West Villages Improvement District: Giving Challenge sets new records

https://www.yoursun.com/venice/giving-challenge-sets-new-records/
By Kim Cool, Our Town Editor May 6, 2020

In just 24 hours, the 2020 Giving Challenge generated $18,432,471 in gifts from 58,947 individual donors to 687 organizations in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

At least one organization that normally participates, the Venice-Nokomis branch of the American Association of University Women, stepped aside this year because it had been able to hold its annual fundraiser — a house tour, before the COVID-19 pandemic stepped in to change the world as it had been known.

AAUW members felt that other organizations might be more in need. A look at the organizations topping the leader board in gifts, seems to substantiate that supposition.

Topping the leader board were All Faiths Food Bank with $365,984.78 in donations, and prizes of $252,252 for a total of $621,236.78 and Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee Inc. with donations of $205,245 and prizes of $90,225 for a total of $295,420.

Organizations that seem to have paid the highest price for the pandemic because of forced closures were the area’s theatrical companies and animal protection societies.

Hunger for theater brought several area theatrical organizations into the top ranks of recipients as did concern for animals. Forced to cancel productions, theaters not only lost ticket sales in the height of tourist season but also expenses of producing those shows and several shows that would follow next on area stages.

Canceled classes delivered more red ink as did the loss of income from returned tickets, although some customers returned their tickets as charitable donations in lieu of refunds.

If ever there were proof that this is the Cultural Coast of Florida, it came with the results of the Giving Challenge in which three theatre companies placed in the Top 10 recipients along with the food bank, Meals on Wheels and humane societies.

Florida Studio Theatre, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and Venice Theatre made their way into the Top 10 that earned an extra quarter million dollars for those three entities: $83,225 (FST), $56,557 (WBTT) and $93,764.50 (Venice).

Each of those theaters will earn additional money from matching grant opportunities presented to individual companies.

Bill Jervey’s $250,000 matching grant challenge was the largest of these and will match that theater’s total take from the Giving Challenge once all the prizes have been awarded. As this is being written, it seems quite likely that the $250,000 Jervey challenge will be met. The theater received some 1,200 individual pledges.

“The theater is putting us on the map,” Jervey said. “It is especially important right now.”

The theater took on quite an obligation when it acquired the Hamilton Building — a building that will be used primarily for the theater’s education department. The sale was finalized shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.

Last year Jervey, for whom the new Venice public library was named for his donations to that entity, pledged $1 million to the theater which is being paid in four installments. Jervey’s name also has been affixed to the library at the Venice campus of the State College of Florida, making Jervey likely the first American since Andrew Carnegie to have two libraries named for him in the same county.

“The generosity of our community is truly remarkable,” said Florida Studio Theatre Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins. “When Mary and Pat Mulva extended their matching gift support of $100,000 to FST, I was deeply moved. But when their generosity was matched and even exceeded by so many – hundreds of small gifts pouring in from around the community – I was genuinely astonished... And then, it was all topped off when the Mulvas increased their gift to match the excess of small gifts. Those actions, those kindnesses combined, make this one of my favorite days ever.”

MORE TO BE AWARDED

Several additional prizes will be awarded later in May in a variety of challenges for such things as: Best Online Event (nine winners of $2,000), Best Nonprofit Partnership (three prizes of $4,000) and Best Giving Challenge Video (six awards of $2,500 to two winners in small, medium and large categories) for the best video. Most of these challenges require applications to e filed with the Giving Challenge by May 7. These prizes will be awarded near the end of May.

One of the special award categories was expanded from 50 to 75 recipients soon after the 2020 challenge began because of the abundance of giving in the early hours. The winners of that bonus were nearly identical to the list of the top recipients.

Nine prizes will be awarded for the best overall campaigns (pre-determined goals and strategies and other criteria) in the small, medium and large categories: $6,000 for first place, $5,00 for second place and $4,000 for third place.

The Giving Challenge is hosted by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, with giving strengthened by The Patterson Foundation.

This year, many organizations such as Venice Theatre with its Jervey challenge, were able to set new records for donations received. Some, but not all of these special awards will be decided by public vote online, thus adding additional funds to some organizations.

The many categories of all the special awards and winners will eventually all be posted online. Most are already online at: givingpartnerchallenge.org/leaderboards.

Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate