Kirsten Russell to present at National Community Foundation Conference

The CFLeads Forum convenes community foundation CEOs and board chairs committed to community leadership.

SARASOTA, FL – Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s Kirsten Russell, Vice President of Community Impact, will be among the professionals presenting at this year’s CFLeads Forum at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, April 1 – 3, 2025. CFLeads is a national network of community foundations committed to community leadership. This year, community foundations will come together at the Forum to explore the theme of Courageous Community Leadership: Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact.

Russell will join other leaders in philanthropy to present on the panel discussion, “Navigating Disaster Response: Strategic Partnerships for Effective Disaster Preparedness and Recovery.” Russell will be joined in the session with peer colleagues from across the nation with experience in disasters both natural and manmade, including Tatiana Hernandez, Community Foundation Boulder County, Vanessa Bechtel, Ventura County Community Foundation, Diana Zarzuelo, Greater Houston Community Foundation, and virtual speaker Keanu Lau Hee, Hawai’i Community Foundation.

Together, they will share the lessons they’ve learned from various strategies including implementing rapid deployment of funds, partnerships across sectors, and using community leadership techniques to support long-term solutions. 

Russell has been instrumental in executing the Community Foundation’s Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund (SDRF) since its inception in 2022 following Hurricane Ian. Conceived in partnership with The Patterson Foundation, SDRF initially raised over $5.4 million to aid rebuilding efforts. In 2024, the fund expanded its scope to support broader recovery beyond Ian’s damage, responding to new storms and the growing need for sustained recovery efforts. Once again, broad community support was shown and with nearly $5 million in additional funding raised to assist human services nonprofit organizations that care for our community’s most vulnerable residents.  

“Recovery is a long journey requiring community efforts that go beyond repairing buildings; they must include rebuilding the social infrastructure and supportive services families depend on in times of crisis,” Russell said. “In the last few years, we have invested in a wide range of recovery initiatives.”  

Some of the projects supported through the fund have included expected building repairs but also helping expand mental health counseling and providing more caseworkers to help families navigate legal services and other unmet needs. 

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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 $544 million in more than 1,590 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $56 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 $500 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 CFLeads: CFLeads is the country’s national network of community foundations committed to community leadership. Through CFLeads, hundreds of community foundations from across the U.S. come together to strengthen their community leadership muscle, share field innovations, and tackle the key issues of our time. For more information, visit www.cfleads.org.