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Nonprofit News: September 2025

The 2026 Giving Challenge Website Is Now Live!

Want to participate in next year's challenge? Register your nonprofit today.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County's 2026 Giving Challenge website launched this morning, meaning nonprofits can now begin officially registering to participate in next year's challenge.

What do you need to register? First, you must be a 501(c)(3) organization that serves in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and/or DeSoto County, and you must create or maintain a current profile in The Giving Partner, the Community Foundation's centralized nonprofit directory. If you don't have a Giving Partner profile, the deadline to create one is 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. If you have an existing Giving Partner profile, the deadline to make any needed updates to your profile is noon on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.

Once your Giving Partner profile is up-to-date, it's time to register at GivingChallenge.org. The deadline to register is noon on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.

Note: This deadline is significantly earlier than for past Giving Challenges. If your registration is not complete by the deadline, you will not be eligible to participate in the 2026 Giving Challenge. For full details on everything you need to know to register, click here.

In addition to registration information, the Giving Challenge website has everything else you need to know about the event, including tips on how to maximize your fundraising during the challenge, visual assets, and more.

Join Our 2026 Giving Challenge Kick-Off Webinar Next Week

The Giving Challenge team will go over key dates and other details to know and answer any and all questions about the challenge.

Eager to get going with the 2026 Giving Challenge? The Community Foundation is holding a webinar that will cover all aspects of participating in the 2026 Giving Challenge. The webinar will be held at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Register at the link below. We strongly encourage nonprofits that want to participate in the 2026 Giving Challenge to attend.

Reminder: Enter to Win a $1,000 Prize by Submitting to Our Giving Challenge Story Contest

The deadline to enter is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

The Community Foundation is looking for nonprofits with great stories to tell about their participation in the 2024 Giving Challenge, and the five nonprofits with the most compelling applications will each win a prize of $1,000.

What makes for a great story? We're looking for blog posts, newsletters, and email campaigns published before the end of September that do an exceptional job of demonstrating how participating in the 2024 Giving Challenge made a difference for your organization. How did donors support your mission in 2024? Why is it important for donors to support you again in the 2026 Giving Challenge?

For full details on how to apply, download the prize application outline here. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.

Note: Giving Challenge prize applications are being accepted through the same system that the Community Foundation uses for grant applications. You will need to log in to your account to complete the application. This system is new as of this year, and you may need to create a new account to enter the prize contest.

Apply Now for an Adult Mid-Year Scholarship

Applications will close on Monday, Sept. 15.

We are currently accepting scholarship applications for students age 24 and older. Applicants must meet the age requirement and be pursuing or planning to pursue education at an accredited university, community college, technical school, or certification program, and they must be a resident of Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, or DeSoto County. Apply today!

Coming Soon: Capacity Building Grants

Nonprofits can begin applying in October.

Mark your calendars! Our next Capacity Building grant cycle begins on Monday, Oct. 1, 2025.

Capacity Building grants are designed to help organizations build internal capacity, resilience, and long-term sustainability, with a specific focus on aligning efforts for a successful Giving Challenge campaign.

Reminder: Office Hours Happen Every Friday

In order to more quickly answer common questions about how to apply for grants, our Community Impact department will be holding regular weekly Zoom sessions that anyone can drop in on. Sessions take place from 11 a.m. to noon every Friday. This is an excellent opportunity to get direct, immediate feedback from Community Foundation staff about grants and applications. There's no need to pre-register. Just click the link below to join.

Nonprofit Job Bank

Whether you're seeking a new nonprofit position or you want to post an open position at your organization, your local resource is the Association of Fundraising Professionals Southwest Florida Chapter's Job Bank, supported by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

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