The Celebration of Philanthropy Award is bestowed on an individual whose lifetime commitment to philanthropy has had a direct and lasting effect on our community. This is the fifth time it has been presented.

Mary Spencer has been a force for good in Anne Arundel County — both through her career and volunteer service. When she stepped into the role of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County President and CEO over seven years ago, she was drawn to the opportunity to expand her impact beyond fundraising for one cause to being able to support the whole community. Since then, Mary has led CFAAC through a period of tremendous growth, increasing the organization’s total assets intended for grant making from $15 million in 2018 to $47 million — a more than 210% increase. With Mary’s retirement scheduled for October 31, 2025, the CFAAC Board of Trustees unanimously voted to honor her with this rarely given award to acknowledge her exemplary commitment to philanthropy and the people of Anne Arundel County.

Under Mary’s leadership, CFAAC has sharpened its strategic direction, boosted philanthropic awareness throughout the county, and increased stakeholder knowledge about the issues, needs, and gaps in services that impact Anne Arundel County’s health, quality of life, and future. Mary has also championed inclusivity, working to ensure that CFAAC’s staff, board, and volunteers reflect the diversity of the community, and that its grantmaking followed the ideals of trust-based philanthropy.

Larry Clark, CFAAC Board Chair, first met Mary 20 years ago when they had dinner together shortly after her arrival as the Director of Advancement at The Key School. “Little did I know that I would later spend seven years working alongside her, strengthening and growing the Community Foundation into the successful organization that it is today,” he said. “Mary has been an inspirational leader to volunteers, donors, and fundholders alike, and CFAAC’s incredible growth is a direct reflection of her vision, dedication, and passion for the organization.”

Mary was already a respected leader in Anne Arundel County long before joining CFAAC. She served as the first Executive Director of Encore Creativity for Older Adults and spent nearly 11 years at The Key School where she was promoted from Annual Fund Director to Major Gifts Director to Director of Advancement. Before holding these positions, her other nonprofit work included serving as Assistant Director of Annual Giving at St. John’s College in Annapolis and Program Director at the YWCA of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County.

Her decades of service in the nonprofit sector uniquely equipped her to strengthen organizations at every level to reach their fullest potential. Over the course of her career, she has raised more than $90 million in support of local nonprofits — a lasting contribution to the community she loves.

As Mary grew in her career so did her commitment to volunteering. She began her volunteer journey in college working with veterans and has continued her dedication to giving back ever since. From her early work with county youth to her position at CFAAC, Mary has held a lifelong passion for supporting our community’s youth and families. Working alongside volunteers like Civil Rights Activist Zastrow Sims, Mary taught career readiness programs to middle schoolers throughout Anne Arundel County and led clubs for teen girls in the Robinwood Community and the Stanton Center. She also mentored students in public housing and advocated for hiring them in summer camps to give them their first jobs.

She volunteered at multiple schools, coaching sports teams, directing student-led musicals, and coaching teams of students at Georgetown Elementary School to compete in Odyssey of the Mind creative problem-solving competitions, where her teams won regional and state titles and even advanced to the World Finals. She is proud to have served as a host mother to a brilliant young student from Venezuela who is now a top scientist in the U.S. — an experience that changed her view of the world and led to her opening her home to other students from a variety of countries.
Following her passion for the transformative power of the arts, Mary spent nearly seven years on the board at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. She was appointed by the Mayor to co-chair the nonprofit subcommittee of the Annapolis Small Business Recovery Task Force during the pandemic and was appointed by the County Executive to serve on the boards of the Department of Social Services and the Partnership for Children, Youth and Families. In addition, Mary is a member of Maryland Philanthropy Network, Council on Foundations, Maryland Nonprofits, Anne Arundel County Guiding Coalition, Anne Arundel Women Giving Together, and Maryland Community Foundation Association where she serves on its steering committee.

Mary’s dedication to giving back is rooted in the hardships she faced growing up, and she is a testament that hard work, kindness, and generosity can transform a life. “Volunteering and spending a career in the nonprofit world have given me so much more than what I've given,” she said. “My childhood was filled with the kind of traumatic events that come along with being the child of adults struggling with alcohol abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, and divorce. Back in the late 60’s and 70’s, there were no systems in place to help women affected by domestic violence or people suffering from addiction or mental illness. Those things were family secrets that no one talked about and so whole families suffered in silence.”

Mary feels strongly that the people involved in nonprofit work are at the heart of the services needed to change the narrative and provide the support to affect change. “I am so inspired by the nonprofits that step up and serve as a lifeline to so many women, children, and families who have nowhere else to turn. I have learned that you can never really know what burdens someone has endured, but I also know from experience that the support of even one person can change a child’s life. I feel so grateful for the everyday angels on earth that helped me find hope and happiness when I needed it most. When you receive that kind of support, how could you not want to pay that forward? That is why I have spent my life doing this work.”

In 2023, Mary was awarded the Michelle Obama Award and the next year, she was awarded The Daily Record’s 2024 Influential Marylander Award. As a long-time Anne Arundel County resident, Mary plans to continue her work in the community after retirement, spend time with her family and 12 grandchildren, and of course, support CFAAC.

Join us in celebrating Mary and all of the honorees at the 2025 Celebration of Philanthropy Awards on October 29 at Live! Casino & Hotel.