Celebrating 45 Years of Community Impact

Since it was established in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has been a beacon of hope, helping connect people who want to make a difference in this community and to do so with deep, meaningful impact. Working with generous donors and our incredible nonprofit community to advance the opportunities for all who live here through values we hold most dear: compassion, empowerment, innovation, integrity, quality, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

Burt Bershon presents the foundation's first CEO Stewart Stearns with a plaque commemorating the founding of the "Sarasota County Community Foundation".

Over the last 45 years we have grown one step at a time to now be entrusted with the charitable legacies of nearly 1,600 individuals and families who care deeply about our community’s future. Since the Great Recession early in this century, our Community Foundation has grown exponentially through collaborative relationships that bring people together in support of many.

With the forthcoming retirement of Roxie Jerde in June 2025, a transition team has convened to identify a new leader—the third CEO in the foundation’s history. That leader will step into a Community Foundation that has earned a position of distinction in the community, the product of many significant milestones throughout Jerde’s leadership, including:

• Growing assets under management from $190 million in charitable dollars to over $520 million, with a projection to exceed $1 billion in the next decade.
• Nearly doubling the number of funds under management from 811 to more than 1,580 funds.
• Setting sound fiscal policies guiding the foundation’s operating reserves and operating endowment.
• Totaling more than $500 million in grants and scholarships throughout the Foundation’s history.
• Launching “The Giving Partner” – an online nonprofit database – in 2012 to provide greater transparency around nonprofit operations, management, and impact; More than 700 local nonprofits have extensive profiles on the platform www.TheGivingPartner.com

• Launching the Community Indicators Dashboard, an online collection of data illustrating regional well-being that enhances our community’s ability to engage in thoughtful, strategic philanthropy.

• Creating the successful “Giving Challenge” online fundraising campaign, which has raised more than $92 million in unrestricted funds through nine challenges since 2012; The 2024 Giving Challenge raised $17.2 million for 724 nonprofits.

Community Foundation staff members come together for a photo celebrating a successful Giving Challenge, the ninth challenge in the foundation's history.

• Growing the “Season of Sharing” community support campaign to more than $4 million a year in annual contributions that aid with those in crisis by providing immediate assistance with rent/mortgage, utilities, childcare, and transportation expenses so families can remain in their homes.
• Initiating successful disaster recovery funds during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Fall 2022’s Hurricane Ian, which have again been deployed to recover from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton.
• Establishing a national partnership with Ascend at the Aspen Institute and embedding a whole family “2Gen” strategy into the foundation’s grantmaking philosophy.
• Renovating the Community Foundation headquarters to better serve donors and nonprofit partners, along with anticipating growth of the organization through the addition of workspaces.

Our staff moved back into the newly renovated headquarters in June 2024, celebrating with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

• Being recognized for maintaining the highest professional levels, both through The Community Foundations National Standards, and by the Center of Effective Philanthropy.