Florida Center Selected for a Patterson Foundation Capacity Building Initiative

Its Margin & Mission Ignition will help The Florida Center explore new business strategies to strengthen Starfish Academy and integrated therapy programs.

(September 18, 2025) The Florida Center for Early Childhood has been selected to participate in Margin & Mission Ignition, a capacity-building initiative of The Patterson Foundation. Through this opportunity, the organization will strengthen its entrepreneurial capacity and increase its mission impact with earned-income strategies.

As one of four regional organizations selected for Margin & Mission Ignition, The Florida Center will work with No Margin, No Mission, a social enterprise and national consulting firm engaged by The Patterson Foundation, over a 30-month process. No Margin, No Mission will work with each nonprofit to develop and implement business plans to generate revenue and support their efforts in the community.

Through this process, The Florida Center will focus on Starfish Academy and its integrated therapy programs—exploring ways to appeal to a broader market, raising program quality by increasing education requirements for teachers, and expanding its marketing reach. These strategies are designed to build long-term financial sustainability while ensuring the programs remain a trusted resource for young children and families.

“Margin & Mission Ignition challenges us to think like entrepreneurs while staying true to our mission,” said Dr. Kristie Skoglund, CEO of The Florida Center. “We have the opportunity to explore business strategies we’ve never pursued before—broadening our reach, elevating program quality, and building sustainability. By strengthening the financial foundation of Starfish Academy and our integrated therapies, we can secure their future and ensure these services continue changing lives for generations to come.”

During the process, participating organizations will collaborate, share insights, and learn from one another’s experiences.

“We have learned that improving margins and diversifying does more than strengthen the financial viability of nonprofits — it can also build organizational capacity,” said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation. “Previous participants of Margin & Mission Ignition have developed and implemented earned-income plans that advance both their missions and impact. The Patterson Foundation is pleased to work with these organizations who have demonstrated the leadership, willingness, readiness, capacity and culture for success.”

Margin & Mission Ignition is part of The Patterson Foundation’s Nonprofit Thrivability initiative, which shares opportunities for organizations to strengthen their mission impact by embracing a thrivable operating model. Nonprofit Thrivability works by connecting nonprofits with expertise and resources to learn and apply concepts such as strategic fundraising, ways to engage key decision-makers, and entrepreneurial principles to generate the revenue necessary to support and expand their operations.

Courtesy Photos:

• Two students at Starfish Academy’s Sensory Garden

For more information about Margin & Mission Ignition, please visit thepattersonfoundation.org.

About The Florida Center for Early Childhood

For more than 45 years, The Florida Center for Early Childhood has been the leading provider of therapeutic services, early education, and healthy development for young children in southwest Florida, offering a seamless delivery of services for the whole child and their family. Today, the agency is nationally recognized for its early childhood expertise in various specialties. The Florida Center provides developmental therapies, mental health counseling, Starfish Academy preschool, the Healthy Families home-visiting program, and the state’s only Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Clinic, with locations in Sarasota, Orlando and Pensacola.