Earlier this year, Culverhouses made up for commission’s cuts of funding for Embracing Our Differences and 211 helpline
Hugh Culverhouse Jr., the former federal prosecutor and the developer of Palmer Ranch, has come to the rescue once again for an organization whose funding request the Sarasota County Commission eliminated from a list that the county’s Health and Human Services Advisory Committee (HSAC) had recommended.
On Aug. 19, Culverhouse donated $100,000 to Legal Aid of Manasota. That follows by almost exactly six weeks the vote the commissioners took — on July 9 — to provide $63,260 to the organization for the 2025 fiscal year, based on language in a 2023 Florida statute.
If the board members had accepted the June list of grants that the commission-appointed members of the HSAC had recommended, Legal Aid of Manasota would have received $125,000.
As a form included in the commission’s June 5 agenda packet explained, “Legal Aid of Manasota is the designated agency for pro bono legal services in the 12th Judicial Circuit per an Administrative
Order. The primary work is to provide free legal assistance to low-income residents of Sarasota County through a diverse panel of
pro bono attorneys to assist in civil matters which can include: domestic violence, foreclosures, guardianships, consumer fraud, advanced directives, veteran services, public benefits, etc. Services also include educating the public on legal rights and responsibilities as well as sponsoring continuing legal education seminars on issues relating to the representation of low income residents.”
The organization had said it could serve 375 clients with the $125,000 grant award.
That form also noted, “HSAC ranked [the] program 44 [out of 51 Health and Human Services funding requests made to the county for the 2025 fiscal year] due to the program providing a unique service that no one else provides and is a huge priority within the county.”
Yet, during the June 5 board discussion, Chair Michael Moran — who had provided his colleagues his own list of the nonprofits that he believed should be funded — explained that he had removed Legal Aid of Manasota from consideration because it has dedicated funding in accord with state law.
County Attorney Joshua Moye confirmed funding source in response to questions from Moran.
In the July 9 County Commission meeting agenda packet, staff had included a copy of Florida Statute 939.185. That law permits boards of county commissioners to adopt an ordinance that allows the applicable courts in those counties to impose a fine up to $65 whenever a person pleads guilty or “No contest” to a charge or when a person is found guilty in a case. Of that amount, the law says, 25% is “to be allocated to assist counties in providing legal aid programs …”
A county staff memo in that same agenda packet also pointed out that on Sept. 26, 2023, the commissioners eliminated funding for Legal Aid of Manasota from the county’s Contracted Human Services (CHS) program “and authorized the County Administrator to take the appropriate steps to ensure court fee programs comply with [Florida Statute] 939.185” and that a county ordinance approved in 2004 “enacted the additional $65.00 court costs to fund local requirements.”
Filling in the gaps
The Aug. 19 news release about Culverhouse’s donation to Legal Aid of Manasota says that the organization “serves approximately 5,000 local residents each year, offering free legal assistance to some of the most vulnerable populations …”
The release further notes, “The recent cuts come at a time when parts of Sarasota and Manatee counties were devastated by Tropical Storm Debby, exacerbating the challenges for many families at risk of displacement due to skyrocketing rents in an increasingly unaffordable real estate market. With the school year beginning, the stability provided by Legal Aid’s services is more critical than ever for children in families facing potential eviction. “
“Hugh Culverhouse has created a real safety net for vulnerable people in the area who are facing housing instability,” Linda Harradine, CEO of Legal Aid of Manasota, said in the release. “It couldn’t come at a better time as legal aid will be assisting victims of Tropical Storm Debby. His generosity will be life-changing for our clients,” she added.
“The organization was already grappling with last year’s $172,000 funding cut by the Sarasota County Commission,” the release continued, as the county had supported Legal Aid of Manasota for more than two decades before the grant awards were halted.
“The cuts to Legal Aid of Manasota come at a time when our community needs them the most,” Culverhouse, formally the CEO and owner of Palmer Ranch Holdings, pointed out in the release. “Ensuring that those who are struggling have access to legal representation is essential for maintaining fairness and justice. I hope this donation helps bridge the gap left by the loss of public funding and inspires others to donate,” he added.
“The Culverhouse family has a long-standing history of supporting local nonprofits, and they have increasingly stepped in to fill funding gaps when public resources have fallen short,” the release notes. “Earlier this year, Eliza and Hugh Culverhouse Jr. donated $107,643 to the nonprofit Embracing Our Differences “to address the significant shortfall in public funding from the state and county for the arts program,” the release continues.
“Additionally, United Way Suncoast’s 211 helpline services received funding from the Culverhouses for another year,” after the Sarasota County Commission eliminated county support of that helpline, which assists “thousands of local residents” in finding resources during crises, the release points out.
Last year, when public funding fell short, the release further notes, Culverhouse “also contributed $150,000 to fully fund the Sarasota County Comprehensive Treatment Court (CTC) program, which diverts individuals with mental health disorders from jails into treatment programs.”
Legal Aid of Manasota has been providing pro bono legal services to low-income residents for 33 years, the release says. Last year, through that organization, local attorneys donated nearly 3,000 hours of pro bono services, valued at more than $1 million, the release adds.
A Florida Bar regulation requires each lawyer to “furnish a minimum of 20 hours of pro bono legal service to the poor annually or contribute $350 to a legal aid organization,” Casetext explains. “ ‘Pro bono legal service’ means legal service rendered without charge or expectation of a fee for the lawyer at the time the service commences,” Casetext adds. “Legal services written off as bad debts do not qualify as pro bono service,” Casetext points out. “Most pro bono service should involve civil proceedings given that government must provide indigent representation in most criminal matters. Pro bono legal service to the poor is to be provided not only to those persons whose household incomes are below the federal poverty standard but also to those persons frequently referred to as the ‘working poor,’ ” Casetext says.
“For every $1 spent on legal aid, the community benefits from $7.19 in economic impact,” the news release notes. Florida is one of only two states in the nation “that do not allocate funding for civil legal aid services, making Legal Aid of Manasota reliant primarily on public grants, nonprofit support, and private contributions to sustain its operations,” the release adds.
For more information or to make a donation to Legal Aid of Manasota, visit https://legalaidofmanasota.org, the release says.