Gulf Coast Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder supports Sarasota County, Florida, its immediately surrounding communities, and Boca Grande, in the areas of civic and economic development, education, health and human services, and the arts. Unsolicited grant requests are accepted.
IP TAKE: The Gulf Coast Community Foundation is a major local donor in Sarasota County that works closely with local organizations and stakeholders. It is a transparent with an accessible, streamlined application process. In addition to grants, it organizes many events and provides resources for local nonprofits. However, this funder is laser-focused on serving the Gulf Coast community of Sarasota County and Osprey, Florida. Grant seekers beyond its area of geographic interest will not receive funding.
PROFILE: Created in 1995, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation (GCCF) is headquartered in Venice, Florida, and has a philanthropy center in Sarasota, as well. The Sarasota County area if known for its character as an increasingly affluent area, which has deregulated government programs that support the vulnerable. It was established following the sale of the Venice Hospital, making it one of many health legacy funders in the Southeast. This community foundation is the philanthropic home to over 790 families, individuals, organizations, and businesses. GCCF invests in civic and economic development, education, health and human services, and the arts.
Grants for the Environment
GCCF makes grants for the environment through a dedicated initiative that focuses on water quality, energy efficiency, residential solar energy, green spaces through recreation paths and wildlife habitats, Legacy Trail Extension, and urban forests. Many of the environmental projects GCCF supports intersect with one another in some way, particularly through themes of sustainability, water quality, and habitat conservation.
Grants for Civic and Economic Development
GCCF’s civic and economic development focus seeks to move Sarasota County into the “innovation economy,” which has also brought civic investors, business leaders, and other stakeholders to the table to reimagine Sarasota’s Bay area. GCCF has also positioned itself as a community mediator of sorts through it’s civility initiative in Sarasota, where far-right politics have radically transformed both the local terrain and tone of public discourse. Lastly,the organization's Gulf Coast Board Institute provides training for nonprofit board members, and the Gulf Coast Leadership Institute provides leadership development opportunities, workshops and trainings in the region.
Grants for Health and Community Development
Health and human services grantmaking focuses on adult homelessness, hungry families in Sarasota and DeSoto counties, homeless children and families, and financial literacy through a United Way Suncoast partnership. Initiatives focused on this area of giving include youth mental health, homelessness and affordable housing, veterans housing, reducing recidivism, unaccompanied homeless youth, and the opioid crisis. Past GCCF work has funded grants related to financial literacy, food banks and nutrition, and homeless children and families. GCCF’s separate links offer detailed views of what and how it funds.
Grants for K-12 and Higher Education
As of late, its education grantmaking prioritizes STEM education for local middle school students, but also language arts and social studies. GCCF supports a program to help local employers train skilled workers, a program to support one-on-one tutoring for first graders who struggle with literacy, and a collaboration to promote diversity in higher education. Arts appreciation grants provide flexible funding to help the region’s cornerstone arts groups focus on their missions.
GCCF also awards small community grants under $10,000 and leveraged grants over $10,000 to address critical needs in the region. Community grant requests are accepted on a rolling basis, while leveraged grants typically have pre-application deadlines in August, December, and April. Small sponsorship grants help raise awareness and funds for important work. These requests are accepted on a rolling basis as well. The application process for all grants is entirely online.
In 2020, the foundation also initiated COVID-19 relief and response grantmaking to support the Sarasota community during the pandemic.
The funder offers a web platform called NonprofitNext to groups in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties. At the end of a recent year, the foundation had assets of $339 million and invested at least $29 million in grants, scholarships, and initiatives. View current financial data and recent grant awards here.
Keep up with foundation events and publications on its website.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS: