Transitions are all around us. In our organizations. In our communities. In the people who step forward to lead when circumstances change.

At Manatee Community Foundation, we are experiencing a leadership transition of our own. For nearly three decades, MCF has been shaped by leaders who believed in the power of philanthropy to strengthen our community and create lasting impact. Each generation has built upon what came before while preparing the organization and community for what comes next.

That is the nature of meaningful leadership. It is not about holding tightly to a particular role or moment. It is about stewarding something bigger than ourselves and making sure the work continues.

Perhaps that is also a useful lens as we approach the 2026 midterm election. Leadership does not happen only in boardrooms, nonprofit offices, or elected positions. It happens when we pay attention, ask questions, learn about the decisions before us, and consider how they may affect the people and organizations that make up our community.

Being an informed and engaged citizen is part of leadership.

This year, Florida voters will consider several constitutional amendments, including Amendment 3, which addresses homestead exemptions, non-homestead property assessments, and how certain property-tax revenue may be used. It is one example of why understanding what is being proposed - and considering how public policy may affect our communities - is an important part of responsible civic engagement.

We do not have to look far to find people creating opportunities for that engagement. The League of Women Voters of Manatee County is offering nonpartisan voter-education presentations on the constitutional amendments and Manatee County referendum, bringing information into local libraries and encouraging residents to learn before they vote.

The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) recently created another important space for civic learning. In partnership with the Florida Policy Institute, WRC brought together more than 75 community leaders from the nonprofit, philanthropy, business, and government sectors across Manatee and Sarasota counties to discuss potential funding and service implications.

These are examples of civic leadership at its best: taking the time to become informed, listening to perspectives different from our own, asking thoughtful questions, and considering the potential impact on our neighbors, communities, and organizations doing the work on the ground.

And then we participate.

For nonprofits, that engagement matters.

Nonprofits are often where community needs become visible first. They are feeding families, supporting children, caring for older adults, addressing homelessness, supporting mental health, advancing the arts, protecting animals, and creating opportunities for people to thrive. Much of that work depends on partnerships among nonprofits, philanthropy, businesses, volunteers, and government.

When one part of that system changes, the effects can ripple outward.

That is why civic engagement and philanthropy are connected. We cannot separate the work of building a stronger community from understanding the environment in which that work takes place.

Nonprofits need more than charitable dollars. They need advocates and community members who understand the issues affecting the people they serve. They need volunteers, donors, partners, and leaders willing to show up consistently - not only when a need becomes urgent, but while decisions are being made that shape the conditions in which their work happens.

How we show up for our most vulnerable neighbors is one of the clearest expressions of our collective leadership.

That does not mean everyone needs to become an expert in public policy. It means being willing to learn enough to understand what is at stake, engage respectfully, and recognize that our individual decisions can have broader community consequences.

That is leadership, too.

As MCF moves through this transition, I am reminded that our responsibility is not simply to carry forward what others have built. It is to be thoughtful stewards of the mission entrusted to us and to help create the conditions for the next chapter.

The same is true for our community.

Transitions give us an opportunity to pause, reflect on what matters and consider what we want to carry forward. They remind us that strong communities are not built by one leader, one organization, or one sector. They are built by people willing to show up, stay informed, invest in one another and take responsibility for the future we are creating together.

At MCF, our mission remains the same: We connect people and resources through strategic philanthropy, building a better Manatee—now and forever.

The leaders may change. The challenges may change. The opportunities may change.

But the work continues. And so does our responsibility to show up for it.

Yolanda Mancha is the Interim CEO  of the Manatee Community Foundation. 

Good data helps all of us better understand the story our economy is telling. For four consecutive months from May through August, Sarasota County has seen year-over-year increases in both visitation and visitor spending. In August alone, a total economic impact neared $145 million, close to $9 million more than 2025.

These metrics are encouraging news for the hundreds of businesses and more than 20,000 people whose livelihoods directly contribute to and are supported by our visitor economy. However, they also raise a natural question that locals are rightfully asking: what does this momentum mean for me heading into peak season?

While we do not have a crystal ball on hand in our office, fortunately, we have something far more practical: data and access to thought leaders to help translate it into action.

For decades, our tourism team at Visit Sarasota County has invested in research – thanks to funding approved annually by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners – using increasingly sophisticated tools that give a window into how visitors spend their time and money while here.

We believe this information only enriches decision making and should be readily available to businesses and residents just as much as our elected officials. Practicing what we preach, we publish reports weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually on VisitSarasotaCountyTransparency.com, accessible to anyone and everyone curious about how tourism is working for you.

Forecasting is not certainty, however. Our local numbers tell us when demand is growing, where gaps exist, and how travel patterns are changing, offering us clues to decipher where we may be going.

Yet often, there isn’t one trend or one market that tells the whole story, so understanding the full picture requires us to look beyond our own coast.

That’s why on November 19, we are bringing together some 200 business leaders and government representatives for our annual Indicators & Insights Summit at Art Ovation Hotel. We’ve invited leaders from VISIT FLORIDA, CoStar Group, and the Sports Events & Tourism Association, alongside our longtime research partners at Downs & St. Germain Research, to help put Sarasota County’s performance into context.

