The Gardener Foundation concentrates its giving into a small number of large charitable contributions, with a clear emphasis on education and youth services alongside support for local cultural institutions. While most dollars flow to Sarasota-area organizations (youth services and the orchestra), the foundation also makes major single gifts to higher education/university-related causes outside the region. Grants appear to be general-purpose charitable contributions rather than narrowly restricted project funding.
Highly concentrated giving: very few but large grants (one outsized gift and several six-figure commitments), predominantly to a mix of local Sarasota nonprofits and an occasional major out-of-area university; grants are general charitable contributions rather than many small awards.
Notable grantees: Stony Brook Foundation, Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota, Sarasota Orchestra, Visible Men Academy
The Gardener Foundation Inc. gives in a pattern of large charitable contributions, with its biggest recent grant reaching $2.3 million to Stony Brook Foundation in Stony Brook, New York. That scale sits alongside sustained support for Sarasota-area organizations and a smaller set of grants to education, youth development, and cultural institutions. The foundation’s recent record includes $1 million to Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota, $650,000 to Sarasota Orchestra, and $500,000 to Visible Men Academy, showing a mix of major one-time gifts and repeated support for select organizations. The giving profile suggests a funder that backs established nonprofits rather than many small awards. Several recipients appear more than once across the recent grants list, including Stony Brook Foundation, Sarasota Orchestra, Visible Men Academy, and Rocky Mountain Institute. Alongside these larger gifts, the foundation also supported Mote Marine, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, indicating attention to education, youth, arts, environment, and place-based community organizations. Grants are labeled as charitable contributions, which points to flexible support rather than tightly specified project funding.
Education and youth services are a core theme. In 2025, The Gardener Foundation Inc. gave $1 million to Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota for a charitable contribution, and it gave $500,000 to Visible Men Academy in Bradenton for the same purpose. Those grants sit alongside a $250,000 award to Visible Men Academy in 2023, showing sustained backing for male youth mentoring and character education. The foundation also funds the arts and cultural institutions. It gave $650,000 to Sarasota Orchestra in 2023, followed by $200,000 in 2023 and $150,000 in 2024, all as charitable contributions. Architecture-related giving appears as well, with $135,000 to Sarasota Architecture Foundation in 2025 and $135,000 to Center for Architecture Sarasota in 2024. Environmental and science-oriented support is present in grants such as $303,248 to Mote Marine in 2023 and $250,000 to Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast in 2023.
Typical grants cluster from the lower five figures into the low six figures, with a p25 of $1,875, a median of $15,000, and a p75 of $100,000. The recent list also shows repeated awards to the same organizations across multiple years, including Stony Brook Foundation, Sarasota Orchestra, Visible Men Academy, Rocky Mountain Institute, and Literacy Outreach of Garfield County, which points to ongoing relationships rather than one-off checks only. The foundation is a regular funder, not a DAF, and it does not fund individuals or make program-related investments. Its grants are recorded as charitable contributions.
$4.8M
$14.2M
$2.2M
$4.9M
Most grants fall between $2K and $100K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$2K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$100K
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Grant dollars are concentrated in Florida, with 59% of grants going to recipients in the HQ state. Sarasota is the clearest hub, with awards to organizations such as Sarasota Orchestra, Mote Marine, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Community Foundation of Sarasota, Sarasota Architecture Foundation, and Center for Architecture Sarasota. Outside Florida, New York appears often, including Stony Brook, Hauppauge, and East Patchogue. The recipient country distribution is entirely U.S.-based, with 136 grants in the United States.
The recent grants point to education and youth services, arts and cultural institutions, environmental organizations, and some higher-education philanthropy. Examples include Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota, Visible Men Academy, Sarasota Orchestra, Mote Marine, and Stony Brook Foundation.
Yes. Several organizations appear more than once in the recent grants list, including Stony Brook Foundation, Sarasota Orchestra, Visible Men Academy, Rocky Mountain Institute, and Literacy Outreach of Garfield County. That pattern suggests ongoing relationships with selected recipients.
Typical grant sizes are spread widely, but the middle of the distribution is $15,000. The p25 is $1,875 and the p75 is $100,000, while several recent awards are much larger, including seven-figure and mid-six-figure gifts.
The top state by grant count is New York. Florida still receives the largest share of grants tied to the foundation’s HQ state, at 59%, with Sarasota serving as a major recipient city.
