Gifts made during Community Foundation campaign bring cumulative impact to almost $110 million
“More than 50,000 individuals came together to donate $16.7 million during this year’s Giving Challenge,” a 24-hour online event hosted by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County that concluded at noon on Thursday, April 16, the Community Foundation has announced.
This year’s Giving Challenge was the 10th such event that the Community Foundation has hosted, a news release notes. The 2026 total “brings the cumulative impact of the initiative to nearly $110 million since the first challenge took place in 2012,” the release points out.
“Overall, 50,904 donors made 87,814 gifts during the campaign, which benefited nonprofits working in a wide range of fields, from health care to housing, arts and culture, education, the environment and more,” the release says. “A record 751 nonprofits participated in this year’s challenge,” it adds. Gifts made to these organizations “are unrestricted,” the release notes, “meaning that participants can use the funds to meet their most pressing needs.”
“All of us at the Community Foundation are overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity that we witnessed during the Giving Challenge,” said Jessica Muroff, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, in the release. “It is thrilling to see our community rally around our region’s nonprofits and to witness the transformational impact we can have when we all pull together,” she continued in the release. “Whether you are a longtime Giving Challenge donor or this is the first time you have made a contribution, we at the Community Foundation — on behalf of the 751 organizations that took part — thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
The Community Foundation’s longtime partner, The Patterson Foundation, “once again provided an inspirational 1:1 match for all unique donations between $25 and $100, per donor, per nonprofit, with no limit on the number of unique individual matches a nonprofit could receive,” the release also points out. “Overall, The Patterson Foundation provided $6.5 million in matching dollars during this year’s challenge, bringing its total support for the Giving Challenge to more than $43 million since 2012,” the release adds.
“This astounding grand total represents more than millions in funding for hundreds of regional nonprofits,” said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation, in the release. “It represents thousands of new and reaffirmed donor relationships that will continue to strengthen these organizations well beyond the 24-hour Giving Challenge,” Jacobs added in the release. “The Patterson Foundation is grateful to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County for their tireless effort and professional stewardship that made our generous region’s achievement possible,” Jacobs said.
“One Sarasota couple joined the Giving Challenge ‘100 Percent Club’ this year by donating $100 to all 751 nonprofits taking part in the challenge,” the release points out. “Their anonymous $75,100 gift was fully matched by The Patterson Foundation, bringing the couple’s total impact to $150,200,” the release adds. This broad support of all participating organizations began in 2022, the release says, “thanks to philanthropists Joe and Mary Kay Henson,” whose action was followed by additional supporters in 2024.
Along with the donations they received, the participating nonprofits “benefited from being eligible for 21 different prize opportunities supported by the Community Foundation and community partners,” the release further notes. “Prizes were awarded to nonprofits working in specific geographical areas (such as DeSoto, Charlotte and Manatee counties), while others recognized nonprofits that quickly mobilized donors to give, organizations with particularly creative marketing campaigns and more,” the release says.
“The Community Foundation and its partners also provided nonprofits with numerous trainings and workshops at no cost over the course of the year leading up to the event to help the organizations prepare for and maximize their participation in the challenge,” the release explains. Among the topics covered were “enhancing collaborations with other nonprofits and business organizations, developing communications plans,” and honing social media marketing skills. “This holistic approach strengthens nonprofit capacity beyond the challenge itself, ensuring that gifts made during the Giving Challenge will bolster strongly managed organizations,” the release points out.
“Since its inception,” the release adds, “the Giving Challenge has grown exponentially, from nearly $2.4 million in gifts to 109 nonprofits in 2012 to this year’s $16.7 million in gifts to 751 nonprofits.”
“Our nonprofit community is vital to the overall quality of life across our region,” said Community Foundation President and CEO Muroff in the release. “The Giving Challenge is an opportunity to both support these critical and fulfilling organizations and celebrate all that they offer us.”