Investing in Renewal: A Message from Our President & CEO, Tonia Wellons
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your continued generosity and your partnership with The Community Foundation to steward your philanthropy. It is in that spirit of shared purpose that I want to take a moment to share some personal news directly with you.
After more than a decade at The Community Foundation, and over six years serving as President and CEO, our Trustees have approved a three-month sabbatical from July 1 through September 30. I'm deeply grateful for the Board's confidence and support.
The truth is that sustained leadership through extraordinary times requires intentional renewal. Over these years, we've grown The Community Foundation from $348 million in assets under management to over half a billion in assets and we’ve disbursed over $648.7 million in grants over this same timeframe.
We've launched signature initiatives from the Partnership to End Homelessness to the COVID-19 Relief Fund, working to address critical community needs and respond when crises or disasters impact our region. We developed and have been executing a 10-year strategic vision supported by a successful $78 million campaign to advance economic mobility and address the racial wealth gap in our region. And, more importantly, we've built the institutional footing to carry this work forward for generations.
“The truth is that sustained leadership through extraordinary times requires intentional renewal.”
All that progress has required vision, deep personal commitment, and no small amount of grit. A sabbatical isn't a departure from that commitment; it's an investment in it. With The Community Foundation now at the midpoint of the strategic vision developed in partnership with our Board and staff, this is a particularly meaningful moment to step back, reflect, and return with the clarity and energy needed to shepherd that plan through its next chapter.
I also want to assure you that The Community Foundation will remain in excellent hands. Our General Counsel, Tiffanie Purvis, will serve as Acting CEO, supported by our experienced executive leadership team. Grantmaking, donor services, and all major initiatives will continue without interruption, with clear ownership and decision-making in place across the organization.
Finally, I want you to know that this opportunity doesn't end with me. We have established a sabbatical policy that extends this same benefit to any staff member who has been with us for seven or more years. It reflects something I believe deeply: that investing in the people who do this work, their rest, their growth, their longevity, is inseparable from investing in the mission itself.
I also recognize that sabbaticals remain rare in our sector. The demands of nonprofit leadership, the urgency of the work, and the pressure to do more with less, too often leave little room for the kind of renewal that sustains leaders and organizations over the long term. The research is clear that executive burnout is one of the leading drivers of leadership transitions in the nonprofit sector, and those transitions carry real costs for the communities we serve.
I hope that by modeling this practice and by building it into our institutional culture, The Community Foundation can be part of changing that norm. Leaders who are rested and reflective lead better. Organizations that invest in their people retain them. And the communities we serve are better off for both.
Thank you for the trust you place in The Community Foundation and in my leadership. I look forward to reconnecting this fall with fresh purpose and perspective.
With deep gratitude,
Tonia Wellons
President & CEO
Greater Washington Community Foundation