Curran Foundation is new to Lakewood Ranch but not to giving

Over the past 23 years, the Curran Foundation has donated nearly $13 million to nonprofit partners. So why have you never heard of the foundation?

It’s new to Lakewood Ranch. 

Up until this year, the foundation’s good will has supported nonprofits in Wake County, North Carolina because that’s where the Curran family lived. 

In 2021, Michael and Robyn Curran moved to The Lake Club. Because donations have and will continue in Wake County, the first five years the Currans lived in Manatee County were spent building up the foundation’s endowment for its Florida chapter.

Late in 2025, the chapter hit the $10 million mark, so it was time to start giving. 

The foundation has three primary areas of interest, which are all focused on children and young adults — education, athletics and health. 

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

To kick off its Florida chapter, the foundation started small by awarding three grants to three established nonprofits — Casey Cares, the Florida Center for Early Childhood and The Out-of-Door Academy. 

Casey Cares (Southern Region), located in Parrish, will receive $10,000. The nonprofit provides outings, birthday parties, and pajamas to critically ill children. 

The Florida Center provides developmental therapies and mental health counseling to children who are at risk academically, socially or economically. 

Insurance covers a portion of the center’s services, but the foundation’s $12,000 grant will pay the gap for four children whose parents can’t afford the additional costs. 

“We’re trying to go slow because when we do make a commitment to a nonprofit, we don’t want to hit and run,” Michael Curran said. “We’re highly focused on how many kids we can directly impact. We don’t give money for operations.”

The final $25,000 grant will send 30 children to summer camp at ODA.

“The Curran Foundation’s support represents one of the most significant and impactful scholarship partnerships ODA has received for summer programming,” said Head of School Debra Otey in an email. “In past years, the Out-of-Door Academy partnered with program vendors who helped to offer specialized summer camp experiences, and some of those partners have independently provided limited scholarship opportunities to their participants.”

Last summer, ODA had 1,600 camp registrations, which represented approximately 870 campers and 650 households. The summer programs serve students from within and outside the ODA student body. 

Otey noted that ODA is supported only by tuition and philanthropy, so the grant reinforces the power of collaboration between community organizations working toward a common goal — ensuring more children have access to meaningful learning experiences. 

“We just thought it was a win-win to bring in children that can’t afford to go to that school to have that kind of experience in an integrated process,” Michael Curran said. “The kids won’t know who’s on scholarship when they go there.” 

Courtesy image

These three grants are just the beginning for the foundation’s giving in Manatee County. By the end of the year, the foundation will have given away $250,000 to local nonprofits. 

Michael Curran noted that, for now, giving is simply easier in Wake County because the foundation is already established and integrated into the community. As time goes on, those percentages could change. 

He said the reception the foundation has received in the area has been outstanding. Since October 2025, he and Travis Williams, the foundation’s executive director and his son-in-law, have been meeting with local nonprofits to understand the needs of the community. 

In Wake County, the Curran Foundation’s flagship project is the Triangle Aquatic Center, “the largest nonprofit public aquatic facility ever built in the country without tax funding.” 

Curran and Williams’ most recent nonprofit tour was through the Sarasota City YMCA branch. 

“They do something near and dear to our hearts,” Curren said. “They give free swim lessons to children, and we do a ton of that in North Carolina and we know we’re saving lives there.” 

The Curran Foundation has its own programs and hundreds of volunteers in Wake County, but for right now, the mission in Manatee County is to empower other programs through sponsorships.