Philanthropy’s Response to COVID-19, Racial Justice, and the Future of our Community

With in-depth experience as a regional leader, Dr. Michael Marsicano will share his perspective on how COVID-19 has impacted the philanthropic and grantmaking communities, as well as our business community and the city. He will offer insights on engagement, racial justice, and vital leadership that contributes to Charlotte’s civic sector.

Dr. Marsicano will also share his thoughts on the post-pandemic future of our region and how we can all work to help recover and support the community.

 

 

Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Cost:  WACC members (FREE);  Non-Members ($5.00)

After the program, WACC members are invited to stay online in the Zoom meeting for a reception. We will enable your microphone and camera for half an hour of networking and dialogue.

 

 

 

 

Biography:

Michael Marsicano is President and CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas, the community foundation serving Charlotte and a 13-county
region. The Foundation leads a variety of civic leadership initiatives in areas such as affordable housing, economic opportunity, public school reform, the arts and the environment.

Since Dr. Marsicano joined the Foundation in 1999 its assets have grown from $245 million to now more than $2.6 billion. During that time, FFTC rose from the 35th largest community foundation in the U.S. to currently the 6th largest, and now manages nearly 3,000 charitable funds. During his tenure, contributions to FFTC-held funds have exceeded $4 billion and grant awards to nonprofits total more
than $2.8 billion.

Dr. Marsicano joined FFTC after serving as President and CEO of the Arts & Science Council in Charlotte for 10 years. During his tenure, the United Arts Fund moved to the nation’s highest in per capita in annual giving and became one of the largest endowed arts councils in the U.S.

Dr. Marsicano has been active in many national and local organizations. He currently serves on the Governing Board of Charlotte Center City Partners and as the Strategy Advisor to the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council. He recently retired from the boards of Duke University, Duke University Health System and Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. He is immediate past chair of the Queens University of Charlotte Board of Trustees. Dr. Marsicano previously chaired the boards of the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies and the UNC School of the Arts, and has served on the boards of Americans for the Arts, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Discovery Place, Nasher Museum of Art, the
UNC Charlotte Foundation, Winthrop University Foundation, the Vann Center for Ethics at Davidson College and the board of Community Foundations of America.

Dr. Marsicano has received numerous honors and awards. On the national level, he was the recipient of the Selina Roberts Ottum Award, given annually to the top arts administrator in the nation, and was ranked among the top 50 most influential nonprofit leaders in America by the Nonprofit Times.

In 2019, he received the Charlotte Hornets Education Hero Award and the Affordable Housing Champion Award from the Charlotte Housing Partnership. Dr. Marsicano was the inaugural winner of the Innovator of the Year Award from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. In 2017, Charlotte Magazine ranked Dr. Marsicano as the #1 most powerful person in Charlotte. In 2019, he was named “Business Person of the Year” by Charlotte Business Journal. He has received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Johnson C. Smith University’s Arch of Triumph Award; the Vision Award from Charlotte Center City Partners; Excellence in Management Award from Charlotte Rotary, the Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce; the Medal of Honor in the Arts from Winthrop University and the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award from the Urban League of Central Carolinas.

A native of New York, Dr. Marsicano received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Education and Doctor of Philosophy from Duke University. He is married to the Rev. Leslie Montfort Marsicano, also a graduate of Duke University and the Duke Divinity School. Leslie is an ordained Methodist Minister, recently retired Associated Dean for Academic Administration at Davidson College and currently serves
as Director, Preyer Honors Programs and Initiatives for Academic Excellence at Queens University of Charlotte.