Photo: The SYC Cares Committee & The Community Foundation of Sarasota County at a strategy meeting last week at Sarasota Yacht Club

Making waves and spreading positive impact from sea to land, The Sarasota Yacht Club recently partnered with The Community Foundation of Sarasota County to create a charitable arm of their membership called SYC Cares. This newly established initiative is just under a year old and helming a strong mission to position Sarasota Yacht Club as a positive community entity and resource to local nonprofits. SYC Cares was formed because the Board, including Membership Director Stephania Feltz and Commodore Jane Hutchins, believe their members want to be doing even more and giving back even more. The Distinguished Elite Club has been locally involved since its inception and is recognized as having the most engaged membership in Sarasota, but by heading down this philanthropic route, they’ll be able to infuse more than $100,000 back into the community each year through their collective giving in collaboration with the Community Foundation.

Additionally, it is providing yet another incentive for members to join together and make their membership matter. By uniting together for a greater good, the opportunity then arises, to build deeper bonds with fellow members and create an even stronger impact. They even share members’ philanthropic passions via the ‘Why I Give’ profile series in its monthly publication of Spars & Tacks. With over 700 memberships at the club, SYC Cares continues to focus on creating meaningful involvement and connecting members with each other and the community through education sessions, tour opportunities, strategic grant making and volunteering.

SYC proudly selected the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota County as their first partner—believing that the Boys & Girls Club inspires its young members through quality educational programming to instill the same level of commitment to community. In April, SYC Cares hosted its inaugural Caring & Sharing event, where a portion of the proceeds benefited the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota County. The event welcomed more than 150 of their members and featured a cocktail hour, a silent auction, port wine raffle and a live auction. In May, SYC members presented to the Boys & Girls Club a $15,322 check raised from the event to fund the Technology Station and Wall Mural in the agency’s new, state-of-the-art space for teens. This is just one of the many democratic philanthropy work they’ve managed to accomplish in a year’s time. With an exciting growth continuing to procure internally amongst members, SYC Cares has been able to reach more nonprofits with greater bandwidth. "We are incredibly proud and energized by what we have achieved so far, and it is only the beginning!" says Co-Chair Kimberly Bleach. All aboard the caring and sharing vessel—SYC Cares is going the distance and anchoring at broader horizons. 

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is proud to partner with SRQ Media Group to highlight stories about community impact powered by philanthropy in our region, thanks to the support of donors and our local nonprofit partners. The Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. 

Photo: The SYC Cares Committee & The Community Foundation of Sarasota County at a strategy meeting last week at Sarasota Yacht Club

SYC Cares