Happy New Year!
The Mary Black Foundation would like to wish you a happy and healthy 2023! As we prepare to enter the new year, we want to take a moment to reflect on the year that is coming to an end. 2022 was a year of big wins and big changes!
- In 2022, the Foundation granted over $2.5 million to 35 nonprofit organizations that are working to improve the health and wellbeing of Spartanburg County. We also provided a loan to Homes of Hope to build affordable housing units on the City’s Southside through our impact investment allocation. The Foundation has now provided over $65 million in total grant funding since our reconfiguration as a private foundation, exceeding our original endowment of $63 million!
- We were excited to see the launch of Hello Family, which is providing a continuum of services to families with young children in the City of Spartanburg. Hello Family is an innovative collaboration among the Foundation, the City, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, private donors, and government partners. We are excited about a possible expansion in 2023 to serve families countywide!
- The Foundation announced a new awards program in honor of friend and colleague, Dr. George Newby, Jr., who passed away due to COVID in October 2020. The inaugural George Newby, Jr. Health Equity Leadership Award was presented to Nora Curiel, Program Manager at PASOs Spartanburg.
- We said farewell to two long-time team members, Keisha Gray and Kim Stravolo, who left the Foundation to pursue new career opportunities. We were excited to welcome Mary Kathryn Snead to our team as Chief Financial Officer.
- Finally, we capped off the year with an announcement that the Foundation was selected to receive a $8 million grant from MacKenzie Scott. The funds will be used to develop a Strategic Initiative. More information will be shared about the Initiative throughout 2023!
In 2022, we thanked retiring Trustee, Hope Blackley, for her eight years of service on the Board of Trustees and we elected Bernard Wheeler for his first four-year term.
The Board of Trustees also re-elected Dr. Kofi Appiah and Reverend Scott Neely for a second four-year term.
Our Board of Trustees will be led in 2023 by outstanding volunteers and we are excited about their leadership:
- Nayef Samhat, Board Chair;
- Scott Neely, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect; and
- Sloan Evans, Secretary/Treasurer.
2022 was another impactful year where the Foundation deepened our strategic investments and increased opportunities for residents of Spartanburg County to achieve health and wellbeing. We are excited about the year ahead!
Molly Talbot-Metz
President/CEO
