Nominees Announced for New Awards Celebrating Southwest Florida’s Best Charity Events

The Community Foundation, founded in Cape Coral, honors the best charitable events in Southwest Florida. If you’ve never attended a Charity Event Awards – an annual celebration to recognize the best fundraising events and the most outstanding charities that plan and promote fundraising events to fulfill their mission – you must attend the Charity Event Awards created by The Community Foundation. Prepare to be amazed by the incredible innovation and excellence in fundraising.

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Heartwarming stories of giving back are inspiring. The event, attended by the region’s leading philanthropists, humanitarians, business sponsors and nonprofit leaders, is an opportunity to witness generosity and acts of community service. There are so many generous donors sharing testimonies of why they give to support seniors, arts, animals, veterans, education and families in need. Southwest Florida is a generous regional community.

More than 200 nonprofit event fundraising professionals, marketing and public relations executives, event sponsors and private donors are expected at the Crowne Plaza Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops, IHG Hotel on April 5 6-9 p.m. Teri Hansen, Founder of Priority Marketing, is the guest speaker.

The event is an evening of networking, celebration and honoring philanthropic heroes. A significant part of the Charity Event Awards celebrates the continued innovation and resilience of our nonprofit community and its ability to create well-planned events with excellence.

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The event is an opportunity to hear the stories of charities, event fundraising professionals and board members who are truly changing the future of event fundraising. The event will honor fundraisers and charity event pioneers who have turned the challenges of the pandemic into opportunities for their causes, finding new ways to engage donors, sponsors, ticket buyers and to increase the impact.

Here are the categories and nominees for this year’s Charity Event Awards:

Best Special Charity Event

Bobby Nichols-Fiddlesticks Charitable Foundation

Cape Coral Animal Sanctuary

Cape Coral Wildlife Friends

The Dubin Center

Sarasota County Early Learning Coalition

Continued:Charity Event Awards to recognize innovation and excellence in fundraising

Edison’s Festival of Light

EHL Fragile X Foundation, Inc.

Lovers Friends Key

Grand Pine Island Elk Charitable Trust

Hodges University

Lee Fort Myers County Police Sports League

Our mother’s house

Saint Andrew’s Conference of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul

Thrive Southwest Florida

Valerie’s house

Best Charity Event Venue and Catering

The Burroughs House

The Forest Country Club

Hilton Napoli

JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort

Marriott Sanibel Harbor Resort and Spa

The Plantation Golf & Country Club

Quail Creek Country Club

The Ritz Carlton Naples

The Westin Cape Coral Resort at Marina Village

Best Virtual/Hybrid Event

Foundation C Three

The Naples Cancer Alliance

Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation

Guadalupe Center

Naples Foundation for Children and Education

Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education and Experience Center

Best Overall Charity Event

animal shelter center

Cape Coral Animal Sanctuary

Cape Coral Care Center

Cape Coral Garden Club

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida

The Immokalee Foundation

Children’s minds matter

Works from the Ronald McDonald Houses of Southwest Florida

Valerie’s house

YMCA of Southwest Florida – Englewood

Up & Coming/Grassroots

Southwest Florida Angel Wings, Inc.

Don Yoga Naples

Duffy Foundation

Gulf Coast Humane Society

Naples Women’s Club

Orphan Support International, Inc.

Ride for Tiny Town

Corporate Citizenship

Alliance Financial Group

Bailey’s General Store

Bank of America

Best home services

Calusa Athletes Foundation

Cap Coral Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

SWFL’s Cushman and Wakefield Commercial Property

Estero Bay Chevrolet

The Horizon Foundation/Horizon Council

Jaguar Fort Myers

Spada Salon and Day Spa

State insurance

Fort Myers Subaru

Best Events Team

Charlotte County Habitat for Humanity

Lee Health Foundation

Path2Freedom

Virginia B. Andes Community Clinic

The Charity Event Awards are a very special evening that celebrates what is at the heart of The Community Foundation: generosity. It’s an evening of acknowledging wellness and connecting exceptional individuals, businesses and organizations to inspire greater generosity.

To learn more about the Charity Event Awards, visit charityeventawards.org

The Community Foundation, founded in Cape Coral, the largest city in Southwest Florida, is the voice and choice of the region’s 5,214 nonprofit organizations with a combined membership of 37,610 employees who generate 4, $15 billion in annual revenue. The Community Foundation is also the creator of Generous People, a weekly television production that combines entertainment and philanthropy. The groundbreaking television series will air in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, DeSoto, Glades and Hendry counties in Florida to more than 610,000 homes. Each episode features real-world nonprofit leaders and experts working in the trenches of the charitable sector.

Michael Chatman is President and CEO of The Community Foundation, the global center for giving, and can be reached at michael@capecoralcf.org. The foundation is located at 1405 SE 47th Terrace, Unit 2, Cape Coral. For more information, call 239-542-5594 or visit www.capecoralcf.org