Sarasota mental health nonprofit pushes to hit $4M fundraising goal

A nonprofit dedicated to providing professional mental health counseling across Sarasota and Manatee counties is looking to the public to make the last 10% of a $4 million fundraising goal. 

The organization, Sarasota-based Samaritan Counseling Services of the Gulf Coast, has already raised $3.6 million for its “Let’s Say YES!” campaign, with the funds coming from lead donors. The campaign, according to a statement, has three priorities: 

• Expand access to care: Provide high-quality, low or no-cost counseling to individuals and families that would otherwise not be able to afford it.
• Grow the intern training program: Increase the number of licensed clinicians necessary to meet the intensified demand.
• Build the strategic agility fund: Secure flexible funding to respond to emerging community needs — as with the pandemic and devastating hurricanes — that may arise in the years ahead.

“When a single mother’s only hope for her abused daughter seemed out of reach, Samaritan was able to say YES! and open the door to safety, healing, and a hopeful future,” Samaritan Counseling Executive Director Rick Howell says in the release. “Every day, people find the courage to ask for help. This campaign ensures we can always say YES.”

Serving more than 2,500 children, adults, and families annually across 11 locations in Sarasota and Manatee, Samaritan Counseling works in partnership with local nonprofits to provide mental health services to the clients they serve. Samaritan helps remove barriers such as cost, stigma and limited or no insurance coverage, expanding access to care for those who might otherwise go without support. The organization had $2.9 million in revenue and $1.62 million in assets in its most recent fiscal year, according to public tax filings.