The SCF Venice campus is entering an exciting new chapter of growth, creativity, and community connection. Enrollment continues to rise, new programs are gaining momentum, and plans are moving forward for a new permanent Collegiate School building.

This fall, SCF Venice welcomed 150 Collegiate School students who are now fully dually enrolled, earning college credit while completing their high school diplomas. Another 190 dual enrolled students represent Venice High, North Port High, Lemon Bay High, area private schools, homeschool programs across Sarasota and Manatee, as well as students pursuing personalized education plans.

While the numbers reflect growing demand, what truly energizes the campus is how students engage both inside and outside the classroom. Earlier this fall, students participated in #GetHired, a career-focused event featuring community professionals who shared insights on personal branding and professional development. In October, a new Internship series will help students prepare for real-world experiences through workshops on resumes, interviews, and workplace readiness.

Campus life at SCF Venice continues to flourish. Clubs and organizations are developing leadership, service, and teamwork skills through fundraisers, volunteer projects, and cultural events. A student favorite, Pizza with the President, gives participants the chance to talk directly with college leadership in a relaxed, conversational setting that encourages open dialogue and new ideas.

Across academic disciplines, SCF Venice faculty are creating innovative, hands-on learning opportunities. In Dr. Andy Swanson’s biology course, students are working on a research project with the Florida Department of Transportation, analyzing wildlife movement through a passageway under River Road. The data they collect will help identify trends in how animals use the corridor, connecting classroom learning with real-world environmental research.

The STEM.Med student organization, guided by Dr. David Ekrut, now includes members from SCF’s Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton campuses, with students meeting virtually to explore clinical trials and emerging medical research. In the Graphic Design program, led by Professor Jeff Darwin, students gain access to industry-standard software and local internship experiences that help them transition seamlessly into creative careers.

Mathematics professor Robyn Scalzo brings financial literacy to life in her Math in Context course, where students complete a project on purchasing a car. They compare dream cars and practical options, calculate loan payments, and determine what fits within their future budgets. Several students have even used what they learned to make real-life purchases, proving that math skills have immediate, lasting value.

The arts are thriving as well. Under the direction of Dr. Doug Ford, Arts & Letters Day will return on November 10 with gothic literature adaptations, student posters, and poetry readings. A new display case in Building 600 now highlights faculty publications, celebrating SCF’s scholars and showing students that learning and creativity never stop.

Community support remains essential. The SCF Foundation’s Evening Under the Stars: Motown Magic is slated for April 11, 2026, at the campus, with proceeds benefiting scholarships, academic programs, and student success. It is one more example of how the region rallies around students and their futures.

SCF Venice continues to grow as a place where education, community, and innovation intersect. From expanding enrollment to new research and creative initiatives, the campus remains dedicated to empowering students to succeed and inspiring the next generation of local leaders.

For more information, visit SCF.edu.

Tommy Gregory, J.D., is the President of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. 

Provided photo.

Over the next three years, local government budgets will face unprecedented scrutiny as new fiscal pressures force elected officials to embrace rigorous oversight. Across Florida's Suncoast, these challenges stem from multiple sources: hurricane damage, decelerating property value growth, inadequate infrastructure investment, poor capital planning, and state-level initiatives including Florida DOGE and a probable 2026 constitutional amendment reducing property tax collections. While these pressures threaten fiscal stability, they also present a critical opportunity to correct processes that have deteriorated during years of automatic revenue growth.

The fundamental issue facing local governments is not revenue but expenditure control and priority setting. When revenues rise automatically, elected bodies grow comfortable deferring to staff recommendations. This practice must end. Elected officials bear ultimate responsibility for fiscal stewardship, and they must begin questioning every line item that comes before them. The current environment demands that commissioners and council members become active architects of their budgets.

History demonstrates that meaningful expense reduction doesn’t have to compromise service quality. In 2017, county commissioners considered implementing a new public service tax. Staff advocated for the tax, and supportive commissioners justified it by noting that millage rates had remained the same for seventeen years. The Argus Foundation challenged this approach, urging expense control before new taxation, but the proposal advanced through the budget process until final budget hearings in September, when Hurricane Irma struck.

During the chaos of storm recovery, as many residents still lacked electricity, The Argus Foundation launched a paid social media campaign highlighting how the proposed utility taxes would increase costs for struggling households. Citizens flooded commissioners with protests, prompting a narrow vote against the tax despite staff warnings about service decreases. This decision created a roughly five-million-dollar budget gap that commissioners instructed staff to close through internal reductions without affecting taxpayer services.

Over subsequent months, the commission conducted genuine budget analysis on expenses, ultimately closing the gap entirely through expense cuts. Service levels remained unchanged. Today, county government cites this exercise as evidence of fiscal responsibility, though it required citizen pressure to initiate the process.

This precedent must guide the coming budget cycle, but with greater intensity and proactive leadership. Elected officials cannot wait for public outcry to exercise fiscal discipline. They must immediately assume full ownership of budget development, establishing organizational cultures of restraint and accountability. This means challenging assumptions, scrutinizing every proposed expenditure, and making difficult prioritization decisions that balance community needs against taxpayer capacity.

