the writing of this article and just before print, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County announced the following news:

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County, The Patterson Foundation, The Herald Tribune Media Group, and local nonprofit organizations are strengthening the Season of Sharing campaign as an initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with matching gift opportunities up to $500,000 from The Patterson Foundation. When the match is fulfilled by the community, there will be $1.5 million in additional funds for distribution in the four-county region of Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties to aid in our community’s response.