- Contact Us With Questions!
- fishcrosthwait@gmail.com
Local Community Donations
The Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament has a long history of giving back to our local community. In keeping with the founding tournament. Winning anglers are awarded trophies, cash, and prizes derived from their entry fees. Charitable funds directed back to the local community are derived from sponsors, advertisers, and gifts as well as funds raised
through shirt sales and auction sales during the tournament.
Proudly, and thanks to generosity of our sponsors in the past several years of the tournament, alone, the Crosthwait has donated over $360,000
back to our local community. Whether through donations to environmental conservation organizations, providing scholarships to support the
education of local young anglers, supporting the Marine Mechanics Program at Manatee Technical College and other local clubs and organizations, the Crosthwait Committee is proud of our philanthropic
mission and continued support of our local community.
Over the past few years, such donations include: $125,000 to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, a local, not-for-profit entity focused on the restoration and protection of the Tampa Bay marine habitat; $36,000 to the Foundation for Dreams, a local not-for-profit entity that provides year-round weekend and summer residential camp sessions for all children with varying ability levels and chronic and/or terminal medical conditions, utilizing a portion of the beautiful Camp Flying Eagle through a partnership with the Southwest Florida Boy Scouts; $22,500 to the Palmetto Youth Center, a local youth center providing a positive environment for the City of Palmetto’s children; $7,500 to the Manatee Technical College’s Marine Tech Program in honor of Wade Thompson, one of the original founders of the tournament that participated in the committee every year until his passing and who greatly appreciated MTC’s marine program; $7500 to Help to Home; $5000 to Healthy Start; $5000 to Suncoast Aqua Ventures; $4,000 in educational scholarships; and several other donations to various other local clubs, organizations and charitable organizations.
Since 2011, Veterans and their families have been treated to a morning on the water fishing with local guides as part of the Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament. Hosted at the Bradenton Yacht Club by the Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament Committee, this event is part of our community outreach to our Veterans and their families. The event allows Veterans, their families and guests to spend half a day on the water with local fishermen, law enforcement and local fishing guides who volunteer their boats, time, equipment and skill to provide a great day for our Veterans. Over the years, organizations such as Project Healing Waters, Operation Warrior Resolution as well as Gold Star Families have been a part of this event. The event kicks off at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning of Tournament Weekend. Once the Veterans are safely loaded onto the boats, the children’s tournament starts. Later, the Veterans return to the Bradenton Yacht Club where they receive lunch and the opportunity to share stories and memories with other Veterans. The captains who volunteer their time often say that they get as much joy out of the event as the Veterans. It is one of many ways we say thank you to those that have served our Country.
It’s been said that charity begins at home. For the 2026 season, we at Crosthwait will be putting donations to work right here in the Manatee River as we partner with Oyster River Ecology. ORE is a local, grassroots nonprofit dedicated to restoring oyster populations in the Manatee River. The objective is to establish new oyster reefs to replace those lost over the last century while making marked improvements in water quality as a result of increased oyster numbers in the river. The effects of this effort will be felt not only in Manatee County, but
throughout the region.
For every $1 contributed by the Crosthwait Memorial Fishing tournament, TBEP leveraged $261. TBEP continues to support and guide partners in meeting the habitat preservation and restoration goals detailed in the updated Habitat Master
Plan. This is achieved through facilitation of the Habitat Restoration Consortium, development of conceptual habitat and water quality improvement designs, and funding habitat restoration and monitoring
projects.
The Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament has elected as its primary charity to provide available funds to assist individuals who fish in the event that are in need of financial assistance for higher education or training beyond High School.
Applications will be reviewed on an individual basis for individuals fishing this year’s tournament who request funds for use during this calendar year. This is a one time gift from the Crosthwait. The availability of funds each year may vary.
The information provided on the application, grade transcript (or equivalent) and accompanying letter are the sole factors used in determining a limited number of available scholarship gifts.