Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance gives back year-round

When John Holz first moved his family from Slinger, Wisconsin to Lakewood Ranch, the architect was starting from scratch with zero connections.

Holz learned about developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch when he bought his house in Summerfield. In an effort to make connections, he sat down with Mac Carraway, who was president of SMR Farms at the time, and had a conversation over coffee.

Holz had no idea SMR had an agricultural arm outside of real estate at the time, but Carraway gave him some valuable advice nonetheless.

“He said, ‘John, the most important thing you can do for your business, or whatever you’re trying to do here as an architect and your future, is to join the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance and get involved,” Holz said. “That was the essence of our coffee meeting. Never saw him again, but would love to thank him personally because 12 years (later), we’re doing so well.” 

Holz joined the Alliance and volunteered to work on the Economic Development Committee. 

“By working hard and rolling up my sleeves, people started to take interest in what we were doing,” Holz said of Plunkett Raysich Architects. “But I never handed out business cards. I never asked for a job. I never asked for a project.”

Holz is now a studio leader in charge of a team of 10 for Plunkett Raysich Architects, which is one of over 700 LWRBA business members. There are also over 3,500 individual members who are business professionals. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Even with a large membership, Holz said joining the Alliance 12 years ago was like joining a family. Last year, Holz and some other members spent four hours stuffing 100 pillows for memory care patients during the Alliance Gives Back Volunteer Days. 

“I wish we could do more of that. It sticks with you,” Holz said. “It’s so incredibly valuable what we’re doing in the community.”

This will be Alliance Gives Back Volunteer Days' seventh year. From Oct. 3-5, members will volunteer their time for those members that are nonprofit organizations. The nonprofits submit projects ahead of time.

Last year, Alliance members donated over 950 hours to 35 projects that generated an economic impact of $27,000 — all in three days.

The projects can be anything that requires man hours, whether that’s landscaping and hard labor or sitting down to stuff swag bags for a gala. 

“It’s a good opportunity for these nonprofits to get exposure to the business community,” President Brittany Lamont said. “Fawley Bryant, for example, they help build a Habitat for Humanity house every year during the Alliance Gives Back. It’s a great team building exercise for them, and it’s an opportunity for them to make a difference in the community.”

During this year’s volunteer days, the Alliance is hoping to launch a new online platform called Point. In partnership with Lakewood Ranch Community Activities and the Lakewood Ranch Community Foundation, Point will match volunteers with nonprofits. 

Volunteers can search by their location, interests and the days they’re available. 

“A lot of people aren’t from here,” Lamont said. “You might have a connection to the food bank where you were from in the Northeast, but you come to a new community and you’re like, hey, where can I get involved? That’s really the goal of that Point platform.”

Alliance membership rates range from $250 to $12,500 a year. Nonprofits receive a 20% discount. 

The alliance and its member nonprofits are differentiated by a number. The typical nonprofit is a 501(c)(3). LWRBA is a 501(c)(6). Both are tax-exempt, but only donations to a 501(c)(3) are tax deductible. The alliance relies on membership revenue to operate.

It’s a nonprofit that offers services to the community, nonetheless.

“We’re focused on solutions for the business community,” Lamont said, “Whether it’s advocacy issues, whether it’s connecting them, whether it’s educational topics or rules that are coming down that are labor law rules or overtime rules — things that they need to be armed with to operate their business, so that they’re pumping money back into the economy.”

Members travel to Tallahassee annually to meet with officials and advocate for issues such as taxes and workforce training. This year, members are traveling to Washington, D.C. to advocate on a federal level for the first time.

Lamont is passionate about the subject of affordable and accessible childcare. Locally, she leads the Early Learning Coalition of Sarasota County’s task force. They’ve come up with a program to partner businesses that want to provide a childcare benefit to employees with daycares that are willing to expand. 

On a legislative level, Lamont is working with Rep. Fiona McFarland to incentivize employers to contribute to childcare costs and put daycares onsite. 

“We’re here to support businesses,” Lamont said. “A community that employs people and has good commerce in it is a thriving community for everyone.”