The recent grants are labeled as charitable contributions. That wording suggests flexible support rather than tightly designated project-only grants.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MOTE MARINE | SARASOTA, FL | $2,000,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA ORCHESTRA | SARASOTA, FL | $800,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL FLORIDA | SARASOTA, NY | $300,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| VISIBLE MEN ACADEMY | BRADENTON, FL | $250,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| LITERACY OUTREACH OF GARFIELD COUNTY | GLENWOOD SPRINGS, CO | $230,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| FORTY CARROTS | SARASOTA, FL | $150,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF BELLPORT | BELLPORT, NY | $150,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION | SARASOTA, FL | $115,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| LITERACY COUNCIL OF SARASOTA | SARASOTA, FL | $100,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| LONG ISLAND CARES | HAUPPAUGE, NY | $100,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA | SARASOTA, FL | $100,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| BIG WATERS LAND TRUST | OSPREY, FL | $100,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA OPERA | SARASOTA, FL | $100,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| AMERICAN RED CROSS | TAMPA, FL | $50,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| STONY BROOK FOUNDATION | STONY BROOK, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| BAYPORT BLUE POINT SCHOOL DISTRICT | BAYPORT, NY | $45,366 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| THE HERMITAGE | ENGLEWOOD, FL | $40,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| HEIFER INTERNATIONAL | LITTLE ROCK, AR | $25,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| VIA NOVA CHORALE | SARASOTA, FL | $20,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| VALLEY SETTLEMENT PROJECT | CARBONDALE, CO | $18,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| ALL FAITHS FOOD BANK | SARASOTA, FL | $12,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| FRIENDS OF BELLPORT BAY | BELLPORT, NY | $10,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| RINGLING MUSEUM FOUNDATION | SARASOTA, FL | $10,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA ART MUSEUM | SARASOTA, FL | $10,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| POST MORROW FOUNDATION | BROOKHAVEN, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SOUTH COUNTRY CONCERTS | BELLPORT, NY | $5,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| AUDUBON FLORIDA | MIAMI, FL | $5,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| WUSF | TAMPA, FL | $2,500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| GIFT OF LIFE LONG ISLAND | PATCHOGUE, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA GARDENING CLUB INC | SARASOTA, FL | $1,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| NEW YORK UNIVERSITY | NEW YORK, NY | $1,000 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| DONORSCHOOSEORG | NEW YORK, NY | $590 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA AUDUBON SOCIETY | SARASOTA, FL | $514 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| WATER QUALITY FORUM WATERFEST | KNOXVILLE, TN | $500 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| BELLPORT GARDEN CLUB | BELLPORT, NY | $250 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| INATURALIST | SAN RAFAEL, CA | $125 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| AMERICIAN BIRDING SOCIETY | COLORADO SPRINGS, CO | $100 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION INC | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $26 | 2026 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| STONY BROOK FOUNDATION | STONY BROOK, NY | $2,300,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SARASOTA | SARASOTA, FL | $1,000,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| VISIBLE MEN ACADEMY | BRADENTON, FL | $500,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE | SNOWMASS, CO | $250,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL FLORIDA | SARASOTA, NY | $200,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA | SARASOTA, FL | $150,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| SARASOTA ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION | SARASOTA, FL | $135,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| LONG ISLAND CARES | HAUPPAUGE, NY | $120,393 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| VALLEY SETTLEMENT PROJECT | CARBONDALE, CO | $100,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| BAYPORT BLUE POINT SCHOOL DISTRICT | BAYPORT, NY | $100,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| FORTY CARROTS | SARASOTA, FL | $100,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
| AMERICAN RED CROSS | TAMPA, FL | $75,000 | 2025 | CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION |
MOTE MARINE
$2,000,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA ORCHESTRA
$800,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
LITERACY OUTREACH OF GARFIELD COUNTY
$230,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF BELLPORT
$150,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
$115,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA
$100,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA OPERA
$100,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
AMERICAN RED CROSS
$50,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
BAYPORT BLUE POINT SCHOOL DISTRICT
$45,366CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
THE HERMITAGE
$40,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
$25,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
VIA NOVA CHORALE
$20,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
FRIENDS OF BELLPORT BAY
$10,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
RINGLING MUSEUM FOUNDATION
$10,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA ART MUSEUM
$10,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
POST MORROW FOUNDATION
$5,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SOUTH COUNTRY CONCERTS
$5,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
AUDUBON FLORIDA
$5,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
GIFT OF LIFE LONG ISLAND
$1,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA GARDENING CLUB INC
$1,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
DONORSCHOOSEORG
$590CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA AUDUBON SOCIETY
$514CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
WATER QUALITY FORUM WATERFEST
$500CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
BELLPORT GARDEN CLUB
$250CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
AMERICIAN BIRDING SOCIETY
$100CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF SARASOTA
$1,000,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF SARASOTA
$150,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
SARASOTA ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
$135,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
BAYPORT BLUE POINT SCHOOL DISTRICT
$100,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION
AMERICAN RED CROSS
$75,000CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION