When founder Dr. Kay Glasser began gathering support for the Center in 1985, nonprofit centers were an obscure concept. In our Gulf Coast region of Florida, it was a completely new idea; untried and untested. But as she reflected many years later, “A strong ideal can capture an imagination and control a life.” Through sheer tenacity and belief in her vision, she gained the support of Alex and Betty Schoenbaum, along with municipal and community partners – and managed to convince a consortium of financial institutions that this was a viable concept that just makes sense for our human services community.
The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center opened its doors in 1990, and 30 years later, we are still going strong. We know that human service providers thrive when they work together in a supportive system. We are the hub of that collaborative system, leading to success for those who are making our community a better place.
What is one interesting fact about your space?
We are a 5-acre campus of 14 buildings located in an under-served community. In 2018, 76 programs led by 207 staff and 1,300 volunteers, served over 26,000 people, utilizing $17.3 Million in agency budgets. In March of 2020, we celebrate 30 years of being a community of ideas, striving every day to make Sarasota and Manatee a better place to live.
What are your favorite resources that you would recommend to others?
The Nonprofit Center Network. Their informative reports and the Ask NCN emails cover pertinent topics and are a great resource for us. We also recommend other organizations interested in creating a nonprofit center to contact NCN beforehand to access their expertise. We’ve attended the Sharing Innovation conference and found it to be incredibly beneficial to convene with our peers.
Center Name: The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center
Location: Sarasota, FL
Center Website: GS-HumanServices.org