Celebrating Dawn Martz
Join us in celebrating Dawn Martz's contributions to Foellinger Foundation, our grantees, and our community! After more than three decades of service to the Foundation, Dawn Martz will retire on December 31, 2024.
Dawn was hired as a member of the Foellinger Foundation’s program team in 1990. Over the years she held several program positions and finishes her career as the Foundation’s Chief Program Officer.
Throughout her career, Dawn has been a dedicated steward of Foellinger Foundation’s mission and vision, always keeping donor intent at the forefront. She is a lifelong learner and has applied her curiosity to the entire field of philanthropy—and the entire community has benefited from it. Not only is she well-versed in the discipline, but she has generously shared her knowledge with our community’s nonprofit and philanthropic leaders over the years.
Dawn led an Evaluation Exchange Team made up of program staff from collaborating nonprofit organizations through the development of the innovative framework known as the Independence Continuum. Dawn was instrumental in helping to define robust outcomes for grantees to create Foellinger Foundation’s Evaluation System. The Independence Continuum captures our founders’ donor intent and shows how people move from dependence, to independence, to interdependence, and will continue to be a pillar of our grantmaking. This system has been lauded by peers in the industry, further demonstrating her leadership in and impact on philanthropy. She also helped develop the multi-dimensional logic model, an internal tool that demonstrates the Foundation’s indirect impact on the positive outcomes in early childhood, youth, and family development.
Dawn has also passionately supported Foellinger Foundation’s Signature Grants to the ACPL’s research-based SPARK Summer Learning and Team Read programs and Great KIDS make Great COMMUNITIES. The Foundation has provided nearly $6 million in funding to SPARK since 1994, and over $4.2 million to Great KIDS since 1998.
“Dawn has been a steadfast champion of those that serve the greatest economic need and the least opportunity,” said Amanda Jamison, Chief Program Officer. “Her contributions will continue to positively impact the community through organizations using data to make programming decisions and tell their stories. It will also be seen in the next generation of philanthropic leaders, who she has invested in throughout the county and region.”
“Dawn’s optimistic and empathic presence will be missed within the walls of the Foundation,” said Sarah Strimmenos, President and CEO, “but her impact on her peers and our community is everlasting. Dawn has been a true champion of opportunity throughout her entire career and has done so much to strengthen our community. We wish her the best in her well-deserved and -earned next chapter!”