Chuck and Margery Barancik were Florida-focused philanthropists who both passed away in 2019. However, the family foundation they created in 2014 lives on today and has awarded over $104 million to at least 211 nonprofit partners, 175 Barancik Scholars and 25 TIME Fellows. Each year, this foundation works with a network of partners to impact local life and improve issues in the community.
Here are a few things to know about the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation and how to get its support in Florida.
Major focus areas
The Barancik Foundation aims to make a meaningful difference in the areas of education, humanitarian causes, arts and culture, environment and medical research. Student success grants are investments in cutting-edge classroom technology and training for teachers. Family enrichment grants fund programs that help parents feed their children and create stable home lives, while social wellness grants offer mental and physical help through counseling and family support services.
The Barancik Foundation awards financial empowerment grants to help the working poor, especially parents trying to end the cycle of poverty. This foundation also awards “unity through art” grants to make the arts more accessible, environmental stewardship grants to connect people with nature and medical research grants to work toward cures for diseases that have affected the Barancik family.
Geographical preferences
Sarasota, Florida is the Barancik Foundation’s primary geographical focus area. Even though Charles Barancik was a Chicago native, he and his wife settled in Sarasota and chose to build their foundation here.
However, the foundation does not exclusively limit itself to giving in Sarasota and occasionally gives elsewhere in the state and nation. Some types of grants, such as those for medical research, track closely with the interests of the family and go to causes and organizations that are important to the founding couple’s descendants.
Sample grantmaking
Recent Barancik Foundation grants have mostly ranged between $25,000 and $1 million. Here is a sampling of local organizations that have received recent grants from this funder:
Science and Environmental Council of Southwest Florida
The Salvation Army of Sarasota County
Girls Incorporated of Sarasota County
Healthy Start Coalition of Sarasota County
Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida
No unsolicited funding requests
Even for Sarasota-based nonprofits, the Barancik Foundation does not accept unsolicited requests for funding. Interested organizations can reach out to the foundation by mail or email with general inquiries, however.
Read more about this funder in IP’s full profile of the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, which is part of our Florida Grants for Nonprofits Guide.