Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/116876
Sarasota News Leader March 22, 2013 Page 62 In addition to online donations, the participating nonprofits ��� all of whom have profiles in The Giving Partner, an online tool which helps enable donors to make more informed decisions about their giving ��� were going for their share of $430,000 in 1:1 matching support for new and increased gifts over the last Challenge, and $215,000 in grant incentives and special prizes. An event such as the Challenge, with such wide exposure, ���serves as a powerful donor cultivation tool,��� the release notes. ���And with a $25 minimum gift, anybody can be a philanthropist to any cause that touches their heart,��� it adds. ���With the total number of gifts climbing from 10,700 in 2012 to more than 17,600 this year, we know new donors played a big role in the success of the 36-Hour Giving Challenge,��� said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation, in the release. ���Imagine the connecting possibilities ahead as the or- (From left) Linda Desmarais, general manager of SNN Local News, and Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation, during the 36-Hour Giving Challenge closing party. Contributed photo ganizations thank these generous individuals. No doubt both donors and organizations will find ways to stay engaged in these missions that make our region vibrant,��� she added. ANNUAL EAT LOCAL WEEK RUNS MARCH 22-29 Greater Sarasota���s Eat Local Week, an annual celebration of the best of local food and farming, will take place March 22-29 at various locations throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. Headlining this year���s festivities will be Woody Tasch, founder and chairman of the national nonprofit organization Slow Money, whose mission is to spur investment in local food systems, a news release says. Since its inception four years ago, 17 local chapters have been established and more than $21 million has been invested into 180 small food enterprises nationwide, the release notes. The members of the lead organizer of Eat Local Week, Transition Sarasota, say they hope Slow Money will take root in Southwest Florida, according to the release. ���Slow Money may just prove to be the missing link between consumers who are demanding more local food and the entrepreneurs who hope to provide it,��� said Transition Sarasota Executive Director Don Hall in the release. Tasch will present the keynote lecture titled, Slow Money: Investing as If Food, Farms, and Fertility Matter, at the Ringling College of Art and Design���s Academic Center Auditorium on Saturday, March 22; he will provide a