Attending this year’s graduation ceremonies throughout Sarasota County was especially exciting to me, as I too walked across a graduation stage to receive my doctorate degree. Not long ago, that goal seemed unattainable to me, and yet here I am today working with high school students to develop their own plans after graduation.

That plan could include college, trade school, advanced certifications, or starting a career. But even with the best intentions, some students face unexpected barriers—financial setbacks, academic struggles, or personal challenges—that cause them to “stop out.” These students often fall through the cracks. With the right support, though, they can re-engage and move forward.

I know this firsthand. As a first-generation college student, I was trying to figure it out on my own. Fortunately, I transitioned to Florida State University through a summer bridge initiative called the CARE Program. There, I learned key college survival skills, discovered helpful campus resources, and built lasting friendships.

To support local students who’ve paused their education, are unsure of their next steps, or are simply eager to get ahead, we launched the Future-Ready Summer Bridge Program with the support of PLANit Sarasota partners such as Suncoast Technical College, the University of South Florida, and CareerSource Suncoast.

This four-day program served rising juniors, rising seniors, and recent graduates of Sarasota County Schools. Through hands-on sessions and guest speakers, participants built essential life and academic skills. They explored topics like financial aid, budgeting, résumé writing, and more—with small-group coaching to provide personalized guidance.

Riaz Hakim, a recent graduate from North Port High School, participated in the Summer Bridge Program and found the experience and information helpful.

“The Bridge Program has been a humble, welcoming experience for me,” Hakim said. “The amount of time they put in to fully inform us of coming college programs and future job hunting has given me more motivation to press forward. Truthfully, a wonderful experience that has challenged me out of my comfort zone.”

We know bridge programs work—and recent research supports this. As highlighted in Jennifer Johnston’s recent SRQ Daily Perspectives article, summer bridge programs make a measurable difference. From my own college experience and the broader research on higher education retention, I’ve seen just how powerful these programs can be.

Director of Student Programs Dr. Anayah Walker is a staff member at the Education Foundation of Sarasota County. 

Pictured: Left to right: Dr. Anayah Walker and Shandrea Williams at a tour of FGCU. Williams, a Future-Ready Scholar and recent graduate of Booker High School, will attend Florida International University in the fall. Provided photo.

The goal of every nonprofit, regardless of mission, is to benefit the public. Whether by preserving natural land, bringing cultural opportunities to the area or guiding children, families and seniors in need to resources like food, legal aid and health care, hundreds of local nonprofits work to better our community in ways both big and small. But regardless of a nonprofit’s size, the most important decision it needs to make is finding the right people to deliver on its purpose.

That’s not always easy. We know that employee turnover in the nonprofit sector is higher than in other industries—roughly 19 percent compared to 12 percent—and that can make it challenging for nonprofits to accomplish their goals. When nonprofits can more effectively attract and retain talent, their teams can devote more of their time to helping others and fulfilling their missions.

Like all businesses, nonprofits invest in their professional staff, recognizing that in addition to identifying people with passion for a cause, they must retain skilled employees so that their organizations can remain sustainable. So how do nonprofits take care of their people? Strong boards and executive leaders examining their organizations’ operations have a lot to consider when it comes to salaries, benefits and culture.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s long-running Nonprofit Compensation & Benefits report brings together self-reported data from 111 nonprofits from across Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto counties, and was recently updated with responses collected in the spring. In gathering and presenting this detailed information about nonprofits’ hiring and employment retention strategies, we aim to help all nonprofits set benchmarks for and evaluate their own policies and practices.

What’s in the Report

The report—which is a free resource on the Community Foundation website and available to anyone who finds it useful—contains detailed salary information for more than 100 different nonprofit positions. The data is further broken down by county, budget, staff size and sector. It also includes information about medical, dental and vision insurance plans, life and disability benefits, retirement plans and additional perks like tuition reimbursement, hybrid work policies and more.

In addition to helping nonprofits better understand what they need to offer to attract and—importantly—retain professional staff, the report also provides a peek behind the curtain at how nonprofits determine raises from year to year. For example, organizations that consider merit, cost of living changes and an employee’s longevity award an average annual salary increase of 9.3 percent, compared to just 2.8 percent for organizations that base raises strictly on merit or performance. Overall, 80 percent of survey respondents this spring said they plan on raises ranging from 3 to 5 percent in the year ahead.

Why It Matters

The Community Foundation has been tracking compensation at nonprofits for nearly two decades, and the data has helped us and our partners better understand the complexities of how nonprofits operate and the challenges they face. Along with The Giving Partner (our publicly available nonprofit database) and our Community Indicators Dashboard (which provides granular details about how our region is faring in dozens of different categories), the Nonprofit Compensation & Benefits report helps nonprofit board members and executives make better-informed decisions about staffing and resources, freeing them from having to collect such data themselves and allowing them to focus on their core mission.

Mischa Kirby, APR, is Vice President, Strategy & Communications, for the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. 

To download a copy of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s 2025 Nonprofit Compensation & Benefits report, click here.