Solutions To Avoid Red Tide
Pioneering bet drawing public co-funders
Barancik Foundation has backed Solutions To Avoid Red Tide four times between 2021 and 2024, committing $700,000 total — at peak, representing 628% of the organisation's budget, a conviction-level stake in an early-stage environmental startup. Alongside that sustained support, START launched the Healthy Ponds Collaborative regional initiative, secured a $250,000 Barancik grant to expand stormwater pond improvements across Sarasota and Manatee counties, and by 2022 had drawn in Manatee County itself as a government partner — a meaningful public-sector validation signal. Revenue has grown at a 5% CAGR and, while recurring deficits and shrinking net assets reflect the realities of a program still scaling, the arrival of a public co-funder suggests Barancik's early bet is beginning to attract the institutional following these initiatives require.
- 2021-09Launches regional neighborhood/stormwater-pond water-quality program
- 2021-09START launched the Healthy Ponds Collaborative regional initiative and secured a $250,000 grant from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation to expand stormwater pond improvements across Sarasota and Manatee counties.
- 2022-07Partners with Manatee County on stormwater-pond improvements
- 2023-06START reorganizes
- 2024-04Red Tide Initiative progress reported with Mote Marine Laboratory
- 2025-08Study: economic benefits & costs of red-tide mitigation published