April 2026 News

BOARD CHAIR CORNER | Jeff Toale

Welcome to April and Spring!

Let’s Open the Door…and I want to begin with a question. The question is “What does a Community Foundation say to its potential donors?” You will find the answer at the end of the newsletter. Please read about the exciting events and activities, the Builders Give Back featured member, the Community Business Partner featured member, and our Grant Recipients. Then you can find the answer!

Get ready for an absolutely exciting and thrilling event hosted by the Foundation. In the Calendar, on May 8th, we will host our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament at the beautiful Calusa Country Club. Tee off for a cause and enjoy a fantastic day of golf, camaraderie, and community spirit. You may register for this event right now.

This month’s Special Feature is the Recognition and Refreshments event, which highlighted the 2025 Grant Recipients. These organizations are performing great work in our community. Please read about them and the event.

Our very own Executive Director, Kate Mulligan, was Out in the Community. She was featured in the recent SRQ Magazine. Please read the article and learn more about Kate and the Foundation.

The Board Walk will feature Lisa Lawler this month. Lisa serves on the Executive Committee as Secretary. Please take time to read about and get to know Lisa.

Our featured member of the Builders Give Back program is Taylor Morrison. The Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation welcomes Taylor Morrison to the Builders Give Back program. Please read about them and view their beautiful amenities and model homes.

The Community Business Partner is CASTO and CASTO Net Lease. Congratulations on their 100^th anniversary in 2026. Please read the article about this powerful combination!

Beyond the Spectrum, Stillpoint Mission, The Florida Center, and The Mark Wandall Foundation are our highlighted Grant Recipients. Please read what they were able to accomplish with the grants received from the Foundation. You will be overwhelmed!

Please consider how you will Open the Door… and become a donor with the Foundation and share your time, talents, and treasures.

Jeff Toale

Chair of the Board

Donate Now

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Come join us for all of our upcoming events and activities! Mark your calendar and purchase tickets as each event is limited. See you there!

LWRBA Lakewood Ranch Block Party

Friday, April 10, 2026

Golf Tournament at Calusa Country Club

Friday, May 8, 2026

The Soirée at the Ranch

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Events are posted on our website as details become available.

REFRESHMENTS & RECOGNITION EVENT

The Foundation hosted the annual Recognition and Refreshment Event at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing on the evening of March 5, 2026. The purpose of the event was to recognize and honor the 2025 Grant Recipients. The night was filled with wonderful conversations and introductions, and the highlight was hearing what each nonprofit organization was/had done with the grant received from the Foundation. They spoke from the heart about the achievements the grants enabled, and it was inspiring to hear about the major positive impact they had on our community. Please read the article published below by the East County Observer, which featured their time and talents in photographing and capturing the essence of the evening.

East County Observer

When Brenda Critchfield, the executive director of Avenue941, became part of one of the many nonprofits in Manatee County, she felt a sense of community. She said there is little competition as they are all working to make a difference. Critchfield loves to see each of them succeed in providing for people in need.

Avenue941 is a free, academically focused after-school program in Manatee County serving students in grades K-12. Helping such nonprofits reach their goals is the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation, which presented Avenue941 with a $5,000 grant during the Recognition and Refreshments event to honor 2025 grant recipients at Gold Coast Eagle Distributing on March 5.

The Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation gave $90,000 in grants to 22 nonprofits in 2025. “Every foundation should do this type of grant recipient ceremony to give the nonprofits the opportunity to share and express their gratitude for what the donors have done,” Critchfield said. “I love that they do this. This is the first time I’ve been invited by a foundation for something small and intimate like this, where we can get to know each other.”

Maribeth Phillips is the president and CEO of Meals on Wheels Plus of Manatee. She said the $2,000 grant received from the LWRCF is going toward a beautification project — mulching a garden bed and planting flowers — for the adult daycare program Daybreak in Lakewood Ranch.

Daybreak provides nutrition information, exercise, crafts, and games such as Bingo. Phillips said Daybreak is funded for 100 clients and is the only adult daycare in Manatee County. “It’s a wonderful program to give the caregiver a break, because these are clients who live at home, but they can’t stay home alone,” Phillips said. “As we take care of our senior clients, it is important that they feel and see the beautiful surroundings when they come to our daycare center. This grant is supporting us as a way to make (the center) look great and to cause happiness.”

Melissa Wandall is the president of the Mark Wandall Foundation, which provides support to grieving families who have lost a parent, sibling, or guardian. She has always said, “Children should not grieve alone ever in this life,” and is grateful for the support from the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation and the $7,500 grant.

“In Manatee County alone, one in 18 kids will have a parent or sibling die by the time that they are 18,” Wandall said. “You connect in power when you are a child in grief, and you know that you’re not isolated and you’re not alone. Everybody in the room has a parent or a sibling loss, and so it brings everybody together and empowers them to keep moving forward in life.”

The Wirth family — 14-year-old Jaxson, 10-year-old Addison, and their mother Jennifer — lost their father and husband, Don, in 2018. Because of the program, they have been able to connect with other families and attend Comfort Zone Camp. Jaxson has attended for 7 years, and Addison has attended for 2. “I do remember the first thing he (Jaxson) said when he came back home was, he can just walk into the camp and everybody just gets it,” Jennifer Wirth said. “You don’t have to explain.”

Kelly Gilliland, a member of the grants committee for LWRCF, said it is meaningful to hear from nonprofits about how the money is being spent. It makes it tangible and real. “I feel like this is the heart of our community — giving back and helping others and helping nonprofits,” Gilliland. “It’s such a meaningful part of life.”

“It’s wonderful to see so many friends in the nonprofit world here,” Phillips said. “They’re all doing good work and supporting those in need in our county. The Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation has transitioned to an important community resource.”

OUT IN THE COMMUNITY

SRQ Magazine – Living Lakewood Spring 2026

NOW IN ITS 26TH YEAR, THE LAKEWOOD RANCH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION WAS ESTABLISHED on the fundamental belief that a thriving community requires a mechanism to support its residents, cultivate culture and address evolving needs. The Foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life for people in the Lakewood Ranch area through local charitable giving. Recognizing that rapid expansion can sometimes overshadow certain community needs, the Foundation serves a vital channel, enabling residents and businesses to invest in meeting these needs—even those that are not immediately apparent.

Executive Director Kate Mulligan brings 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience. She has led the Foundation since 2024, shortly after it became an independent 501(c)(3) in 2023. Mulligan explains that the organization transitioned from operating under a separate Manatee Community Foundation to support its growth and better distinguish its mission. As Lakewood Ranch grew, she says, it became clear the community needed a standalone nonprofit focused exclusively on the needs of people in and around the region.

Mulligan has big plans for expanding the Foundation’s impact in the coming months. “We’re going to give $250,000 away this year, and that’s fantastic, but I want to be able to do more and I’ve been looking for ways that we can really help our nonprofits—not just the ones we give grants to,” she explains. “My new campaign for 2026 is going to be matching people who want to volunteer with nonprofits that need people.”

She says the most common request she hears comes from newcomers looking to volunteer, build connections and make a difference in their community. She also frequently learns of teenagers seeking community service hours to qualify for college scholarships. “I want Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation to be a one-stop shop for all,” she shares, noting that when people consider moving to the area and visit the Lakewood Ranch Information Center, they are introduced to the Foundation, which is a great way to increase involvement. “We’re really going to focus on our volunteer campaign, so hopefully, even before people move here, they’re going to contact the Foundation for opportunities.”

When selecting the nonprofits the Foundation supports, the Foundation first prioritizes organizations serving local people. They then evaluate the impact of the service, considering whether it makes a deep impact on a few people—such as the Mark Wandall Foundation’s camp scholarships for children who have lost a primary guardian—or a broader impact on many people, such as supporting Neuro Challenge’s new program in Lakewood Ranch.

In addition to monetary support, Mulligan seeks ways to connect nonprofits with other resources, such as raising awareness for donations like turkeys during the holiday season. “Thanksgiving seems like it’s a long way away, but we can be talking now about how we can offer support,” she says. “That’s different than just saying we’re going to write you a check. Let’s get the community together. Let’s give people opportunities to give back. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of people who want to help, but we have to get the word out.”

In speaking on disaster relief, Mulligan recalls that her early tenure at the Foundation was marked by the impact of hurricane damage. Demonstrating their ability to respond swiftly during a crisis, the Foundation, thanks to its committed and smaller board, quickly distributed $10,000 checks in October 2024 to three organizations that were in critical need of repairs.

