Education Foundation of Sarasota County | Case for Giving

ASPIRE HIGHER
INSPIRING OUR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, TOGETHER
941.927.0965 | EdFoundationSRQ.org
1960 Landings Blvd, Ste 120 | Sarasota, FL 34231

OUR CREED
YES, we’re passionate about
partnering with you to realize a
soaring vision. We know that bold
ambition is the standard in our
community of aspirational leaders
and the same is expected for those
who champion education.
We are the Education Foundation
of Sarasota County, and this is
what we believe.
We believe education changes lives.
We believe every child deserves to reach
his/her full potential.
We believe in creating brighter futures
for our children.
We believe in leading in education
innovations by taking calculated risks.
We believe a vibrant and prosperous community
is dependent upon the value its community
members place on high-quality education.
We believe an investment in a child’s education
is the best investment anyone can make.

TOGETHER WE INVEST IN GREAT
OUR MISSION
Enhance the potential of students
Promote excellence in teaching
Inspire innovation in education
Guided by strategic philanthropy.
EVERY WEEK, it seems, vibrant Sarasota
County, Florida, lands at the top of another
superlatives list.
Residents and businesses fortunate to call
this area home have become accustomed
to accolades: best beaches, restaurants,
art, neighborhoods, health care and a
top-notch public school system.
The link between highly rated schools
and the Sarasota area’s array of honors is
not surprising. Study after study shows that
communities that prioritize public education
are healthier, wealthier and
more adaptable.
Focused exclusively on
public schools since our
founding in 1988, the
Education Foundation of Sarasota
County has been a partner with
Sarasota County Schools, investing in
innovative programs and initiatives that
enrich the learning experience for countless
students and teachers. They, in turn, spread
newly discovered ideas, methods, facts
and expertise beyond the classroom.
No question about it. In words and
deeds, Sarasota County citizens have an
enviable track record of demonstrating a
keen appreciation for education as an
essential underpinning of a flourishing
community. Against this laudatory
backdrop, the Education Foundation is
inspiring the community to join us in
raising our sights even higher to propel
our students and teachers forward. The
Education Foundation is prepared to
expand and amplify the dialogue on
education in the community. By working
together, we can go “all-out” to aspire
higher and stimulate positive, innovative
learning experiences for all students.
The Education Foundation invests in innovative programs and initiatives
that enrich the learning experience for countless students and teachers.

“To me, the core of the Education Foundation’s mission statement is innovation,
and it always carries a modicum of risk. It’s a driving force for my generation.
We embrace it, knowing that risk-taking based on creativity and aspiration
can lead to rewards.
All our lives, we’ve heard about start-ups, like Steve Jobs starting Apple in his
garage, so we get that you have to take a calculated risk to get the best return.
Mark-Elliot Finley, '18 Sarasota Military Academy and student
representative on Education Foundation board of directors.
”
A NEW WAY TO THINK ABOUT
INNOVATION IN EDUCATION
While many of our schools, students and teachers perform above average, the Education
Foundation aspires to see all students reach their highest potential.
The world around us is shifting in dramatic ways, making it difficult for any structured
institution to respond as quickly as the pace of change demands. Positioning our
students for tomorrow will take all of our community’s education champions teaming
up with swift, proactive intent.
The Education Foundation is distinctively positioned to support Sarasota County
students and its teachers. As an independent foundation with the sole purpose of
supporting our valued partner, Sarasota County Schools, we can be nimble, innovative,
responsive, imaginative and flexible.
We take calculated risks for the sake of our beneficiaries—the students and teachers
of Sarasota County.
EXPANDING HUMAN INTELLECT
CAN BE RISKY
Aspiring higher entails risk. The Education Foundation inspires innovations that expand
the human intellect and influence farsighted change. We stick out our necks and support
our teachers when they dream up creative--and often extremely successful--pilot projects
that, once verified, can be replicated across the local and statewide education systems.
In Sarasota County, home to creative originals, our aspirations match the community
culture. Backed by the will of the community, the Education Foundation is empowered to
move ahead, to be willing to risk, to innovate, to try untested concepts and to support
our students and teachers at unprecedented levels.
“Thinking out of the box is crucial to
being able to inquire. We wove the
arts into STEM concepts for our
STEAM grant to encourage creativity
and improvisation. Black and white
concepts come alive when students
think bigger. They build their knowledge
and understanding of science, reading,
math, and the world.
”
Susan Nations, principal,
Wilkinson Elementary School
School-wide grand recipient

REAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE REAL WORLD
“GOING DEEP INSTEAD OF WIDE.”
Inspiring innovation requires stepping up as the early adopter of ground-breaking trends
and emerging developments in this landscape that we call education.
We are on our way with revamped, recalibrated and rebooted initiatives that inspire
excellence in teaching, encourage innovation, and expand college and career resources.
To carry out our signature initiatives, we deploy more resources to support our teachers
and schools; give higher-limit classroom and school-wide grants to Sarasota County
Schools; and support collaborative professional development programs.
Our increased focus on preparing our students from kindergarten through high school
for college and future careers aligns with the district’s goals and the community’s needs.
Our commitment is to empower students to graduate with a purpose and pursue a
postsecondary pathway. We are boosting resources for school-based college and
career centers, expanding a postsecondary-oriented website, LaunchYourPlan.com, with
scholarship information, and increasing college and career explorations, including field
trips to work sites and tours of college campuses.
THE INFLUENCE
OF A TEACHER
Amazing teachers are the most critical
component in helping students be
successful. We design initiatives to help
inspire our best teachers and elevate the
value in which our community holds them.
Through our classroom and school-wide
grants programs, we award teachers who
are innovative and collaborative and
who stretch themselves to raise the bar
for student learning.
When high quality teaching and learning
is in place, student achievement improves
and student engagement soars. We all
have memories of our own schooling;
and invariably, the most profound
memories are of those teachers who
took the time to know, support, and
believe in you personally.
Effective teachers are the linchpin to better
outcomes for our students. They serve as
mentors, learning facilitators, community
leaders, instructional specialists, educational
designers, classroom managers, surrogate
parents, role models, counselors and more.
They do this while adapting, flexing,
innovating and stretching through the
everchanging backdrop of education.
We stand fiercely committed to supporting
our educators through valued professional
development and high-quality recognition
programs. For students to unlock their
full potential, our first investment must be
in our teachers.
“
Promoting excellence in teaching
is the most important part of
the mission to me. We need to
give our teachers the best
possible toolbox so they can
distribute the knowledge to
students and allow it to spread
exponentially. Keeping teachers
happy is important, too. When
teachers are acknowledged for
doing great work, they’re more
motivated to continue that level
of excellence.
”
Dorian Bizeau, '18
Booker High School, student
representative on the Education
Foundation board of directors.

A CASE FOR GIVING
Education changes lives. Every dollar committed to the
Education Foundation of Sarasota County is both an
economic and a human investment. Your gifts strengthen
our teachers and enrich the lives of students forever.
This is a challenging task with more than 5,000 school
personnel and nearly 44,000 students. The Education
Foundation depends upon individual, corporate, public
and private foundation gifts to meet this need, allowing us
to aspire higher. We have a steadfast commitment to
■ earn your trust;
■ demonstrate integrity; and,
■ honor philanthropy.
Guided by strategic philanthropy, you can be rest assured
your gift of time, talent and treasure will help us to
■ enhance the potential of students;
■ promote excellence in teaching; and
■ inspire innovation in education.
Unrestricted giving gives us the most flexibility and allows
us to be more responsive. We also direct gifts that match
a donor’s interests. Gifts of cash, stock, appreciated assets
or from donor-advised funds are just a few ways donors
turn our aspirations into reality.
The Education Foundation can operate, innovate and mobilize resources
outside of the confines of the education 'system'—that is its’ greatest value
and reason for being. The Education Foundation's unique ability to think
“independently, act globally and move swiftly is truly remarkable.

“Our kids are a third of our population but 100 percent of our future. Fostering
a love of learning and critical thinking skills in young kids exponentially
improves their chances of staying in school and being productive in life.
”
Tom Koski, retired CEO, Sarasota County Schools alumnus, philanthropist, second generation
of the Koski family to serve on the Education Foundation board of directors.
WHY NOW?
EDUCATION IS more than academic
achievement alone. It is the moral imperative
of our time to equip our children with the
skills, knowledge and abilities to navigate
an unknown future that is accelerating at
an unprecedented rate. We have no choice
but to go “all-out” for our students and
teachers now or we risk putting them at peril.
The world is becoming increasingly flat
and developing our students into responsible
global citizens doesn’t happen in one
day. It is the cumulative effect of
sustainable philanthropic investment,
coupled with a strong supportive teaching
and learning environment that will propel
our students forward.
We simply cannot wait.
Just as today’s iconic structures took visionary
designers who had foresight, it takes
strategic philanthropy to develop anything
worthwhile that lasts. We at the Education
Foundation are looking ahead, poised to
take steps today to secure a front row
position for our students of tomorrow.
Everything we do now changes the
trajectory of our students for the future.
Tomorrow already is here.
CHAMPIONS FOR ALL STUDENTS
The Education Foundation believes that every one of our students has a need, regardless
of their walks of life or unique family circumstances. And with our community’s support,
we intend to give 100 percent to all 44,000 of them.
We support innovations that challenge all of our students and teachers and infuse them with
knowledge and confidence that help them better themselves, their families, their
workplaces and their communities.
We forge the path in front of them so they can get ahead—because forward is where
their future beckons.
We have large aspirations, and our board and staff are dedicated to realizing these ambitions.
It will take time and a lot of hard work but we are doing it—for the 44,000 students and
5,000-plus school personnel counting on us now and the many thousands more who will
follow them.
The Education Foundation is uniquely poised to be
a pivotal organization in transformational change.
It is a call to action with a clear, broadly appealing mission statement about
why an investment in the Foundation is so important.

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
WE ARE HERE TO AMPLIFY THE CONVERSATION.
“
Leaving a legacy by
giving back to teachers
and students through
financial contributions
assures the future of
[Sarasota County Schools]
and those who work so
hard to support it.
”
anonymous donor
YOU CAN IMAGINE classrooms filled with excited students creating, engineering,
computing, interacting and reading. Such ideal scenes are made possible when we
unite in supporting collaborative, cross-disciplinary learning and employ creative
utilization of 21st century tools.
We want to see all 44,000 K-12 students participating. That’s a lot. It feels really big.
But when we zero in, we see clearly the animated faces of our beneficiaries-—our
students and teachers—who are empowered and engaged because an individual, or
business, or foundation stepped forward and said, ‘I want to improve your life.’
In Sarasota County, one of the most charitable places in the country, our collective
actions will reinvigorate our schools, engage all of our students and teachers, and
transform our community.
Join us. Be a champion of education.