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The Community Foundation of Sarasota County Announces 2026 Date for the 10th Giving Challenge

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County has announced that it will host its 10th online giving day from noon to noon, April 15-16, 2026. The Giving Challenge is a 24-hour giving event that supports nonprofit organizations in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties. 

The event in 2026 will mark the 10th Giving Challenge hosted by the Community Foundation since 2012. For the milestone anniversary new prizes are being developed by the Community Foundation to mark the occasion.

What is the Giving Challenge?

Since 2012, the Giving Challenge has acted as a catalyst for connection, helping donors throughout our region show their love for local nonprofit organizations by providing more than $92 million in unrestricted funding over nine challenges.

The Giving Challenge is a 24-hour virtual giving event that brings together more than 700 local nonprofit organizations listed on The Giving Partner with their passionate donors and community members to support causes and missions they care about while creating transformative impact.

Each participating organization has demonstrated a commitment to transparency by developing an in-depth profile in The Giving Partner. Participation in the Giving Challenge is contingent upon your nonprofit organization having an updated profile in The Giving Partner. Visit thegivingpartner.org to check your organization’s status and learn more about other nonprofits’ mission, programmatic impact, leadership, planning, and financials.
 
Thanks to our community’s generous support and enthusiasm, the Giving Challenge has expanded far beyond its initial timeline and has continued on a variable schedule, allowing nonprofit organizations to develop:
 
  • Independent fundraising plans that support their work in a deeper way throughout the year — not just during the challenge.
  • Meaningful relationships between organizations and their donors who may have first connected with their mission through the Giving Challenge.
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Need Assistance?

Giving Challenge Support

941-556-7171

givingchallenge@cfsarasota.org

Highlights from the 2024 Giving Challenge

Within 24 hours on April 9 and 10, donors across the community united with an outpouring of support for the 2024 Giving Challenge, raising more than $17.2 million for 724 participating nonprofit organizations in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.

With more than $10.5 million provided in community support and prizes from 53,305 donors and 90,147 total gifts, along with $6,725,932 million in matching funds from The Patterson Foundation, the 2024 Giving Challenge affirmed our community’s generosity with now having raised more than $92 million over the last decade through eight Giving Challenges.

Thanks to your generosity, the 2024 Giving Challenge enhanced and augmented the efforts of our nonprofit community, as the unrestricted funds raised during the Giving Challenge now provide our nonprofit partners flexibility to respond to community needs.

Giving Challenges of the past have raised more than funds: they’ve raised spirits in hard times and raised the prospect of hope during moments of uncertainty. Over the years, we've collected impact testimonials. Read about nonprofits’ experiences with previous Giving Challenges—how they leveraged their strengths to maximize fundraising, and the ways that the Giving Challenge supported their ability to pursue their missions in these impact testimonials.

As we analyze the data to refine and build upon best practices, we invite participating nonprofits to share their experiences through a Giving Challenge Outcomes Survey.

With 386 responses collected from local nonprofit organizations, the 2024 Giving Challenge Outcomes Survey measured several key factors, including years participated, budget size, outcomes and fundraising goals, and nonprofit and business collaborations.

Resources for Nonprofits

A comprehensive listing of all Giving Challenge webinars, workshops, and trainings is available on the 2024 Giving Challenge website.
Visit www.givingchallenge.org/info/trainings for the latest.

2022 Stories of Success: 
Nonprofit Webinar Recording
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023

What makes a powerful Giving Challenge campaign? The Community Foundation of Sarasota County brought together nonprofit organizations that performed exceedingly well in the 2022 Giving Challenge to share what made their Giving Challenge campaigns so successful.

Get a head start on your 2024 Giving Challenge campaign plans by learning from your peers! Hear from nonprofit leaders that excelled at different strategies for their 2022 campaigns that you can apply in 2024. There are three breakout sessions – each with two different Giving Challenge topics.

Download the 2024 Goal Setting Worksheet – discussed in the training – which includes 2022 Giving Challenge stats and benchmarks to assist your organization in establishing its 2024 Goals.

The 2024 Giving Challenge Kickoff
November 1, 2023

If your organization is participating in the 2024 Giving Challenge, you'll want to make this video webinar your first priority. It contains all the information you'll need to get started, including information about creating your Giving Challenge profile, important dates, prize opportunities, and The Patterson Foundation match. 

Tips and Tricks to Creating a Video with Impact
February 14, 2024

Telling your story through video can be a terrific way to engage donors and create momentum towards your mission. Here in a brief video suitable for every amateur video producer, Stephen Lehman from BoardTown Creative shares effective tips for making memorable movie magic. 

7 Steps to Creating a Strategic Communications Strategy
February 15, 2024

Communications professionals from KSC, Inc., share best practices for sharing stories about your nonprofit and engaging donor action. 

Partners

The Giving Challenge is presented by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation as well as support from Manatee Community Foundation, and the  William G. and Marie Selby Foundation.