Deeply committed to engaging the next generation of community leaders and philanthropists, Mulligan recently spoke to the Out-of-Door Academy’s Thunder Grants Committee about philanthropy, grant evaluation and pathways to future community and board involvement. The Foundation also sponsors a Junior Humanitarian of the Year award, awarding college scholarships to students.

In February, Tom Bergera, a student at Out-of-Door Academy, was named as a 2026 recipient. He was honored at the Polo with the Pros event on February 8 at the Sarasota Polo Club. Born in France and fluent in multiple disciplines, Bergera excels academically, musically, athletically and in theater. He is an active volunteer on and off campus and a dedicated community advocate who believes small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact.

In addition, Mulligan is working to identify local organizations—such as therapeutic horseback riding programs like SMART and STEP—that welcome high school students seeking to complete required volunteer hours through the Foundation’s volunteer match process.

To learn more, visit LWRCF.org.

THE BOARD WALK - LISA LAWLER

This month, we feature Lisa Lawler, an Executive Committee Member and the Foundation’s Secretary. She is also a Business Development Officer with Bank OZK in Lakewood Ranch. Please read about Lisa, as we know you will enjoy getting to know her.

I am the Business Development Officer for the Lakewood Ranch location of Bank OZK, where I get to meet with business clients and help them with all their business banking needs. What I love about what I do is that I get to meet all kinds of businesses, from startups to those that have been in business for years, and really help to guide them in their business needs, whether they bank with us or not. As a regional bank, we strive to give that “community bank” type of service. When you walk in, my team knows you by name and spends time talking with you about everything under the sun, and sometimes that includes banking. I have an amazing team that works for me, and I love going to work every day.

I grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other and helped each other. Lakewood Ranch gives me that same feeling, which is why I wanted to get involved with as many nonprofit organizations as I could, but with so many, it was hard to choose. With the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation, I get to be involved with so many. I feel proud to talk about the Foundation wherever I go, so they can hear my passion for non-profits and the great work we do.

My husband and I love living here in paradise. We love to spend time on the water, attending our local school sports, shopping, and eating at local businesses. Our son and his wife also live in Florida, just down the street from us, so we get to spend a lot of time together with them and their two dogs. Our daughter and her husband live in Minnesota and are expecting their first child (our first grandchild). We are all beyond excited for this blessed event.

If you are looking to get involved, this is a great place to start – that is what I did, and I have loved every minute of being a part of the LWRCF, starting on the Soiree at the Ranch event and grants committee, to becoming a board member and now serving as board secretary. I look forward to the upcoming year and the years to come, and to seeing how we can continue to grow our foundation and our community.

I know once you take a moment to learn about LWRCF, you too will not only open your heart but Open the Door… to donating and/or volunteering.

–Lisa Lawler

BUILDERS GIVE BACK

The Foundation welcomes Taylor Morrison as our newest member in the Builders Give Back program. Please take a moment to read about this national builder and view their beautiful models and amenities.

Taylor Morrison, America’s most trusted homebuilder for 11 consecutive years, is known for creating thoughtfully designed homes and communities that enhance everyday living. In Lakewood Ranch, the homebuilder has played an important role in shaping dynamic, lifestyle-focused neighborhoods, offering everything from townhomes and low-maintenance villas to modern single-family homes and luxurious estate residences. Each community blends contemporary design with livability and convenient access to world-class amenities.

A signature highlight of Taylor Morrison’s presence in Lakewood Ranch is the Esplanade resort lifestyle brand. Esplanade communities are crafted to inspire the mind, body, and spirit through features such as expansive clubhouses, spa-inspired pools, wellness and fitness programming, pickleball and tennis, dining options, and a full calendar of social activities. With destinations like Esplanade at Azario and the upcoming Esplanade at Cammaray, the brand has helped define elevated resort-style living—creating environments where every day feels like a vacation.

Beyond home design, Taylor Morrison is dedicated to creating places that foster connection and a strong sense of belonging. Through thoughtfully planned streetscapes, walkable neighborhoods, and spaces designed for gathering, the company prioritizes how residents experience daily life. This people-first approach ensures each community feels welcoming, vibrant, and uniquely tailored to the lifestyle of its homeowners.

