$200,000 in Grants for Cancer Support, Homelessness Prevention, and More

Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s Board of Directors recently approved the following grant awards to support services for vulnerable families and diversify economic impact in the region:

Jewish Family and Children’s Service of the Suncoast was awarded a $75,000 grant to maintain and expand its cancer support and wellness services. In 2015, with funding from Gulf Coast and others, JFCS began providing support groups, wellness programs, and educational services for community members who previously had been served by the now-defunct Center for Building Hope. This new grant will help JFCS continue to provide and broaden the scope of services for individuals and families affected by cancer in Sarasota, Charlotte, and Manatee counties. Funding comes from the Community Health Endowment Fund at Gulf Coast.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast will use a $43,500 Gulf Coast grant to support and expand its Beyond School Walls workplace-mentoring program. Piloted last year in Venice with funding from the foundation, Beyond School Walls matches at-risk high school students with employee mentors at local businesses. Participating students meet with their mentors in the workplace to experience what it means to work for a corporation, learn business etiquette, and identify educational requirements for professional success in a field in which they are interested. The new grant will help Big Brothers Big Sisters place nearly 60 more students from across Sarasota County into mentoring relationships at area employers. Funding comes from The Venice Endowment Fund.

The Charlotte County Homeless Coalition was awarded a $25,000 grant to support its Bridges Out of Poverty program. The Bridges program provides homeless-prevention services, rapid rehousing, and training in life skills such as financial literacy to help families stay in their homes and lift themselves out of poverty. Funding for this grant comes from the Miriam P. Raines Charitable Fund at Gulf Coast.

Ringling College of Art and Design was awarded a $19,333 grant in support of the Consortium of Colleges on the Creative Coast, or C4. This six-institution higher-education consortium is working to enhance educational and student-life experiences in the region through innovations like cross-registration, faculty and career-services collaborations, and co-branding and marketing their collective resources. The grant will help the consortium continue to fund an initiative manager and cover expenses not available from the colleges to develop and implement new initiatives. Funding for this grant comes from the foundation’s 21st Century Learning initiative.

The SKY Family YMCA will receive a $20,000 grant to leverage and support its work in providing access for low-income families to its programs and services. The SKY Y offers assistance to help families in need participate in a range of vital children’s programs, from early learning and before- and after-school care to aquatics, gymnastics, and youth sports. Funding for the grant comes from two funds at Gulf Coast: the Community Health Endowment Fund and the Daniel Welch Fund.

The Gulf Coast Board also approved a $25,000 grant to the Nathan Benderson Community Park Foundation to support the upcoming 2017 World Rowing Championships. Returning to the United States for the first time in 23 years, the September event will bring an estimated 1,700 athletes and 40,000 spectators from 60 countries to Sarasota and Manatee counties, generating significant economic impact for the region. Performance sports, including rowing, was targeted by Gulf Coast several years ago as a strategic growth sector that could help diversify the regional economy and provide future economic opportunities. This grant comes from several funds at Gulf Coast.