A New Year's Letter from Our President & CEO
As we begin a new year, our team at the Mary Black Foundation is excited about the momentum we saw in 2025 and optimistic about the opportunities ahead. We are ready for another impactful year in which the Foundation will make strategic investments to increase health and well-being among Spartanburg County residents.
Last year, we supported over 40 nonprofit organizations with more than $3.5 million in general operating support grants, training and technical assistance, and capacity building.
In a few weeks, we will announce a new round of grants to our nonprofit partners to fund their work in 2026, focused on our five grantmaking strategies.
In addition to our regular grantmaking, we made a $6 million commitment to support a comprehensive, countywide plan that was developed by more than 15 local partner organizations to improve mental and behavioral health. This support is possible due to a grant we received from MacKenzie Scott. The additional funding will allow partners across the county to implement proven and promising strategies to:
Support the mental well-being of children and their families.
Promote the well-being of individuals with serious mental illness, especially vulnerable populations (i.e., those with very low incomes, individuals without insurance or adequate access to medical care, people experiencing homelessness).
Support individuals and families impacted by substance use disorders.
Throughout the year, we were proud to highlight the work of Amber Pendergraph, executive director of BirthMatters, as our 2025 Dr. George Newby, Jr. Community Health Fellow. Under Amber’s leadership, BirthMatters is transforming maternal and infant health outcomes by making childbirth safer and healthier for young mothers and their babies through free, community-based doula support. Our 2026 Fellow will be announced in March.
New in 2025 was a focus by the Foundation on public policy and how it impacts our mission. We began monitoring, collaborating with others, strategically communicating, and providing thought leadership around public policy issues directly aligned with our grantmaking strategies. In 2026, we will pay attention to public policy issues that:
Support families who will be impacted by the changing structure and federal funding of SNAP and Medicaid.
Increase opportunities for affordable, high-quality childcare.
Increase opportunities for affordable housing for families with young children.
Finally, the Foundation is fortunate to have strong and steady leadership on our board of trustees. With the retirement of Nayef Samhat from the board in December 2025, we are excited to welcome our newest trustee, Bert Barre. We also elected the following trustees to serve as officers in 2026: Ed Memmott (chair); Laura Barbas-Rhoden (vice chair/chair-elect); and Bernard Wheeler (secretary/treasurer). In 2026, our board remains committed to our mission to improve health and well-being through our strategic focus on children and their families!
