Community Raises $17.2 Million in 24-Hour Giving Challenge!

More than $92 million has been raised since 2012 through nine online giving events supporting nonprofit efforts to address community needs and opportunities.

SARASOTA, FL – Within 24 hours on April 9 and 10, donors across the community united with an outpouring of support for the 2024 Giving Challenge, raising $17.2 million for 724 participating nonprofit organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.

This year’s challenge enjoyed an outpouring of support, with $10.5 million raised through 90,147 gifts received by more than 53,000 donors, a record number of donors. With an additional $6.7 million contribution from The Patterson Foundation’s dollar-for-dollar match on all donations $25-$100, the 2024 Giving Challenge affirmed our community’s commitment to the vital nonprofit organizations that enhance quality of life here.

“The Giving Challenge shows us what we can accomplish when we come together for the unified goal of making our community a better place,” said Roxie Jerde, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. “It’s a powerful event that democratizes giving, inviting everyone to be a changemaker and igniting our better selves. Look what we can achieve when we work together with a strong sense of purpose—these results will strengthen our community now, and long into the future.”

In addition to raising unrestricted funds for nonprofit organizations to respond to community needs, the Giving Challenge also strengthens those organizations to support long-term effectiveness. Participating nonprofits are invited to attend several trainings leading up to the 24-hour online giving event on topics like marketing strategies, effective fundraising, board development and more. These skills help them during the challenge and beyond.

This year’s Giving Challenge set new records on several fronts. With 724 nonprofits taking part, this was the highest number of participants since the first Giving Challenge in 2012, which had 109 nonprofit participants.

Money raised prior to the challenge also set records, thanks in large part to four entities who all gave $100 to each of the nonprofit participants. Gifts from Joe and Mary Kay Henson, the Franklin G. Berlin Fund, the P. Gladstone McKeon Trust, and the Sarah Greer Mayer Fund, each $72,400, totaled $579,200 with The Patterson Foundation match applied.

As a way to engage and strengthen the community’s philanthropic spirit during the Giving Challenge, The Patterson Foundation once again generously provided a 1:1 match for all unique donations, up to $100 per donor, per organization, which amounted to $6.7 million in additional funds for local nonprofits. While this matching opportunity encourages participation in charitable giving at all levels, it also helps define the Giving Challenge as one of the most unique giving days in the nation.

“This year's Giving Challenge has, once again, demonstrated the community's extraordinary generosity over the years,” said The Patterson Foundation President and CEO Debra Jacobs. “The Patterson Foundation supports this collective energy and emphasizes that everyone can make a difference. The foundation's matching contributions show that each small act of kindness contributes to a larger wave of impact. Congratulations to the community for building a legacy of giving.”

A hallmark of the Giving Challenge is its “Be The One” philosophy, which reflects the Community Foundation’s belief that everyone can be a philanthropist and that caring for our community through nonprofit support is something all people can do. While the event is first and foremost an online event, many organizations create in-person experiences to capture the energy surrounding the Giving Challenge. This year 11 official “pop-up giving stations” were held across the region, celebrating philanthropy and creating excitement through performances, games, exercise sessions, and family activities, all free and available to everyone.

While the Giving Challenge event has concluded, nonprofits are still eligible to receive nearly $140,000 in prize opportunities available for achieving excellence in aspects of fundraising strength. Prizes include “Best Video Commercial,” “Best Board Engagement,” “Best Social Media Campaign,” and more, all designed to give nonprofits the chance to hone skills vital to growing their capacity to accomplish their missions. The additional prize monies are generously provided by the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, Manatee Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, and enhanced by several media sponsors.

Since 2012, the Giving Challenge has acted as a catalyst for connection, helping donors throughout our region show their passion for local nonprofit organizations by providing more than $92 million in unrestricted funding through eight Giving Challenges to support their missions, with more than $36 million contributed from The Patterson Foundation. All participating nonprofit organizations demonstrated a commitment to transparency by developing an in-depth profile in The Giving Partner, an online resource that helps donors make informed decisions through holistic information on a nonprofit’s core mission and needs, programmatic impact, leadership, planning, and financial health.

The Giving Challenge was presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation.

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About the Community Foundation of Sarasota County: The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $489 million in more than 1,580 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $40 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $435.8 million to area nonprofit organizations in our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.

About The Patterson Foundation: The Patterson Foundation strengthens the efforts of people, organizations and communities. The Foundation focuses on issues that address common aspirations and foster wide participation, along with ways organizations learn and share as they evolve. For more information, please visit thepattersonfoundation.org and connect with @ThePattersonFdn on X, formerly Twitter.