If you are a relative or friend of a high school student, please help us spread good news that it is not too late for new graduates to apply for funding that can help them realize their dreams for after high school.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an essential form that every graduating student must submit to determine their eligibility to receive financial aid to fund their education after high school.

In addition to the Federal Pell Grant, other scholarship and grant programs rely on the FAFSA determination to guide award decisions.  

Encouraging students to complete the FAFSA is beneficial both for individuals and community economic vitality. As more local students submit the FAFSA, they receive more Pell Grant awards to help them complete education and training beyond high school. Data show that earnings increase significantly as the level of education rises. Trained, skilled workers qualify for higher-paying jobs, boosting their personal career advancement as well as contributing to a strong, resilient local workforce.         

Many people have read about or experienced firsthand the major changes made to FAFSA this year. The FAFSA Simplification Act changes, which the U.S. government mandated in 2020, were scheduled to be effective for the 2024-25 application year. 

The revamped FAFSA form is greatly simplified, but its rollout was hampered with glitches that delayed application completion and notification of eligibility to students. By the time FAFSA errors were fixed, some frustrated families had given up and students had delayed or shelved education pursuits, unsure if they could cover costs. 

Nationwide, FAFSA submissions from the Class of ’24 graduates were down significantly from the past year. At the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, we monitored the situation and prepared a local action plan shaped around our knowledge that:  

• Completing the FAFSA is a strong indication of a student’s likelihood of pursuing education after high school.
• Per the Florida College Access Network, 60% of Florida jobs will require a degree or credential by 2030, but only 45.6% of local residents aged 25-64 currently meet the criteria. 
• A thriving local economy depends on an educated, agile, and ready workforce, and completing the FAFSA opens pathways to needed degrees or credentials. 

Through the collective effort of community and education partners and with the support of donors, PLANit Sarasota, the alliance for education and career planning administered by the Education Foundation, is hosting FAFSA open house workshops in Sarasota County high schools, colleges, LaunchPad4U and at partner organizations. 

There still is time to submit a FAFSA and make a plan for this year. FAFSA open house workshops will continue through July, and students and families can work one-on-one with a FAFSA expert. 

Please help us spread the good news to the Class of ’24 high school graduates. A schedule of July’s FAFSA Open Houses can be found at the Education Foundation’s website, edfoundationsrq.org.

Jennifer Vigne is president and CEO of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Graphic courtesy Education Foundation

Aside from vibrant fireworks displays, the Fourth of July holiday provides the time to reflect on our nation’s many virtues. As Americans, we are bound by shared values, including the ideal that the youngest among us should have the benefit of a strong foundation upon which to build the skills that can achieve their potential.

We are fortunate to live in an area that’s home to several nonprofit organizations that provide critical support services to youth, especially during the summer months. For years, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties have offered affordable summer programs for youth, which are free to families whose income qualifies them. Programs at the Clubs run daily, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and two meals are served each day to youth who attend. 

This year, the Lee Wetherington Club is piloting a staffing enhancement model that propels the program forward. With the addition of an enrichment director, academics director and wellness director, the Club will provide wraparound services that will help youngsters develop critical personal and academic habits. 

The new model addresses physical and mental wellness, enabling youth to build emotional resilience, a critical need in a time when nearly half of all middle- and high school students in Sarasota County report feeling “sad or depressed on most days.”  The academic piece will involve deeper collaboration with local schools and other partners, building a strong support network for students’ academic success at a time when academic performance, as assessed through standardized testing, is steadily declining in the county.  

These enhancements rely heavily on collaboration, showcasing the strength that comes when people work together for a common cause. Through these enhancements, the Clubs are transformed from being safe, dependable childcare for working parents, to being a destination that truly empowers youth, building a strong trajectory that can lead to positive outcomes down the road. The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is proud to sponsor this innovative initiative, which helps youth and families in our area.

This type of programming, and the unique, invaluable support it offers our neighbors, is one example of the strengths of our nonprofit community, according to findings from the Community Foundation’s recently published State of the Nonprofit Sector Report. Using data from The Giving Partner, an online database of nearly 750 nonprofit organizations serving Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, the report analyzes several indicators of nonprofit well-being, capacity and ability to respond to the ever-changing needs of the community. 

In the final analysis, the report finds that our area’s nonprofits, with an array of organizations serving an astonishing number of causes, provide a vital pillar for our community, helping to create and safeguard the values we hold most dear. These values—which amount to building a strong community, now and in the future—are a reminder, as we celebrate our nation, of the principles that unite us.

Roxie Jerde is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Photo courtesy Pixabay.