After $67 million in giving, Manatee Community Foundation launches new chapter

It’s a big moment for the Manatee Community Foundation.

In 27 years, the charity foundation in Bradenton has surpassed $67 million invested in the community through grants, scholarship funds and a diversity of local programs and partnerships.

The foundation has also bolstered a healthy network of nonprofits in Manatee County that provide all kinds of services — from essentials like emergency food, shelter and childcare to life-enriching education and art programs.

Now, the foundation is taking a step that leaders and founders say will allow it to boost its donors’ impact even further.

Since it began in 1998, Manatee Community Foundation (MCF) has existed under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. The partnership allowed the budding Manatee County charity to share resources and services with its older Sarasota counterpart, which was established in 1979.

But that changed on July 1, when MCF became a fully independent organization.

What does that mean? According to MCF CEO Veronica Thames, it will allow the charity to have an even bigger impact on Manatee County.

“We no longer must rely on any other organization to support us. It will allow us to be more nimble, responsive and effective in Manatee County,” Thames said.

The change will allow the foundation to accept larger charitable gifts, manage its own funds and handle all operations in-house, streamlining local giving efforts.

Bob “Buzz” Turner, retired Bradenton Herald publisher and chair of MCF’s board as it navigated the change, put it another way.

“It was time for us to go out on our own,” Turner said. “Sarasota had helped us a lot for 26 years, and it was time for us to quit sponging off the parents, if you will. So we moved out. Now we are in a growing stage.”

New board chair continues MCF family tradition

Another recent change at MCF will continue a family legacy as Dannie Sherill takes the lead as board chair. Sherill brings nearly two decades of nonprofit experience to the board, including several years working for the Sarasota County Community Foundation.

She’s also the daughter of one of MCF’s founders, retired local attorney Bob Blalock.

“There has been such amazing work in MCF history to get where we are at this point,” Sherill said. “We stand on amazingly big shoulders as we transition into an independent foundation.”

“It will allow us to solely focus on Manatee County’s needs, and give us the flexibility to respond to those needs,” Sherill added. “I feel like we’re in a spot to do really big things.”

Sherill succeeds Turner as chair. He will remain on the foundation’s board for one year in a supporting role. Turner described the passing of the MCF torch from one generation to the next as “poetic.”

“I think we’re going to see great things,” Turner said.

Thames says it’s a “full circle” moment that connects back to the reason the foundation was created.

“The coolest part of it all,” Thames said, “is that unlike any other foundations in this region, MCF was created from very grassroots efforts by drivers of our community. It was created by the people, for the people.”

How MCF began

When Dorothy “Dot” Ridings arrived in Bradenton in 1988 to start a new job as the publisher of the Bradenton Herald, she found “a wonderful town.”

But Ridings says she saw potential for Bradenton to be even better. She had just come from two terms as the president of the League of Women Voters of the United States and a career as a journalist in North Carolina and Kentucky, where she learned a few things about what makes a town thrive.

“I had done some reporting coverage of community foundations where I had lived,” Ridings said. “When I got to Bradenton, I found a wonderful town, a great job, a good newspaper ... but a lot of the people in the community weren’t really involved in making their community better. They didn’t recognize what they could do with this community. That seemed to me like a losing measure.”

To change that, Ridings used her newspaper connection to flag interest from the Knight Foundation in starting a new community foundation in Bradenton. The Knight Foundation was connected with Knight-Ridder, Inc., a media company that at the time owned newspapers in 26 cities, including the Bradenton Herald.

The Knight Foundation said yes, offering money and resources to foster the project. With that, Ridings put out a call to start a community foundation in 1993. Three local men eagerly rose to the challenge.

Funnily enough, they were all named Bob: Attorney Bob Blalock, accountant Bob Christopher and Bob Beall of Bealls department stores. Other founders included attorney Greg Porges and insurance businessman Stu Gregory.

“The three Bobs,” as MCF now affectionately calls them, helped Ridings form a steering committee and worked for several years to lay the groundwork for a new community foundation, with guidance from the Knight Foundation.

“They hired a consultant ... Eugene Struckhoff, who was considered the guru of community foundations at the time,” Blalock remembers, “and he came down and advised us how to start a foundation.”

