Local Black-Led Nonprofit Organizations Join National Give 8/28 Giving Day to Build a Stronger Community

A community mixer of more than 15 nonprofits to be held Aug. 28 at Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe

SARASOTA, FL – August is Black Philanthropy Month, and several Sarasota-Manatee nonprofit organizations will be taking part in Give 8/28, a national 15-hour digital giving event designed to support Black-led and Black-benefiting nonprofit organizations.

Give 8/28 has a format similar to the Giving Challenge, the Community Foundation’s local biennial giving day. Hosted by the Young, Black & Giving Back Institute, Give 8/28 has raised more than $840,000 nationwide since its inception in 2018.

In 2024, 19 local nonprofits are participating in Give 8/28. Online donations can be made at give828.org beginning at 8 a.m. Aug. 28. Early giving starts at 8 a.m. Aug. 21.

With the goal of boosting overall Give 8/28 performance in our area, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County is once again supporting local organizations taking part in Give 8/28 with kickstarter campaign donations.

Likewise, the Community Foundation is encouraging community members to attend a mixer from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Aug. 28 hosted at ﷟Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. Those interested in supporting the community by participating in Give 8/28 can attend the mixer to meet the people inspiring change through their organizations. The public can register to attend this free program at surveymonkey.com.

Now in its seventh year, Give 8/28 draws attention to the unique achievements and needs of Black nonprofits and the communities they serve. In Sarasota County, although overall the Black population is 4.1 percent, in the historically African American neighborhood of Newtown, Black people comprise 29.1 percent of the population. In that neighborhood, the percent of households living beneath the ALICE threshold—working families struggling to afford basic necessities—was 55 percent in 2022, compared with the countywide average of 41 percent.

Local organizations taking part include:

• Around the Way Haven of Hope, which promote inclusivity, independence, and social well-being among disabled young adults and the elderly by facilitating affordable transportation.
• Art 4 Change, bringing awareness to different social issues through art and providing services and opportunities to under-served individuals and families.
• Bridges to Educational Excellence, supporting academic pursuits of young people.
• J5 Experience Incorporated, supporting mothers and daughters through education and advocacy.
• Learn My History Foundation, which inspires youth through creativity, art, and education to develop leaderships skills through cultivating curiosity, collaboration, and critical thinking.
• Manasota ASALH, which works to promote, research, preserve, interpret, and disseminate information on Black life, history, and culture to the global community.
• Margwine Organization, strengthening young women through proving activities and programming in a nourishing environment.
• Minorities in Shark Sciences, encouraging women of color to pursue careers in marine science.
• Multicultural Health Institute, which seeks to level the healthcare playing field by promoting, educating, and ensuring equal healthcare access and treatment to vulnerable populations.
• Queens of Domestic Violence, which spreads awareness of domestic violence and provides services to families dealing with domestic violence.
• Rosalyn Walton Education and Enrichment Services Inc, which seeks to provide professional development in culturally relevant teaching to help close the achievement gap.
• Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition, which maintains a museum where residents and visitors to explore and celebrate African American art, culture, history and entrepreneurship.
• Second Chance Last Opportunity, offering life management skills classes and resources to at-risk teens and their low-income or homeless families.
• Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative, which aims to bring visibility to the Black experience through encouraging participation in the arts.
• The Five Pearls of Excellence, an organization that provides funding for activities that support Gamma Rho Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority as well as scholarships for high school students.
• The Newtown Nation, working to preserve Newtown, a historically Black neighborhood of Sarasota, and empower the people living there with educational resources that can propel them into better jobs and out of the cycle of poverty.
• Truly Valued, promoting positive self-esteem, education, confidence and character among youth.
• United Community Centers, providing academic, social and athletic opportunities for at-risk youth, with an emphasis on the athletic arm this year.
• Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, which produces professional theatre that promotes and celebrates African American history and experience.

The date, Aug. 28, signifies important landmark moments in American history: Emmett Till’s murder in 1955, Dr. Martin Luther King’s legendary “I Have a Dream Speech” in the U.S. capital in 1963, and Barack Obama’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, to name a few.