About Patterson Foundation
The Patterson Foundation concentrates its giving locally in Sarasota County, directing very large, repeat gifts to community philanthropy infrastructure and civic placemaking. Most funding supports the Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s fundraising and donor-advised initiatives (seasonal relief, giving challenges, and designated funds) and major capital/advocacy support for regional park and waterfront development. The foundation appears to prioritize enabling local collective giving mechanisms and transformational public-space projects rather than a broad set of small programmatic grants.
Focus Areas
Strengthening local community philanthropy and donor-advised funds (Community Foundation of Sarasota County initiatives, Giving Challenge, Pay It Forward Fund)Major fundraising and capacity-building for regional civic campaignsPublic park and waterfront development/placemaking (Bay Park Conservancy)
Who They Fund
children / early learners (grade-level reading focus)disaster-affected communities (regional: Suncoast, Atlantic, Turkey & Syria, Israel/Gaza, US tornado regions)nonprofit organizations and national partners
About Patterson Foundation
The Patterson Foundation’s giving is built around a small set of large, repeat commitments in Sarasota County, especially to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Bay Park Conservancy Inc. In 2025, the largest grant in the recent record was $9,016,750 to the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, directed to Nurture Fund, Season of Sharing, The Giving Challenge 2024, Pay It Forward Fund, and the TPF Donor Advised Fund. Another 2025 grant of $5,375,564 to the same organization supported Nurture Fund, the Suncoast Disaster Recovery Fund, Season of Sharing, Pay It Forward Fund, the TPF Donor Advised Fund, and the Roxanne G. Jerde Leadership Fund. That pattern points to a funder that backs local philanthropy infrastructure, emergency-response funds, and civic campaigns rather than a long tail of small project grants. The Bay Park Conservancy Inc. received $2,000,000 in 2025 after prior grants of $1,000,000 in 2023 and $1,000,000 in 2025, all for Propelling Positive Momentum in Fundraising Effort. The foundation also supports disaster recovery, grade-level reading, digital access, and catalytic funder networks through grants to organizations such as Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Foundations Inc.
What Patterson Foundation Funds
A clear theme in The Patterson Foundation’s grantmaking is community philanthropy infrastructure. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County appears repeatedly as a central partner, with funding tied to Nurture Fund, Season of Sharing, The Giving Challenge 2024, Pay It Forward Fund, and the TPF Donor Advised Fund. Another strand is civic campaign support: The Bay Park Conservancy Inc. received multiple seven-figure grants for Propelling Positive Momentum in Fundraising Effort. Education-related work shows up through the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading. The Patterson Foundation awarded $250,000 in 2023 and $200,000 in 2025 to Foundations Inc for that campaign. It also supported school-system capacity for the campaign: the School Board of Sarasota County received $186,020 in 2023 for database engineer coordinator, systems programmer III, and experiential learning and early learning EdExploresRQ, while the School Board of Charlotte County FL received $162,195 in 2025 for a data management coordinator. Disaster and recovery work includes support for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy for Atlantic hurricane recovery, Turkey & Syria earthquake recovery, US tornadoes recovery, Israel and Gaza relief and recovery, and related national partner funding.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$8.9M
Total Assets
$303.9M
Total Revenue
$16.6M
Total Expenses
$16.9M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $58K and $406K, with a median of $125K.
25th Percentile
$58K
Median
$125K
75th Percentile
$406K
Geographic Reach
Regional6 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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