MCF was officially incorporated in 1998 as part of the Sarasota County Community Foundation.

Next, they would face a $1 million challenge — in order to receive $300,000 in funding from the Knight Foundation, MCF had to raise its first $750,000 in endowment funds within three years.

To lead the charge, the founders hired Marilyn Howard as MCF’s first CEO.

“We had the double challenge of raising endowment for the community and raising operating funds to keep the lights on,” Howard said. “But that’s what we did. We had such a good core group of people helping us get launched.”

MCF easily beat the clock, raising the money in six months.

“We set out to get it going, and from there, we’ve had some really good leadership,” Blalock said.

By the time MCF became a reality, Ridings was no longer in Manatee County. Two years earlier, she had left the Bradenton Herald and her career in journalism for the opportunity to lead the Council on Foundations, an organization that supports the work of community foundations nationwide.

Now 85 and retired in Kentucky, Ridings remains humble about her role in launching MCF. But she doesn’t hold back her excitement that it’s still here.

“I love it,” Ridings said. “I couldn’t be any more proud that we’re part of something that was really meaningful for Bradenton and the whole area. It seemed to me that Bradenton was the ideal location for just such a happening. We really needed our own community foundation.”

‘Filling the gap’: How MCF helps the community

Community foundations act as expert guides for people who want to donate money that makes a difference where they live — connecting philanthropic givers with local causes that need funding.

For MCF, that comes in many forms, including college and trade school scholarships and grants for local programs that support arts, human services, education, animal welfare, the environment, civic engagement and health.

Then, there’s MCF’s role of boosting nonprofits.

The foundation has a mentor relationship with other local charities, helping them grow and thrive with education, networking opportunities and financial management. It can also help with direct financial support through grants and loans.

For example, MCF provides Program-Related Investments, or PRIs, a type of loan that can help nonprofits continue their work during budget shortfalls.

Dawn Sakes, executive director of local anti-human trafficking organization More Too Life, said MCF’s help came at a crucial time for the nonprofit.

“The PRI fund offered through the Manatee Community Foundation served as a critical lifeline,” Sakes said in an email, “enabling our organization to continue delivering trauma-responsive care, advocacy and essential support to children, youth and young adults impacted by human exploitation.” “We are deeply and eternally grateful for MCF’s investment in the well-being and healing of the most vulnerable in our community.”

Manatee Children’s Services, Inc., a nonprofit that works to prevent child abuse and provides emergency shelter and group homes for children, also recently benefited from one of the loans. In 2024, the organization was awarded grant money from Manatee County Government to renovate its emergency shelter, but needed gap funding.

“With a $150,000 PRI loan, we were able to move forward confidently, knowing we could meet the upfront expenses while awaiting reimbursement from the county,” said Krista Post, development director for Manatee Children’s Services, Inc., in an email.

Thames says the foundation’s role in supporting other local charities is more important than ever as “nonprofits are being hit hard” by cuts in state and federal grant funding. At the same time, reliance on the services nonprofits provide is spiking.

Thousands of additional households across Manatee County are slipping into financial hardship, Thames said, citing United Way Suncoast’s latest annual ALICE Report.

“As a foundation, we help by filling the gap and doing what nobody else can do,” Thames said. “We have a huge responsibility to lift up those nonprofits and invest in them.”

Additionally, there’s MCF’s role as a conversation starter.

The foundation regularly gets local leaders together to discuss and solve issues.

“If we just talk to each other, that has an even greater value than dollars,” Thames said. “That’s executing on the vision that Dot had.”

Looking back: MCF founders reflect on charity’s history

Gene Beckstein served on MCF’s board for 12 years, and he and his wife Anne are loyal donors. The foundation’s headquarters at 2820 Manatee Ave. W. is named after the couple.

The Becksteins, who founded and later sold an eye surgery equipment company, Visitec, in Sarasota, have spent their retirement getting involved in local philanthropy.

Gene Beckstein fondly recalls rallying MCF’s board to help with a fundraising push to finish construction of the Manatee Performing Arts Center, which had stalled close to completion.

