Community Foundation of Sarasota County Ranked Top Nationally in Community Impact, Donor Satisfaction by Industry Analyst

SARASOTA, FL – The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has been identified as a national leader among community foundations for overall impact on the community and donor satisfaction according to an independent third-party that evaluates philanthropic funders for effectiveness.

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) ranked the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in the top 99th percentile for overall donor satisfaction and impact on the community after conducting a 2019 Donor Perception Report that compared local results with CEP’s broad dataset of nearly 10,000 donors from more than 70 community foundations across the United States.

Throughout the in-depth survey, donors who partner with the Community Foundation described the organization and its leadership as effective, trustworthy, and responsive, with more than 90% of respondents stating they would recommend its philanthropic services to others. Donors also highly ranked the Community Foundation’s strong understanding of community needs, viewing it as a key resource for information, advice, and guidance.

“These results are truly a testament to the generosity of our community,” said Roxie Jerde, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. “We are honored donors have chosen us to be their partner in charitable giving. As the needs and opportunities within our community evolve, our community knowledge paired with our strong relationships with local nonprofits, strengthened through our online resource, The Giving Partner, allows us to be an effective resource ensuring our donors can create lasting impact for the causes that are most important to them.”

Additionally, the Community Foundation was ranked as the largest community foundation in Florida by asset size, according to the results of the 2018 Columbus Survey released in August by CF Insights, a knowledge-sharing platform operated by Candid, a national nonprofit organization focused on transparency among charitable funders. Having closed the 2017-2018 fiscal year in June 2018 with $398 million in assets, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County was also ranked nationally as 56th in assets and 2nd in total number of giving transactions. The Columbus Survey Results collects and compares key data metrics from 250 community foundations nationwide to showcase prominent financial trends, operational activity, and rankings based on assets, distribution rate, number of transactions, and gifts per capita.

“While we are tremendously proud of these results, what these numbers ultimately reflect is the generosity of our community and our commitment to community impact,” Jerde said. “These numbers represent the passions of the donors making a difference every day in the lives of families and individuals. A donor once told me that our community foundation is ‘tuned into the heartbeat of Sarasota.’ This is truly the collective efforts of generous donors and organizations working side-by-side with the Community Foundation to build the community we all want to live in and to foster a community-wide culture of caring, empowerment, and belonging, and these are the ultimate results worth celebrating.”

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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 over $398 million in nearly 1,500 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $34 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.