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation’s leading homebuilders and developers, serving a wide array of consumers, including first-time, move-up, luxury, and resort-lifestyle homebuyers and renters through our family of brands. By building homes where people can truly thrive and investing in organizations that strengthen the region, the company remains dedicated to making a meaningful, lasting impact for residents today and in the future. Our strong commitment to sustainability, our communities, and our team is highlighted in our latest annual Sustainability and Belonging Report.

For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.

COMMUNITY BUSINESS PARTNERS

Our Community Business Partner is an outstanding pillar in our community. We feature CASTO and CASTO Net Lease this month. Please read about them as they are celebrating their 100^th anniversary this year.

A Legacy of Focus: CASTO Net Lease Builds on a Century of CASTO Innovation

As CASTO celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026, the organization continues to build on its legacy of innovation and long-term value creation through its affiliated companies, including CASTO Net Lease.

Founded in 2017, CASTO Net Lease, located in Sarasota, Florida, was established as a specialized extension of the CASTO Organization, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. With a clear, focused mission, the company provides exceptional development services in the single-tenant net-lease sector.

CASTO, founded in 1926, has grown into a fully integrated real estate leader with a diverse portfolio that includes more than 6,200 multifamily units and over 26 million square feet of commercial property across the Midwest and Southeast. Its longstanding success is rooted in strong relationships, deep expertise, and a commitment to creating meaningful, community-centered developments.

That broader platform is exemplified by projects such as Center Point at Waterside in Sarasota, Florida. The 50-acre mixed-use development brings together retail, dining, office, and medical space in a thoughtfully designed, walkable environment, reflecting CASTO’s ability to deliver dynamic destinations in high-growth markets.

GRANT RECIPIENTS

This month, we feature Beyond the Spectrum, Stillpoint Mission, The Florida Center, and The Mark Wandall Foundation. Please read about these well-deserving nonprofit organizations and learn how you can help.

At Beyond the Spectrum, meaningful learning continues far beyond the classroom door. For many of our students with special needs, the broader community can feel overwhelming, unpredictable, and difficult to navigate without guided opportunities to practice real-world skills. Thanks to the generosity of the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation, a $5,000 grant is helping foster more incredible moments of growth, confidence, and engagement in our local region.

(Left to right) Cayla Fulkerson, Nate Allison, Ethan Lemmon, Brighton Rennie, Jose Enriquez-Vega, and Josiah Nowak purchase ingredients at Publix for their upcoming cooking class.

This funding supports our offers of immersive, structured community outings as opportunities for learners to build life skills in authentic environments. Students can continue practicing everyday tasks such as ordering food, handling money, navigating public spaces, waiting in lines, interacting with community members, and following safety routines. These experiences help bridge the gap between learning a new ability and applying it in the real world.

Scot Carpenter and Cayla Fulkerson practice communication with employees at Publix.

For students with developmental differences, repetition and real-life practice are essential. A classroom lesson about purchasing an item becomes far more meaningful when a student can walk into a store, select what they need, communicate with a cashier, and complete the transaction independently.

Each successful experience builds confidence and reinforces the belief that they belong in their community. Additionally, this impact ripples past our classrooms. Families can have reassurance that their children are developing practical skills that support greater independence over time. Community members also gain opportunities to engage with and better understand our neurodiverse individuals.

Nate Allison shops for craft supplies for an upcoming art project.

We are deeply grateful to the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation for investing in experiences that empower our students. Their dedication to our mission helps open doors to inclusion, independence, and the everyday successes that shape meaningful futures.

Stillpoint Mission in Bradenton (www.stillpointmission.org) has served the disadvantaged in Manatee and surrounding counties since 1998, providing basic necessities to the poor and homeless. We are a 100% volunteer organization and receive no federal, state, or local government funding. We do not charge for our services. All donations and grants go directly to serving our clients.

Stillpoint Mission operates out of a small building in Bradenton, donated to the organization in 2001. Food Distribution on Fridays takes place in the parking lot behind the building.

Each week, up to 60 volunteers administer our free outreach programs:

Tuesdays:

Clothing and Household Items – donated items are available for clients’ limited selection
Financial Assistance for Utilities – clients can receive a $80 check paid directly to their utility once per quarter. Many families face imminent cutoff of service

Wednesdays:

Diapers and Feminine Hygiene Items – mothers receive a week’s supply of diapers and wet wipes for each child up to age 3 and all special needs children, regardless of age.
Adult hygiene products are also available.

