Read Now: Pandemic Recovery: One Year Later | 2021 Nonprofit Survey Report

Donate

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 a time of unprecedented need, our community and its passionate donors reached out with a remarkable outpouring of support. $19.1 million was raised by 59,000 donors to provide 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.

2020 Giving Challenge | Connection, Collaboration, Coming Together #BeTheOne

In a time of unprecedented need, our community reached out with a remarkable outpouring of support in just 24 hours during the 2020 Giving Challenge, providing $19.1 million to nearly 700 nonprofit organizations across Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. Behind this success are the countless relationships that make us feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that helped our community connect on a newfound – and often personal – level, sharing experiences and stories while opening hearts to new possibilities. This video captures these connections, which are the heart of #GivingChallenge2020 #BeTheOne #WeAreOne

(May 2020, 4 minutes)

#WeAreOne Giving Challenge 2020

Social distancing has left many of us wanting to feel connected to our larger community and be part of something that unites our region. In the true collaborative nature of the area’s nonprofit community, several hundred organizations came together to enhance the spirit of unity the 2020 Giving Challenge presents and quickly developed a video - dubbed the #WeAreOne video - to remind our region of the possibilities we have to work together to support one another. 

(April 2020; 1 minute)

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.
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 a profile in The Giving Partner with an Approved/CURRENT status. 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.
Abigail Oakes headshot

If more information is needed, please contact:

Madeline Hansen 
Manager, Nonprofit Services 
941-556-7155  
mhansen@cfsarasota.org

Resources for Nonprofits

A comphrensive listing of all Giving Challenge webinars, workshops, and trainings will be available on the 2022 Giving Challenge website.
Visit www.givingchallenge.org for the latest.

2020 Stories of Success: 
Nonprofit Webinar Recording

Wednesday, June 9, 2021  

What makes a powerful Giving Challenge campaign? The Community Foundation of Sarasota County brought together nonprofit organizations that performed exceedingly well in the 2020 Giving Challenge to share what made their Giving Challenge campaigns so successful.

Click on the recording below to learn from your nonprofit peers from the workshop held on Wednesday June 9th from 10:00 am - 11:30 am. Learn how nonprofit organizations chose the awards they applied for, what elements made for a winning campaign, and how it affected their nonprofit organizations long-term strategy. 

2020 Giving Challenge
Outcomes Survey, Metrics & Statistics

2020 Giving Challenge
Outcome Survey Results

With 371 responses collected from local nonprofit organizations, the 2020 Giving Challenge Outcomes Survey measured several key factors including: years participated; budget size; outcomes & fundraising goals; fund allocation; and nonprofit & business collaboration.

View Online

Download PDF

High Level Snapshots, Metrics & Statistics

Celebrate the many achievements and resilient spirits of the donors, nonprofits, and community partners of the 2020 Giving Challenge.

Download PDF

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