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.