Nonprofits on Gulf Coast must merge

For the second time in less than two months, a nonprofit community organization in Venice will consider how it can help a troubled sister organization to the south.

In May, it was the South Sarasota County YMCA that absorbed the Fort Myers YMCA, which had struggled financially since 2007. The Fort Myers Y still maintains its own board, but the merger allowed it to survive and potentially expand under the bigger South Sarasota County Y in Venice.

Now, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida, with 500 children-clients in Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Hendry and Glades counties, seeks a lifeline. The national organization that oversees more than 350 Big Brothers Big Sisters shuttered the Southwest Florida chapter earlier this month. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida officials couldn't be reached for comment.

The closest Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Sun Coast chapter in Venice, might be the best hope to save the Southwest Florida operation.

Sun Coast president and CEO Joy Mahler, though, tells Coffee Talk that the organization needs to “do the who, how, where and when,” to see if a merger makes sense. Sun Coast officials have begun a feasibility study to look at the pros and cons of a partnership. That study could be completed later this summer.

The Sun Coast chapter serves six counties, including Manatee, Sarasota and west Charlotte County. The chapter's mission is to pair adult mentors, known as “Bigs” with children and teenagers, the “littles.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast, like many Gulf Coast nonprofits, has faced a difficult fundraising environment the last three years. And, just as donations have dropped, the recession-forced needs of clients and potential clients has grown, also like many other local nonprofits.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast spokeswoman Gina Taylor says the biggest change in fundraising has been the dynamic of who is giving how much.

“In the past we received a lot of dollars from a small amount of people,” says Taylor. “Now we receive smaller amounts of dollars but from more people.”