Our Work
Past Initiatives
We believe responsive philanthropy is one of our greatest strengths. From supporting nonprofits and communities during natural disasters and pandemics, to addressing mental health crises and building a culture of sustainability, here is a look back at some of our most impactful past initiatives.
Overlapping crises laid bare deeply rooted problems with our health care, educational and human service systems. In response, the community need to bond, strengthen partnerships, and tighten social safety nets. Fortunately, our nonprofit community demonstrated just that. When the pandemic struck, our nonprofits acted boldly on behalf of the community.
Just as our partners unified to carry the community, Barancik Foundation unified to support them. We provided flexible grants and partnered with Gulf Coast Community Foundation on a joint philanthropic initiative to ensure the well-being and flexibility of our vital nonprofits. We not only reacted to needs created by COVID, but also addressed systemic inequities exposed by the pandemic.
Partners for Green Places (2018)
Partners for Green Places was an initiative forged to inspire organizations to play an active and engaged role in the adoption of sustainable practices. The goal was to empower and showcase organizations that have adopted sustainable practices to deliver meaningful results and share those stories so any organization could understand how they, too, could be part of forging a more sustainable future.
The City of Sarasota and Sarasota County sustainability staff approached Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation to pilot a water and energy efficiency program for nonprofits. This created an alliance of nonprofit organizations that motivated and inspired the for-profit sector with their commitment to sustainability and healthier, greener practices through their work and within their communities.
Here4YOUth (2018)
The prevalence of mental health challenges, substance abuse, suicide, and other related problems among children and youth have increased dramatically in recent years. Sarasota, like many communities, sought and continues to seek to improve its mental health system of care to fully meet the needs of children and youth.
As part of the Here4YOUth initiative, Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation convened stakeholders to chart a way forward. Our purpose was to identify short-term capacity building and longer-term systemic investments that created a system of care that responded effectively to the mental health needs of all children, youth, and families in Sarasota County.
Reading Recovery (2015)
Drawing on decades of results, Reading Recovery is a proven formula to help catch up elementary students who struggle the most with reading and writing. In 2015, Sarasota County School District officials and philanthropist Keith Monda were strategizing ways to address the 35% of third-grade students who were not reading on grade level. Monda, who supported the national implementation of Reading Recovery through the Ohio State University, had the vision to introduce our region to the program.
Partnering with Barancik Foundation and Gulf Coast Community Foundation, a pilot was launched at three Title 1 elementary schools. The first year saw incredible success, seeing 85% of participating students reach average grade level following the series of lessons. Fast forward to today and all 23 elementary schools have at least one Reading Recovery teacher on staff—all covered through Title 1 funding.