Newsletter
December 2016    |    Vol. 7, No. 11
Happy holidays
to our guest families
Thanks to the generosity of All Angels By The Sea Episcopal Church, our guests will have presents to open Christmas morning! Here they are wrapped and waiting in a board member's garage, and Santa will pay a special visit to our families on Christmas Eve. (The kids might even spy a man in a red suit ...) 

Volunteers are chipping in to get gifts for the guest families who joined the program after these gifts were bought. Thank you, everyone!

All Angels also this month presented Family Promise with a $14,000 grant to support our program. We could not exist with this type of support, and we're so grateful to this congregation.  
Three departing board members taking on new roles
As 2016 ends, the board of trustees of Family Promise of Sarasota is losing three of its senior members -- members who have completed three consecutive two-year terms. 

Sally Reeder, our board president, is a native of Pittsburgh and a prior school teacher who owns Classic World Travel (Lakewood Ranch) and has always been centrally involved in planning our events. Nancy Levine, a native New Yorker, has been involved in Family Promise of Sarasota since its inception and will continue to coordinate work performed by volunteers from Temple Beth Sholom. And Jeanne Zeigler, our treasurer, has lived in Sarasota for more than 30 years and has provided financial oversight to her congregation, St. Wilfred Episcopal, and many other local organizations in that time. 

None of them is ending her relationship with Family Promise, however. They'll simply be wearing other hats. We're grateful for their continued service and dedication. 

New officers will be elected at the January board meeting.
Blues Festival sponsorships and tickets
Board member Meredith Strahle sends along this update on the progress of our fundraising efforts with the Suncoast Blues Festival. 

As of Dec. 9, Family Promise had sold $12,000.00 in sponsorships and will net $3000.00 from the sponsorship sales. The $250.00 & $500.00 sponsorships are still available, so let the office know if you have ideas for businesses or organizations that might want to sponsor. 

Here's some more information:

Blues Festival tickets would make great holiday gifts, stocking stuffers or appreciation gifts for employees or clients! Family Promise receives 20% of any hard tickets we sell. Ticket prices are $15 for Friday only, $25 for Saturday only and $35 for both days. 

You can buy them at these locations:
  • The Family Promise office at Concordia Lutheran Church
  • Classic World Travel in Lakewood Ranch (Sally Reeder's business), 8346 Market St, Bradenton, FL 34202
  • American Momentum Bank locations
    • So. Washington- 544 S. Washington Blvd, Sarasota
    • Clark Road- 5221 Clark Road, Sarasota
    • McIntosh- 3939 McIntosh Road, Sarasota
    • Fruitville- 5851 Fruitville Road, Sarasota
    • San Marco (LWR)- 9121 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch
  • At a FREE concert Jan. 25th at Evie's Tavern; 4725 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. We also need volunteers to help sell tickets that night from 6 pm to 9 pm! Let the Family Promise office know if you can help. 
The Suncoast Blues Festival has done Family Promise so much good - in terms of both financial support and community awareness of our organization. Let's be sure to support them as well! 
A stellar rating for Family Promise!

As a national organization, Family Promise has been awarded a coveted 4-star rating (out of 4 possible stars) for sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. Charity Navigator has indicated the charity's adherence to good governance and the execution of their mission in a fiscally responsible way.

"Attaining a 4-star rating verifies that Family Promise exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in their area of work," said Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator, the nation's largest charity evaluator. "Only 10% of the charities we evaluate have received at least four consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Family Promise outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Family Promise apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness."

Under Charity Navigator's formula combining accountability and fiscal management, Family Promise received a score of 94.86 out of a possible 100. Family Promise reports that 85% of every dollar raised is spent on program expenses.

Source: familypromise.org
Thank you to our volunteers during this busy time of year

As so many of us run from one event or store to the next during the holiday season, we recognize that many of our dedicated volunteers are managing to fit Family Promise into their schedules. Thank you so much to these congregations: 

The congregations that feed and shelter our guest families are:
  • First Congregational United Church of Christ, Sarasota, Florida
  • First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota
  • First United Methodist Church - Sarasota, Florida
  • Pine Shores Presbyterian Church
  • Saint Boniface Episcopal Church Siesta Key
  • St. Paul Lutheran Church and New Life Lutheran Church
  • Temple Beth Sholom of Sarasota
  • Church of the Palms, Sarasota
  • The Shore Church
  • Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton (ISSB)
Congregations that also support our mission generously are:
  • All Angels By The Sea Episcopal Church
  • Concordia Lutheran Church
  • Siesta Key Chapel
  • South Shore Community Church
  • St. Andrew United Church of Christ
Are you following us on Facebook? 
We post regular updates about how our guests are doing, thank-you's to volunteers and community partners and requests for specific kinds of help.  While email updates come just once or twice a month, Facebook updates can help you stay up to date more often. Plus, when you interact with our posts on Facebook, it shows those posts to more people, and our visibility in the community increases. Search for Family Promise of Sarasota, or click here if you're logged into Facebook

Family Promise of Sarasota Contact Information
Mailing: PO Box 48199, Sarasota FL 34230-8199
Telephone: 941-952-1800
Website: Family Promise of Sarasota
Facebook: Family Promise of Sarasota
   

Family Promise of Sarasota Inc.
is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) Florida Corporation. 
Our volunteer Board of Trustees consists of  Sally Reeder, president; George Lavigne, vice president and secretary;  Jeanne Zeigler, treasurer; and Sandee Davis, Tyler Hayden, Wendy Leventhal, Nancy Levine, Andrew Lowther, Shawna Machado, Joy Mayer, Betty Pelletz, Stanley Pelletz, Meredith Strahle, Terri West-Corali; and Danielle Bourque, Community Youth Development board member.