The Our Sarasota Fund shows its pride by making significant impacts on local non-profits with a focus on the LGBTQ community. A Giving Circle of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Our Sarasota Fund’s main game improves the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by supporting those organizations with a mission specifically geared to embracing the diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. Currently, it is made up of a number of individual members in the community who collectively care about LGBT causes. Since started five years ago, the Our Sarasota Fund has awarded more than $51,000 back into the community. 

How it works, is the funds are collected and administered by Our Sarasota Fund members, then deposited with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. By pooling resources together under a 501(c)(3) umbrella offered by the CFS, a greater bandwidth for change becomes possible. “A Giving Circle enables individuals to achieve a more significant impact with their charitable giving than they can achieve on their own,” says Manager, Communications and Marketing of CFS Murray Devine. The applications for grants are sent only to identified non-profits with programs/activities in Sarasota County which benefit the LGBT people. After applications for grants are received and administered, members vote on which organizations or projects they will fund—where the dollars then get dispersed based on the decisions made by the Giving Circle on an annual basis.

Grant amounts range anywhere from $500 to $5,000 and go towards causes such as providing safe housing/food, improving and expanding educator inclusivity, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, young adult support groups, promoting unity and social justice, sponsoring events, funding student scholarships, strengthening performing arts programs and more. If you’re interested in becoming a member or would like to see grant recipients thus far, visit the link below.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is proud to partner with SRQ Media Group to highlight stories about community impact powered by philanthropy in our region, thanks to the support of donors and our local nonprofit partners. The Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. 

Our Sarasota Fund