The Giving Challenge Is Back!

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s 10th Giving Challenge takes place from noon to noon, April 15 to 16, and you can already feel the excitement building across our community. Not a day goes by without someone in the community asking me for the latest update about the challenge or without me seeing a social media post or email update promoting the challenge. I joined the foundation in January, and so this is my first time experiencing the Giving Challenge from inside the organization, and while I knew the Giving Challenge was a big deal for our community, I had no idea it was this big of a deal.

The buzz is real, and it’s inspiring.

A record number of nonprofits are participating this year. They’re spreading the word about their missions and impact through every available channel so that when the challenge starts, they can move quickly toward their goals—and maybe even the top of the leaderboard. Many organizations are also teaming up with other nonprofits to create what we call Pop-up Giving Stations. These are in-person events and experiences held during the 24 hours of the Giving Challenge, where donors can come and learn about different organizations and give on the spot. While most giving takes place online, these events create real connection and community. If you can, I highly recommend stopping by one. (You can find a complete list of all the Pop-up Giving Stations on the Giving Challenge website.)

Donors are getting excited, as well. They’re researching nonprofits they may want to support and planning out how to maximize their giving, which will receive a significant boost from our friends at The Patterson Foundation. Like it has in years past, The Patterson Foundation is providing a 1:1 match for every unique donation between $25 and $100, per donor, per nonprofit.

That match makes it possible for longtime philanthropists to double their impact, and it also provides an extra incentive for first-time donors or people who don’t think of themselves as philanthropists to participate. When a $50 gift suddenly becomes a $100 gift, it can shift someone’s worldview by showing them that everyone can be a philanthropist and that our community grows stronger when all of us pull together to support organizations that are working to improve our area’s quality of life.

Add all of that excitement up and you can understand why there’s such an electric atmosphere around this year’s Giving Challenge. It can be a little chaotic, a little overwhelming, even a little exhausting—but it’s also an incredible amount of fun. I’m all in, and I hope you’ll join me—and tens of thousands of others—in making this year’s Giving Challenge, our 10th, the biggest and best one yet.