SRQ Daily Columnist Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, which administers GulfCoastGives.org.

What do the Friends of Sarasota County Parks, the Coalition of City Neighborhood Associations and several major homebuilders have in common? What about the Sarasota Manatee Bicycle Club, the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County and hundreds of private citizens?

For one, they all chipped in to help fund a feasibility study to expand the Legacy Trail.

Right now, county staff is reviewing a draft of that study, which looks at extending the recreational trail from its current terminus in Palmer Ranch to the heart of downtown Sarasota. The eight-mile extension would effectively link nearly 30 miles of continuous, multi-use recreational trails in our community—from the Venetian Waterway Park in Venice through the existing Legacy Trail, all the way to Payne Park.

When the county first allocated funding for the study, commissioners challenged the private sector to raise half the funds that would be needed to complete it. Developer and philanthropist Jesse Biter and nonprofit group Friends of the Legacy Trail picked up that mantle. Comfortable with technology and transformative ideas, Biter thought of crowdfunding as a great way to facilitate donations and build community around the effort. And he turned to Gulf Coast Community Foundation to help tie it all together.

We posted the fundraising project on GulfCoastGives.org, and Biter, the Friends groups, and other champions kicked into outreach mode. Support has flowed in from all quarters—bike and triathlon clubs, real estate developers and economic boosters, and scores of local business people and community members. 

The online campaign didn’t replace real-world activities, though; it enhanced them. Friends of the Legacy Trail, for example, channeled proceeds from its annual Tour de Parks bicycle ride to the project. And Friends of Sarasota County Parks pooled direct donations it received and added them to the total. In the end, 144 “neighbors” are listed as donors on the fundraising page. But that represents literally hundreds more, when you consider how many were collective contributions.

County staff is due to report to the County Commission on the feasibility study next month. From there, a second phase of the analysis could proceed (funded in part by these citizen contributions), moving the project closer to reality.

The Legacy Trail connects our parks and our residents. Extending it would provide greater access for safe cycling and walking, link recreational trails throughout the county, and connect southern Sarasota County with downtown Sarasota amenities. How cool is it that a group of active citizens could leverage technology to coalesce people virtually in support of a project that will better connect us physically?

SRQ Daily Columnist Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation, which administers GulfCoastGives.org.