From the earliest days of her career, Michael Saunders believed a successful business should do more than thrive in a community — it should help strengthen it.
“That was always clear to me,” Michael says. “If you’re fortunate enough to build a business in a community, you have a responsibility to support it, to invest in it, and to help it flourish.”
That conviction became a defining principle of Michael Saunders & Company long before the firm grew into one of the Gulf Coast’s most respected real estate organizations. Giving back was never positioned as a program or initiative. It was simply part of how the company operated — a responsibility that came with being deeply rooted in the communities it serves.
Michael led by example.
Over the years, she has dedicated her time and leadership to many of the region’s most impactful organizations, serving on boards including the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. Through this work, she helped support initiatives focused on education, environmental stewardship, and the overall well-being of the region.
Her example established something far more enduring than individual contributions — it created a culture.
Today, that culture of service extends across every office in the company. Agents and staff are actively engaged in the communities where they live and work, volunteering their time, serving on nonprofit boards, supporting local causes, and contributing to organizations within their own neighborhoods and zip codes.
This decentralized, deeply personal approach to giving back reflects the company’s broader philosophy: meaningful impact begins at the local level, where relationships are strongest and needs are best understood.
That spirit of collective giving took on new momentum in 2011 with the creation of the MSC Foundation. Designed as a vehicle for company-wide philanthropy, the Foundation brings together the generosity of agents, staff, and leadership.
Funded entirely through voluntary contributions, it focuses its support on social services, education, self-sufficiency, shelter, and sustenance. Since its inception, the MSC Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million in grants to nearly 300 nonprofit organizations across Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Pinellas, and Lee counties.
“Often the Foundation supports grassroots organizations in their early stages,” says Drayton Saunders, president of Michael Saunders & Company and vice president of the MSC Foundation. “Our agents and staff are deeply embedded in their communities. They know these organizations firsthand and have witnessed the impact they make.”
The result is a model of giving that is both personal and practical — financial support strengthened by firsthand knowledge and genuine connection.
For Drayton, the importance of community involvement was something he absorbed early on.
“That message was always there in the background,” he recalls of watching his mother’s example.
When he returned to Sarasota in 2003 after eight years owning and operating a business in Chile, he quickly recognized that understanding the company meant understanding the community it serves.
“I knew I needed to understand not just the business, but the community around it,” he says.
His own civic involvement reflects issues central to the region’s future, including affordable housing and long-term community sustainability. Over the years, he has taken leadership roles with Visit Sarasota County and the Sarasota County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, among others.
During the early efforts to advance The Bay Park project, he helped bring together community leaders who shared a vision for creating a vibrant public space along Sarasota’s waterfront. Today, through his work with the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation, he continues to support initiatives that contribute to the region’s long-term vitality.
Yet at its core, the company’s philosophy of giving back remains grounded in something simple.
“This is such a welcoming community — and its size is an asset,” Drayton says. “You don’t have to write a big check to have a seat at the table if you’re passionate and willing to devote the time. It’s more about your human capital than your checkbook.”
It’s a belief he hopes to pass along to his three young children.
“Everybody can give back,” he says. “It’s about finding your way to contribute.”
Across Michael Saunders & Company, that idea continues to take shape every day — through the actions of agents and staff who invest their time, energy, and care into the places they call home.
It is a legacy built not only through leadership, but through participation — one that continues to strengthen communities across Florida’s Gulf Coast, one neighborhood at a time.
