Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, 1515 S. Osprey Ave., Suite B4 Sarasota. 941-917-1286, https://www.smhf.org

In the July/August 2022 edition of SRQ Magazine, we interviewed Mason Ayres, President of Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation as part of our In Conversation feature about nonprofit leaders. Below is an excerpt published in the magazine in which Ayres his insights with SRQ readers on community growth and changes.

We are a community that's bursting at the seams at the moment. There are a tremendous number of new residents every day. How does that affect your organization, both in the pressures involved and the benefits to the system from having new people coming?

I think the hospital definitely has seen and has anticipated to some extent the growth that's going on in our community overall. And that's what's pushing them to continue to expand services for the community as it relates to how people can benefit. It's kind of interesting in our role from the philanthropy side. It really gives the community an opportunity to step in and help the hospital continue to expand out its services. They can play a very important and critical role in that growth. And we have seen that from the healthcare foundation's standpoint, that the community has continued to step in and help support the hospital as they expand their vision. So it's really a unique time right now for those that are philanthropically minded and have healthcare as an interest that they can kind of work alongside the hospital as it grows.

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation, 1515 S. Osprey Ave., Suite B4 Sarasota. 941-917-1286, https://www.smhf.org

To read the full article, click here.