The budget pressures ahead are not temporary inconveniences but necessary corrections to years of lax oversight. Elected officials who embrace this moment as an opportunity for structural reform will emerge as genuine stewards of public resources. Those who resist will face increasingly frustrated constituencies demanding the accountability that good governance requires. The time for thoughtful, aggressive budget management is now.

Christine Robinson is the Executive Director of  The Argus Foundation. 

Philanthropy in our region has never been about limits. It’s about love for people, for place, and for the possibility of shaping a brighter future for all our neighbors. At Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast), that spirit lives at our core: we were founded on the principle of perpetuity, ensuring that every gift continues to strengthen our region for generations to come.

One of the most powerful ways to create lasting impact for the causes one cares about most is through designated endowed funds. These permanently restricted funds allow donors to provide annual support to specific organizations named by the donor — forever. Each year, Gulf Coast distributes a percentage of the fund’s investment growth to the organizations in the name of the donor. At the same time, the remaining principal continues to grow — ensuring lasting support for generations.

That growth is visible across our region. Last month, Gulf Coast distributed 388 grants totaling $3.7 million from 159 designated endowed funds – each one a reflection of the generosity and vision of the donor who established the fund. These grants range in size from under $100 to nearly $175,000, yet every dollar carries purpose. Together, they strengthen the nonprofits that make our community vibrant, creative, and compassionate.

Endowments aren’t just about numbers. They’re about lives changed and dreams realized. Among their many impacts, these funds help sustain essential services to our community – affordable housing for working families, expanding mental health resources across our region, and ensuring the care and protection of animals – all to help every member of our community thrive.

Every fund has its own story. Arne and Dorothy Iversen’s endowment supports 11 organizations, both local and national, ensuring that our most vulnerable neighbors continue to receive care and opportunity. The Evelyn E. Cerny Charitable Fund focuses on enriching arts and culture in Venice, providing ongoing support for the Venice Symphony and Friends of the Venice Public Library for generations to come. Through these funds, donors leave a lasting imprint on the causes they cherished – and on the community they loved.

What unites these donors – past and present – is a deep commitment to our community and the causes that strengthen it. Their legacies remind us that philanthropy is not only about giving; it’s about belonging. By creating an endowment at Gulf Coast, donors weave their values into the fabric of our community, ensuring that the causes they valued continue to thrive in the years and decades to come.

Gulf Coast has been carrying out the legacy of donors for decades, and we feel their presence in the good that unfolds daily as a result of their generosity. Their trust in Gulf Coast to steward their legacy is both humbling and motivating. It’s a promise we honor with care, diligence, and gratitude.

If you’re inspired to explore how your giving can last beyond your lifetime, our team is here to help you design a plan that reflects your passions and values. Together, we can make sure your generosity continues to make a difference — always.

Phillip P. Lanham is the President | CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation.  

Pictured: Dorothy Iversen with Lemon Bay High School Students who received scholarships from the Arne and Dorothy Iversen Scholarship Fund in 2011.

As the holiday season approaches, many of us are looking forward to gift exchanges and delicious meals shared with friends and loved ones. But while many will gather around tables filled with food, far too many of our neighbors will be facing empty plates.

Right here in our community, nearly 220,000 people need food. Hardworking families are struggling to afford rent, gas and groceries. More than half of our children depend on free or reduced-cost school meals for the nutrition they need to learn and grow. And now, devastating federal cuts to food and health programs are deepening the crisis — hitting those who were already struggling.

From January through August of this year, visits to our food distributions have increased 22% compared to the same period in 2024 — and that number is expected to climb as the full impact of federal cuts and rising costs sets in.

At All Faiths Food Bank, we know hunger doesn’t take a holiday. That’s why our ThankFULL campaign has become one of our most important efforts of the year — ensuring families in Sarasota and DeSoto counties can celebrate the season with dignity, hope and a hearty meal.

This year, with your help, our goal is to provide 14,500 turkeys with sides and 4.1 million holiday meals through our network of hundreds of partner agencies and mobile distributions. Large-scale turkey distributions will take place throughout November, with holiday meals continuing through December.

Every year when I volunteer at our turkey distributions, I see the same expressions — relief, gratitude and pure joy. Parents tell us how thankful they are to share a meal with their children without having to worry about what’s missing from the table. I look forward to these distributions each year, knowing that the joy of the holiday season will be felt in thousands of homes in our community, thanks to the generosity of all who contribute to the ThankFULL campaign.

Hunger is often hidden. It’s your neighbor, your delivery driver, your child’s teacher. But together, we can make a difference for our neighbors experiencing hunger. I invite everyone who can to be part of the solution this holiday season. Make a gift today at allfaithsfoodbank.org/thankfull.

For more information about All Faiths Food Bank and its food distributions, visit the “Food Finder” page at allfaithsfoodbank.org.

Nelle S. Miller is the President & CEO of All Faiths Food Bank.