The Gift of a Library for All, Forever

Did you know that the next Andrew Carnegie lives right here in our backyard? Meet Venice philanthropist, Dr. William H. Jervey (Bill).

Bill started his relationship with Gulf Coast Community Foundation in 2015. Through his love of philanthropy and helping others, Bill created a $1 million endowment at Gulf Coast to support a new Venice library through the Library Foundation for Sarasota County. A permanently endowed fund at Gulf Coast ensures that the causes most important to someone today will be provided for tomorrow. Endowments can be created at Gulf Coast to benefit favorite charities or a particular cause. Or the fund’s purpose can be flexible, so Gulf Coast can continue to address new and emerging community issues, every year, in the donor’s name. Bill envisioned a special space with opportunities for all, and with dedication and funding, the beautiful William H. Jervey, Jr. Venice Public Library was born.

Working with Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Bill continues to make lasting impacts on the region he calls home. In 2019, Bill gave a generous gift to State College of Florida – the largest in the school’s 62-year history. The State College of Florida Venice campus library and lake are now named after him. Bill’s philanthropy extends to many other worthy causes including Venice Area Historical Society, Venice Theatre, Venice Area Beautification Inc., Rotary Futures at Venice High School, and the Library Foundation for Sarasota County.

A Life of Inspiration

Bill’s history alone is remarkable. He graduated college at the age of 19, received his master’s degree at a ripe 22 years old, earned his PH.D. at age 25, and retired at the age of 37 to nobly take care of his ailing mother and devote time to the stock market. His story is one of courage, perseverance, and hope.

A childhood memory that never left Bill was learning about Andrew Carnegie in the Library of Hawaii, where Bill grew up. It was there he learned that Carnegie was the first true philanthropist who wanted to donate the rest of his riches to causes. Carnegie was an inspiration to Bill as he gave $60 million to fund a system of 1,689 public libraries across the country. That inspiration stayed with Bill for the rest of his life.

For the Future, Together

Today, as Bill visits with us on the patio of the William H. Jervey, Jr. Venice Public Library, he looks back on how far everything has come. He shares how wonderful and easy it is to make a donation at Gulf Coast Community Foundation. To build the new library, it took two years of planning and construction, which replaced the torn down building from 2017 after mold was found. Sarasota County Government named the building in Bill’s honor. The building itself is a piece of architecture designed by Sweet Sparkman Architects, who also designed Gulf Coast’s Venice office headquarters. The library was completed in 2018 and is approximately 24,000 square feet to accommodate adult, young adult, and children’s programming, plus meeting rooms. Because of Bill’s incredible endowment, this new library was created for families, friends, and neighbors to enjoy. Bill may just be Florida’s own Andrew Carnegie, as he is the first American since Andrew Carnegie to have two libraries in the same county named for him. In fact, Carnegie had two libraries in Manatee County named for him nearly a century ago.

If you ever want to know where Bill is, you can find him at the library. He chooses not to own a computer, but is sure to keep up with technology through the resources at the library. “Over the years of working with Bill I’ve learned that he loves to spend his afternoons in the library. Once when I needed to chat on a timely project, I drove to the library and sure enough there he was! We are so grateful to have Bill in our Gulf Coast donor family,” said Kirstin Fulkerson, Senior Vice President for Philanthropy at Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

These many meaningful and long lasting gifts from Bill through Gulf Coast Community Foundation will better our community for many generations to come. A permanent endowment will live beyond Bill, but not beyond Gulf Coast who is built on the principle of perpetuity. Over time, an endowment will grow through investments while also generating ever-greater annual gifts to the organizations or causes selected. We are honored to know Bill, to learn about what inspires him, and to be his friend.