Dr. Michael Marsciano
As a transformative leader and influential voice in philanthropy, economic opportunity, and social justice, Dr. Michael Marsicano has prioritized community throughout his 40-year career of public service. Since Michael began as president and CEO of Foundation For The Carolinas in 1999, philanthropic gifts to the Foundation have exceeded $6.5 billion, while $4.6 billion in grants have been issued to nonprofits, positioning the Foundation as an influential voice in its 13-county region across North and South Carolina.
As a result, Michael has been called into service as a fundraiser time and again. Since 2019 alone, he has raised almost half a billion dollars for charitable endeavors. Most recently – with the impact of the pandemic and the equitable differences it exposed – Michael has turned his attention to several high-profile economic advancement projects:
- In 2019, Michael completed a private-sector campaign that raised $53 million to create the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund. The affordable housing initiative has already created 2,064 affordable-housing units for local residents.
- Launched before the national lockdown in March 2020, Michael raised more than $23.5 million for the Char-Meck COVID-19 Response Fund, which supported local nonprofits assisting those most affected by the pandemic.
- In 2020, he oversaw the City of Charlotte's Access to Capital grant program for local small businesses. In all, more than $43 million was distributed to locally owned hotels, barber shops, restaurants, retail stores and more – saving thousands of jobs.
- Last year, Michael raised $23 million from the private sector for a public-private partnership with a goal of sustaining the local arts and culture sector. Along with $18 million in funding from the City of Charlotte, the newly created Infusion Fund will disperse $41 million over three years to local nonprofits and individual artists, saving thousands of jobs in our cultural sector.
- In 2021, Michael helped create and launch the Mayor's Racial Equity Initiative, a transformative public-private partnership looking to increase equity and inclusion in Charlotte – including substantial economic investment. He raised $250 million for the fund.
- Finally, Michael helped grow the Foundation's reputation nationally (and globally) through a unique subsidiary organization, E4E Relief – the nation's leading provider of employee disaster and hardship funds. With more than 100 clients across the globe ranging from mid-size to Fortune 100 companies, E4E Relief's employee disaster and hardship programs provide a means for emergency support to 5 million employees worldwide.
Under Michael's leadership, the Foundation has earned a reputation as a civic convener and leader in launching major initiatives and public-private campaigns.