Legal Corner

Local Charities: What to Look For When You Donate Locally

A charity worth donating to will be a transparent charity.

No Contest winner last week. Contest update:  (Official rules here).  JT Simons, P.A., is holding a contest for you to figure out the hidden trivia question in this article. If you win, JT Simons, P.A., will donate $25 to charity. In short, figure out the hidden trivia question, send an email with the answer to JT Simons, and make sure your nonprofit is legitimate. Remember, send the answer to jts@simonslawfirm.com, subject line CONTEST ENTRY, and give me as much information as you can about the nonprofit you want the donation to go to. I need to verify it. I need your first name and the first letter of your last name. Over the last couple weeks, I have been overwhelmed with charity events, fundraising, and interviewing local nonprofit …

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Women's Exchange Awards Major Grant to Perlman Music Program

The $10,000 grant will help fund the organization's celebrated Education Outreach Program

The board of directors of the Women's Exchange recently awarded The Perlman Music Program/Suncoast (PMP/Suncoast) a $10,000 grant to fund the organization's Education Outreach Program. PMP/Suncoast's development director, Margaret Ann Behrends, explains that the three-week in-school residency is entirely funded by PMP/Suncoast through grants, sponsorships and individual patrons. "We're immensely grateful to the Women's Exchange for this formidable grant," says Behrends. "It will go a long way to serve a very valuable program." Now in its fourth year, PMP/Suncoast's Education Outreach Program brings professional teaching musicians, alumni of The Perlman Music Program, into area schools in Sarasota and Manatee counties during three separate …

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Riverfront Performing Arts Center Needs Just $1.5 Million to Become Reality

The new Manatee Players theater is set to open next March with Miss Saigon now that 90 percent of the funds are in place to complete the theater's construction.

The Manatee Players promised Tuesday that their new Performing Arts Center will be open in just 12 months after they figured they are less than $1.5 million away from their $15 million fundrasing goal. The final stage of fundraising began Tuesday with a huge boost: $250,000 from the Kiwanis Club of Bradenton and another $1.5 million from the Manatee Community Foundation in a grant/loan combination. In addition the Community Foundation members put together another $100,000 to be used as matching grant money during the Manatee Players 36 Hour Giving Challenge on March 27 and 28. The Giving Challenge will take place online through the Giving Partner, a tool that helps share information about local charities. Using that tool during the 36-hour…

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Toni Whitt

9:34 am on Thursday, March 22, 2012

Given that they started with a $15 million project, it's a relatively small amount....It's also achievable for the Manatee Players who have been raising money for this project, which is designed to benefit the community, including children who will have progams at the performing arts center.   more ›