The Giving Challenge

The Giving Challenge is a 24-hour giving event that brings together nearly 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.

During the 2020 Giving Challenge, in this time of unprecedented need, our community and its passionate donors reached out with a remarkable outpouring of support, providing critical funding to nearly 700 nonprofit organizations across Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties.

Thanks to your generosity, the 2020 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.

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 $58 million in unrestricted funding over seven challenges. The 2020 Giving Challenge set a new standard for generosity in our community, when $19.1 million was raised in just 24 hours.

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 up-to-date online profile with a “Current” badge 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.

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, William G. and Marie Selby Foundation, and Charlotte Community Foundation.