Community Foundation of Sarasota County Awards more than $84,000 through Four Specialty Grants

SARASOTA, FL – The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has awarded four specialty grants totaling more than $84,000 to local nonprofit organizations leading programs that support vision impairment, women, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and southern Sarasota County.

Through the gifts of the James W. Wherritt Charitable Fund, $37,300 will be given to the following nonprofit organizations in southern Sarasota County, providing invaluable support for a variety of community-building initiatives designed to holistically improve an individual’s life: Alzheimer’s Association Florida Gulf Coast Chapter; American Cancer Society; American Red Cross of Southwest Florida; Easter Seals of Southwest Florida; Habitat for Humanity South Sarasota County; Loveland Center; Salvation Army Sarasota Chapter for Venice; Southeastern Guide Dogs; Suncoast Humane Society; and, Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting (WEDU).

Gifts from the Margaret L. Bates Fund will provide more than $20,000 to strengthen efforts to advance the status of women and provide for disadvantaged women in Sarasota County through Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice – Our Mother’s House; Children First; Forty Carrots Family Center; Harvest House; New College of Florida Foundation; Pregnancy Solutions; and, Women’s Resource Center of Sarasota County.

With the generous gifts from the Harold E. and Ruth M. Niles Fund and the Elizabeth C. Muth Fund, $18,900 was awarded to four organizations to improve the quality of life for those with vision impairment: Sarasota County School District Adult and Community Enrichment at Suncoast Technical College; ITN SunCoast; Lighthouse Vision Loss Education Center; and, Southeastern Guide Dogs.

Alzheimer’s and dementia programs in the area have been granted $7,000 in gifts in part from the Verna L. Grauel Fund, and the Martin & Rhoda Safer Memorial Fund III. Organizations sponsoring these dynamic programs include: Pines of Sarasota Foundation; Senior Friendship Centers; Art League of Manatee County; Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the Suncoast; and, Alzheimer’s Association, Florida Gulf Coast Chapter.

Throughout the year, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County works with charitable donors to provide opportunities for local nonprofit organizations to apply for several competitive grants to enhance their strategic goals and impactful missions. Gifts are granted to causes connected to a donor’s passion or concern, such as animals and the environment, arts and culture, education, and health and human services. As of 2018, $34.3 million in grants has been distributed throughout the community.

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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 over $398 million in more than 1,400 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $34 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.