Give 8/28 Promises a Step Toward Equity

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

Grant support from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County will help organizations kickstart their campaigns.

SARASOTA, FL – As the culminating event of Black Philanthropy Month in August, several Sarasota-Manatee nonprofit organizations will be taking part in Give 8/28, a 15-hour digital giving event designed to support Black-led and Black-benefiting nonprofit organizations. The five-year-old program is similar to our community’s Giving Challenge, which many of the participating nonprofits have taken part in and honed their skills to support this national day of giving.

People interested in supporting the community by participating in Give 8/28 can donate to the following registrants this year:

• Art 4 Change
• Gamma Xi Boulé Foundation
• J5 Experience Incorporated
• Learn My History Foundation
• Making an Impact
• Margwine Organization
• Second Chance Last Opportunity
• SOAR Learning Center Inc.
• Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative
• Multicultural Health Institute
• Truly Valued
• Visible Men Academy
• Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe

*With more organizations potentially joining Give 8/28 pending eligibility

“These giving challenges offer the ideal opportunity for each of us to take a step towards making our community better for all who call it home. Even small gestures accumulate to create change for generations to come,” says Roxie Jerde, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “This is the power of charitable giving, during Black Philanthropy Month, and every month: they give each of us an opportunity to invest in our shared future.”

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County supports Black Philanthropy Month and Give 8/28 by awarding $250 kickstarter grants to local nonprofit organizations that register for Give 8/28. This is part of the Foundation’s mission of helping nonprofits build capacity.

Now in its fifth year, Give 8/28 is a national event, drawing attention to the unique achievements and needs of Black nonprofits and the communities they serve. It is presented by the Young, Black and Giving Back Institute, an organization aimed at capacity building and impact enhancement for the Black nonprofit community.

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.

To join this year’s celebration of Black philanthropy and support these local causes on Sunday, August 28, visit www.give828.org.

To qualify as a participating nonprofit, organizations must demonstrate that their board, leadership, and staff are predominantly Black and that the organization’s primary purpose is to work to build the political, economic, and/or social power of Black communities. Registration ended on August 14.

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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 $520 million in more than 1,570 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $27.5 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 $350 million to area nonprofit organizations to our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.