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Community Foundation of Sarasota County
The Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council founded the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in 1979 to offer a permanent charitable structure for local...
Community Foundation of Sarasota County
The Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council founded the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in 1979 to offer a permanent charitable structure for local donors. Roxie Jerde has been President and CEO since 2011, overseeing growth to more than $544 million in assets (Altss estimate). Board Chair Paul G. Hudson, a Market Leader at Northern Trust, provides institutional investment governance alongside a board drawn from the region's professional and philanthropic leadership. The foundation pools donor-advised, designated, and endowment funds into a unified portfolio. Its investment strategy combines a fund-of-funds approach with mezzanine allocations, sourcing commitments through external managers. Positions include a stake in Makena Capital Splitter X, L.P., and the foundation accepts non-traditional assets through its cryptocurrency donation program. Geographic deployment concentrates in Sarasota and Manatee counties, with grants flowing to more than a hundred local nonprofits annually. The team operates from a single headquarters on Fruitville Road in Sarasota. Roxie Jerde is set to retire in June 2025, marking the end of a 14-year tenure. The foundation partners with The Patterson Foundation, which provides matching funds for the biennial Giving Challenge — a community-wide fundraising event that channels millions to local causes. Professional affiliations include the Florida Philanthropic Network and Philanthropy Southeast, connecting the institution to regional grantmaking peers. Where most community foundations follow a conservative, plain-vanilla allocation, Sarasota County layers a mezzanine sleeve onto its fund-of-funds base — a yield-oriented posture uncommon among its regional peers. That structure, combined with its cryptocurrency acceptance and partnership with The Patterson Foundation's matching architecture, creates a funding flywheel that amplifies donor contributions beyond standard grant cycles.
General information
Firm type
Endowment / Foundation
Year founded
1979
AUM
$489M
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Sarasota
Corporate office
2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237, United States
Principals
Roxie Jerde
President and CEO
Paul G. Hudson
Board Chair
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Community Foundation of Sarasota County?
Day-to-day management rests with President and CEO Roxie Jerde, who has held the role since 2011. Governance oversight comes from a board chaired by Paul G. Hudson, a Market Leader at Northern Trust. The foundation does not publicly disclose an internal CIO, suggesting investment strategy and manager selection may be executed through board committees or delegated via its fund-of-funds structure.
How does the foundation source its donor base and deal flow?
Donor sourcing is deeply local, built on relationships with estate planning professionals, including the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council that founded the entity in 1979. The foundation's cryptocurrency donation program provides a modern intake channel. Deal flow for its mezzanine and fund investments comes through external managers rather than in-house origination, consistent with its fund-of-funds posture.
Is the Community Foundation of Sarasota County a single-family office?
No. It is a public charity and community foundation that pools assets from hundreds of discrete donor-advised, designated, and endowment funds. This structure distinguishes it from single-family offices, which manage capital for one family, and from private foundations that often retain tighter donor control.
What is the foundation's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The foundation deploys through external managers, but a disclosed position in Makena Capital Splitter X, L.P. indicates it participates in commingled vehicles structured for institutional limited partners. There is no public evidence that it pursues direct co-investment rights or sidecar vehicles alongside its core fund commitments.
What is the relationship between the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Patterson Foundation?
The Patterson Foundation is a major strategic partner, not an affiliate or parent. It provides matching funds for the foundation's biennial Giving Challenge, which multiplies local donor contributions. The two organizations are legally separate, with The Patterson Foundation acting as an independent philanthropic entity.
How are the foundation's philanthropic distributions structured?
The foundation awards millions in grants and scholarships annually. Funding flows to nonprofits operating in education, health, the arts, animal welfare, and environmental causes across Sarasota and Manatee counties. The investment portfolio is structured to generate returns that sustain permanent endowments while providing annual liquidity for these distributions.
What is the leadership succession plan?
President and CEO Roxie Jerde announced in November 2023 that she will retire in June 2025, after a 14-year tenure. The foundation has not publicly named a successor, but the board, chaired by Paul G. Hudson, is managing the transition with more than a year of lead time.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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