LSF Receives BOOST Grant

for Sarasota Guardianship

23 November 2009 - TLW

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) has received a grant of nearly $30,000 from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County as part of their "Building Organizations' Operational Strength Today" (BOOST) initiative.  The grant will be used to purchase laptops for case workers in LSF's Guardianship program in Sarasota.

According to the award letter, the BOOST initiative "is designed to strengthen and support the local economy by boosting the capacity of key nonprofit organizations, engaging the community in fundraising and volunteer service and providing for basic needs."

LSF applied for the grant for laptops for case workers because the "Guardianship staff provides the majority of their services out in the field," stated the grant application.  These services include "attending various medical appointments with clients, treatment team meetings, ensuring care plan goals and objectives are being met, visiting clients where they are located."

The grant of $29,424 will now allow LSF to "improve the productivity and efficiency of Guardianship staff" and "provide immediate access to client information as needed in the delivery of services" by implementing mobile technology that the laptops will provide.  The grant also provides for technical training of LSF case workers in the use of the new laptops and the wireless technology and programs for data entry and collection.

“LSF is honored to be selected as a grant recipient through the Sarasota Community Foundation’s BOOST Initiative," said Eric Tillich, Vice President for Agency Advancement at LSF.  "The investment the Sarasota Community Foundation is making in LSF and other community organizations will have an enormous impact on the quality of life for all in Sarasota County.”

The grant to LSF was one of 30 grants awarded to nonprofit organization in November totaling $831,802 by Community Foundation of Sarasota County as part of the BOOST initiative.  The grants marked the 30th anniversary of the foundation.

The Guardianship program at LSF provides care to incapacitated adults by court appointment for both personal and property needs as a result of physical injuries, mental illness, developmental disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, or other age-related dementia.  Nearly 70 percent of clients in the program are indigent.

Click here to read more about LSF's Guardianship program.

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