Fridays:

Food Distribution – bread, cereal, pasta, canned foods, dry beans, rice, cooking oil and other staples for basic sustenance.
When available, we add frozen meats and fresh produce.
Many organizations, churches and individuals donate food, and we also purchase from the Food Bank and local warehouses.

60+ volunteers donate their time each week to make distribution of food, diapers, hygiene products and limited financial assistance for utilities possible.

2025 was a record year for Stillpoint. Our 2025 Impact Statistics tell the story:

33,424 Clients served – an all-time record and a 30% increase over 2024
Over 433,000 lbs. (216 tons) of Food distributed
482,000 Diapers distributed to 1,252 mothers per month – a 39% increase over 2024
$212,000 in Financial Assistance for Utility Bills – a 30% increase over 2024

Stillpoint has other special programs, including Back-to-School Backpack and Shoe programs and a Holiday toy giveaway.

60+ volunteers donate their time each week to make distribution of food, diapers, hygiene products and limited financial assistance for utilities possible.

All of Stillpoint’s work in the community is made possible through the generous donations of individuals and businesses, as well as grants from local foundations and organizations. We thank the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation for your support, which allows us to continue to serve these needy families.

Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation grant supports inclusive early childhood education and family-centered care at The Florida Center.

The Florida Center for Early Childhood is honored to be a recipient of a generous $6,500 grant from the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation. This funding supports wraparound services and family engagement at Starfish Academy, our inclusive preschool serving children of all abilities in Sarasota.

Children at Starfish Academy learn and grow together in an inclusive classroom environment that supports all abilities.

At Starfish Academy, young children with developmental delays, disabilities, and behavioral challenges learn alongside their typically developing peers in a nurturing, supportive environment. What makes this program unique is the integration of on-site developmental therapies and mental health consultation, ensuring that children receive the support they need directly in their classrooms.

On-site therapies and mental health consultations are integrated into the classroom to support each child’s development.

Through a multidisciplinary, wraparound approach, our team partners closely with families to address each child’s developmental, behavioral, and emotional needs. Early intervention during this critical period of brain development provides the greatest opportunity to build strong foundations for lifelong learning, resilience, and well-being.

The impact is clear: 97% of Starfish Academy graduates enter kindergarten “ready,” based on the Florida CLASS assessment—well above typical readiness rates across the region and state (57% in Sarasota County and 51% Statewide in 2024).

97% of Starfish Academy graduates enter kindergarten ready—far exceeding local and statewide averages.

Through this grant, approximately 30 local children and their caregivers will benefit from parent education, individualized support, and strengthened connections between home and school.

The Florida Center is deeply grateful to the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation for its investment in children and families in our community. Their support helps create inclusive opportunities where every child—regardless of ability or financial circumstances—can grow socially, emotionally, and academically.

The Mark Wandall Foundation is deeply grateful to the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation for its generous grant, which fully sponsors six grieving youth to attend our upcoming three-day bereavement camp this spring. This support is a powerful message to our children that their community sees them, believes in them, and is willing to walk alongside them through their grief.

Healing happens in community when children are surrounded by those who understand their journey.

Because of this grant, six children from Lakewood Ranch and surrounding Eastern Manatee/Sarasota County communities are fully sponsored to attend our 3-day bereavement camp in partnership with Comfort Zone Camp, April 24-26, 2026, at no cost to their families. Funding covers every essential component of the experience, including clinical intake, therapist-facilitated group sessions, age-appropriate grief education, lodging, meals, and meaningful therapeutic activities. By removing financial barriers, children are free to focus on what matters most: feeling safe enough to share their stories, connect with peers who understand, and begin rebuilding a sense of normalcy and hope.

A weekend of connection = A lifetime of impact. Thank you for helping our youth experience hope and belonging.

Grief in childhood is often invisible and misunderstood. In Florida, one in ten children will experience the death of a parent or sibling before age 18. Without support, grief can affect emotional health, academic success, and relationships. Our camp experience offers a space where grief is normalized, emotions are honored, and no child feels alone. The impacts last well beyond a single weekend. Children leave camp with coping tools, renewed confidence, and connections that can continue through our year-round programming.

We are honored by the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation’s support and proud to partner in strengthening the emotional well-being of our community’s children. We invite readers to learn more about The Mark Wandall Foundation, stay connected to our mission, and participate in upcoming community funding opportunities, because when we support grieving children, we empower families and the entire community.