Legacy Lunch 2020: Celebrating Our Collective Impact

Our Legacy Luncheon began in 1993 under the leadership and direction of longtime Community Foundation of Sarasota County CEO Stewart Stearns to formally celebrate the philanthropic spirit of our community and to honor those whose passion for making a lasting impact will continue in perpetuity. On January 31^st, 2020, the Community Foundation continued this tradition of celebrating the visionary donors and friends of the foundation at the Ritz-Carlton for our 27^th Annual Legacy Luncheon.

One of the key values we uphold at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County is collaboration. This year, the Community Foundation wanted its luncheon program to highlight strong partnerships. With an innovative season focused on collaboration in the arts, Key Chorale is one example of a local organization that builds relationships with other community leaders. Key Chorale generously provided entertainment with a special performance featuring a contortionist from the Circus Arts Conservatory, leaving our audience awestruck.

Of course, creative collaboration is not just limited to the arts. Christina Russi from the Glasser- Schoenbaum Human Services Center highlighted the partnership between the Community Foundation and the Herald Tribune Media Group as “the catalysts that launched the Season of Sharing campaigns to follow.” Now in its 20^th year, Season of Sharing has transformed into an extensive, community-wide collaboration that works hand-in-hand with local fiscal agents, The Patterson Foundation, and other generous supporters to help prevent homelessness in Sarasota and the surrounding counties.

Sometimes, collaboration takes on unique forms, perhaps looking different than two large organizations working together for a common purpose. Sometimes, collaboration looks like a room full of individuals from different backgrounds working together to form a scholarship panel or conducting one-on-one meetings with donors to understand how we can help fulfill their charitable goals, both now and into the future.

At the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, it is our privilege to partner with our Legacy Society members to care for their charitable legacy and commitment to a brighter future for all in our community. We hold dearly the trust each legacy society member puts in our community foundation as their partner to carry on their personal legacies for the benefit of generations to come. It is our hope that each guest – both past, present, and future – leaves our luncheon feeling united by the power of philanthropy and inspired by all the good we can accomplish together as a shared community.