“We put on a big promotion and raised over $400,000,” Beckstein said.

Recently, the Becksteins have also supported the construction of the new Mote Marine aquarium in Sarasota through their charitable fund at MCF.

Beckstein praised the willingness of Manatee County residents and business owners to get involved in making their community better.

“Bradenton is very tuned in,” Beckstein said.

Blalock said that MCF also has strong partnerships with other local charities to thank for its success, including the Bishop-Parker Foundation in Bradenton and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

“There was a time when the organizations in Sarasota and Manatee did not work together as well as they do now,” Blalock said. “It’s so good to see what the two communities, when they put their minds together, can do for the good of all.”

According to Turner, another piece of the magic that has made MCF thrive is strong leadership.

“We’ve had three really good leaders over the years,” Turner said. “Beginning with Marilyn Howard, who was in on the ground level and helped Dot and the Bobs craft a deal with the Sarasota County Community Foundation.”

One of Howard’s challenges was to keep building up the new foundation’s giving power, donor by donor.

Howard remembers MCF’s largest early donor, Lawrence Ruf, gave a gift with an unusual caveat.

“He had an organization for every letter of the alphabet, so we gave out 26 grants every year from his fund,” Howard said. “That’s the beauty of a community foundation. You can support any cause, charity or interest that you have.”

Under Howard’s leadership, MCF also launched its Spirit of Manatee Awards in 2006, which has become an annual celebration honoring local philanthropists and volunteers of all ages and backgrounds.

“We needed to have something that recognized all the wonderful people that do so much in Manatee County,” Howard said. “I’m so pleased it took hold.”

Next was Susie Bowie, who served as MCF’s executive director from 2016 to 2023.

Bowie says the opening of the foundation’s new headquarters in 2016 was a game-changer, allowing MCF to become a community gathering place.

Other proud moments for Bowie include launching a new community partnership to address child welfare, helping local nonprofits weather the coronavirus pandemic and working to make the foundation’s giving efforts more diverse and reflective of the community.

MCF worked with Lillian Elliott, a local consultant and director of operations for the Women’s Resource Center, to get in better touch with the everyday struggles of locals.

“It’s about making sure that we’re going directly to people to find out what their experience is like living in Manatee County,” Bowie said. “How can we use that to shape all of the decisions that we’re making, whether its about grants or scholarships or the issues that we convene people around? The end goal is making sure that everyone feels like the community foundation represents them.”

When Bowie left in 2023 to become CEO of the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation’s Board of Directors in Sarasota, Turner helped lead the search for a new executive director at MCF.

They found Thames, who brought years of experience in leadership at the nearby Gulf Coast Community Foundation and a passion for taking MCF into its next chapter.

“I see a very bright future for us with Veronica,” Turner said.

Looking forward: MCF leaders share vision for charity’s future

“Today we’re experiencing unprecedented growth and change at the same time as funding cuts from the state and federal level. As a community foundation, it’s important that we grow to support the very growth of our community,” Thames said.

Some of MCF’s latest initiatives are aimed at addressing problems for local families, such as shortages in childcare and early learning programs, and helping overlooked groups, like youth aging out of foster care without a support system.

After last year’s brutal hurricane season, MCF also led the creation of a Community Organizations Active in Disasters network — a partnership with Manatee County Government and other nonprofits to better respond in times of crisis.

Thames says there are a lot of people that want to make a difference in the community, but might not know where to start. That’s where the foundation comes in, helping to connect residents with a program or nonprofit that supports a cause they believe in.

No matter how dollars are donated, all of MCF’s work shares an overarching goal: to improve the quality of life in Manatee County.

And unlike some charities, community foundations are designed to be permanent, which allows them to invest donations and grow them while planning for the future.

Turner says donors don’t have to give a fortune to make a difference, with a minimum donation of $5,000 to open a Donor Advised Fund. And many of MCF’s programs accept donations of any amount.

“It’s a very low threshold for people that want to make donations,” Turner said.

The Manatee County Commission recently recognized the organization’s impact by naming July 1 Manatee Community Foundation Day.

Learn more about the foundation and its programs at ManateeCF.org.

This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 5:50 AM.