Generously Speaking

Mary Thomas

Chief Operating Officer

The Spartanburg County Foundation

The Spartanburg County Foundation:

The Spartanburg County Foundation was established in 1943 by Walter Scott Montgomery and seven key business leaders who saw community philanthropy as a way to address issues in the area. As the oldest community foundation in South Carolina, the Foundation recognizes a rich history of innovation, philanthropy, engag...

Allan and Clare interview Tom Lawrence, President, The Leon Levine Foundation

• Leon Levine founded Family Dollar stores in 1959 and created the Leon Levine Foundation in 1980
• Leon Levine was a great negotiator and passed savings to his customers, a philosophy that translates to the giving of the foundation – moving from poverty to self-sufficiency
• The Foundation focused almost all giving in Mecklenburg County, until 2016. ...

Rhett Mabry:

·       Advice: be patient, safe, focus on basic needs of recipients

·       Focus on healthcare grantee needs

·       Help is on the way (stimulus, and private support); Duke Endowment’s first-ever specially called meeting to provide support in NC and SC in response to the coronavirus crisis

·       Response – Recovery – Rebuilding: have usually focused on 2nd two phases, but this time more focus on needs in the ...

·       Importance of public policy at this time: Policy Brief email alerts from David Heinen – now available beyond only Center members

·       Advice to be: timely, relevant, mindful – sharing curated information on www.ncnonprofits.org COVID-19 Resource page: https://www.ncnonprofits.org/resources/pandemicresources

·       Consider what is necessary today (in this response phase) à recovery à rebuilding to follow

·       W...

Juan Austin:

·       Juan has been with Wachovia + Wells Fargo for 33 years

·       Covering 4 states (NC, SC, VA, MD) and DC

·       Economic ramifications of the virus – financial services industry is working hard to restore the health of the economy. CEO thanks team and customers of Wells Fargo as we all face challenges. “The only way we get through this moment is together, with flexibility, resolve, and collaboration. We’...

Madeleine McGee:

·       TogetherSC, Allies for Good, is the statewide network of nonprofit leaders, has been around for 23 years, and is about 800-members strong

·       Philanthropic partners: United Way Association and the SC Grantmakers Group have come together for first time in the past year to work on the Census, and now re. coronavirus with weekly calls à 2 weekly calls convening now (nearly 150 people on those calls ...

Damon Circosta:

·       A.J. Fletcher Foundation’s advice: exposure of the value of nonprofits doing their work is heartwarming; the next phase of rebuilding is where philanthropy can play a key role; encouraged by the nonprofit sector

·       Communicating with grantees with a light touch: “there are decades where nothing happens, and then there are weeks where decades happen.” 

·       All grantees have pivoted: SE Raleigh ...