About Woman's Exchange Inc of Sarasota
Woman's Exchange Inc of Sarasota combines arts funding with a long-running local retail model: the foundation provides financial support through the proceeds of a consignment business. Its giving centers on Sarasota and Manatee counties, with grants to visual and performing arts organizations, arts education programs, and students pursuing higher education in the arts.
Recent grants show a consistent pattern of backing established local institutions alongside student support. In 2025, the foundation awarded $94,926 to Pines of Sarasota Inc in Sarasota, its largest recent grant on file. It also made repeated awards of $50,000 to Asolo Theatre Inc across 2023, 2024, and 2025, indicating a sustained relationship rather than a one-time award.
The grant portfolio includes both operating-style support and program-specific awards. Community arts organizations, performance venues, and colleges appear alongside scholarship and education grantees. The foundation’s active programs include Student Scholarships, Program Grants, and Elizabeth Lindsay Arts in Education Grants, all focused on Sarasota and Manatee counties. This places the funder squarely in local arts and arts-education philanthropy, with a mix of institutional support and direct aid for students.
What Woman's Exchange Inc of Sarasota Funds
In performing arts, the foundation supported Sarasota-based organizations such as Sarasota Orchestra, which received $35,000 in 2023, and Florida Studio Theatre Inc., which received $33,000 in 2024 and $30,000 in 2025. It also funded West Coast Black Theatre Troupe with $33,000 in 2024 and $30,000 in 2025.
For visual arts and arts training, Ringling College of Art and Design received $30,000 in 2025 after earlier awards of $25,000 in both 2023 and 2024. That pattern suggests continuing support for arts study in the region.
Arts access and presentation also appear in the grant list. Sarasota Performing Arts Center Fdn received $50,000 in 2023 and $25,000 in 2025, while Van Wezel Foundation Inc received $30,000 in 2024. These grants sit alongside education-focused support for K-12 schools through the foundation’s arts-in-education program.
How Woman's Exchange Inc of Sarasota Gives
Typical grant size clusters around the middle of the distribution: p25 is $10,000, median is $20,000, and p75 is $30,000. The recent list also includes larger awards above that range, including $50,000 and a $94,926 grant. The same recipients appear across multiple years, including Asolo Theatre Inc, Pines of Sarasota Inc, Sarasota Orchestra, Key Chorale, Florida Studio Theatre Inc, West Coast Black Theatre Troupe, Ringling College of Art and Design, and Sarasota Performing Arts Center Fdn. The foundation does not fund individuals; its active programs emphasize unsolicited applications for local arts grants and scholarships.