Together, these executive-level keynotes will examine the forces shaping travel at the local, state, and national levels and, top of mind for our community, consider what this spells for season.

Now in its third year, our Summit challenges usto look beyond the question of “how many more visitors can we attract?” to ask better questions. Questions like: How can our hospitality businesses prepare the workforce for changing demand? How do we remain competitive while preserving what made our destination unique in the first place? And how we can ensure tourism remains a quality-of-life multiplier?

Those questions require data just as much as they require people. In that spirit, our Summit will also recognize eight individuals and businesses through our Haley Hall of Fame Awards for exemplary contributions to our industry and community well-being. Our lips are sealed on who our finalists are, but I can share we received more than 140 nominations, each representing someone who makes Sarasota County a better place to live and visit. So, we hope you’ll join us for the insights and stay for the celebration.

What happens nationally affects Florida, what happens across Florida affects Sarasota County, and what we see locally can tell us a great deal about where the industry is heading. But no forecast can tell us precisely what the next season will bring. That’s the thing about good stewardship, though: it’s less about predicting every turn and more about paying attention to the signs, bringing more perspectives to the table, and preparing thoughtfully for what comes next. If you’d like a say and stake in that future, we’ll see you at Summit.

Erin Duggan is the President & CEO of Visit Sarasota County. 

Three recent graduates are back on the bayfront, this time recruiting the students who will follow them.

Ask a high school senior what they want to know about a college, and the answer is rarely in the brochure. They want to know what it is actually like. At New College of Florida, some of the people answering that question were students themselves not long ago.

Anna Lazzara, Lucy Duke and Dania Hefley have joined the New College admissions team as recruiters. They meet students at college fairs and high schools across Florida and beyond, and on campus they walk families through the place they called home.

On paper, the three have little in common. Lazzara grew up a few miles from campus and graduated from Sarasota High School. Duke came from Tallahassee and Leon High School, Florida’s oldest continually accredited high school. Hefley was born in Barcelona, Venezuela, and lived in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Houston, Texas, before graduating from QSI International School of Tbilisi in the country of Georgia. They studied humanities and museum studies, political science, and creative writing.

What they share is harder to fit in a brochure, and it is the reason they came back. Each of them found someone at New College who noticed them early, handed them real responsibility, and stayed with them.

Someone in Their Corner

Each can name the moment the college became personal. For Lazzara, it was Jim Pulos, Associate Director of Global Education. When she set her sights on studying abroad in Florence, Italy, Pulos helped her navigate scholarships, prepare for the experience and adjust to life overseas, and he kept checking in after she arrived.

“He was my biggest supporter,” she recalls. For a student who chose a college close to home, it was proof that a hometown education could open doors around the world.

Hefley saw the same care from the other side. After years of moving between cities and cultures, she found a creative community at New College, writing for The New College Review and Nullspace magazine and joining the Creative Writing Club. Then she worked as a resident advisor and teaching assistant for the Summer Scholars program and saw what usually stays out of view.

“During my time with the Summer Scholars program as an RA and TA, I began to see all the hard work that happens behind the scenes and how much people genuinely care about the students,” Hefley says. “It reminded me why I loved being at New College in the first place, and I realized I wanted to stay involved.”

Trusted Early

The other thread running through their stories is how early they were trusted. Lazzara served in the New College Student Association, interned with the New College Foundation and helped create Rooty, the college’s official mascot.

Duke played on the women’s soccer team, interned with the Office of Communications and Marketing, and represented her classmates at the Florida Capitol during New College of Florida Day. As a Presidential Ambassador and member of the President’s Inner Circle, she had a close view of how a college is led.

That kind of trust comes more easily at a small college, where students are known by name and expected to step up.

“Attending New College was one of the best decisions I have ever made,” Duke says. “Every day brought something new to learn, a new friend to meet, an unexpected path to consider, and an opportunity to seize. It is the kind of education and environment that every student deserves, and I am passionate about helping others discover everything this school makes possible.”

Coming Back

When the chance came to join admissions, none of them saw it as a detour. “This place gave so much to me in the way of skills, friendships, and connections,” Lazzara says. “I was thrilled about the opportunity to give back and introduce other students to this special place.”

What they bring to the job is evidence rather than talking points. When a high school junior asks what New College is really like, they can answer with a name, a semester, and an opportunity that was offered before they thought to ask for it.

For Sarasota, there is something fitting in it. The college that has sat on the bay since 1960 is now sending its own graduates out to find the next class, and inviting families to come see the campus for themselves.

The timing matters. It is application season, and for any student weighing New College, the best introduction is the one these three had: come to campus, ask questions, and talk to the people who lived it.

They arrived by different paths and left shaped by the same place. Now they are the ones welcoming the next generation of Banyans. Their journeys have come full circle.

Applications for fall 2027 are now open. Students and families interested in New College can learn more, schedule a campus visit or begin an application at ncf.edu.

Iz Demiroz is the Communications Coordinator at New College of Florida.

Picture left to right: Lucy, Anna and Dania. Photo courtesy of New College of Florida.