Nonprofit reaches funding goal for park transformational project

SARASOTA — The Bay Park Conservancy (BPC) recently reached a $20 million funding goal, after the announcement of a $5 million match challenge from The Patterson Foundation helped raise money from private sources.

“The Bay Park Conservancy’s expert guidance and vision is evolving The Bay from a community aspiration into a delightful and inclusive park, with even more features and amenities still to come,” Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation, says in a press release. “The $5 million in private funding that achieved this most recent $1 million gift from The Patterson Foundation — all of which was contributed amid a pandemic — demonstrates our community’s keen awareness of The Bay’s value and the opportunities it will bring to people of all ages and backgrounds.”