‘The time is right.’ Michael Marsicano, one of the city’s top civic leaders, to retire
Michael Marsicano, who helped grow Charlotte-based Foundation for the Carolinas into the nation’s sixth-largest community foundation, revealed on Tuesday his plans to retire.
Long regarded as one of the city’s top civic leaders, the 66-year-old Marsicano said he will retire next January, after 23 years with the foundation.
“I think the time is right,” he told the Observer. “The foundation’s never been stronger... it just feels right, for me personally and for the foundation.”
The nonprofit foundation gives out hundreds of millions of dollars in charitable donations each year and is known for supporting civic projects across the region.
Under Marsicano’s guidance, the foundation grew from $245 million in assets when he began in 1999 to nearly $4 billion today. The foundation was 35th-largest in the country in terms of assets the year he started.
Contributions to foundation funds during his career have surpassed $5.9 billion, including more than $750 million last year alone, according to foundation figures. Grant awards benefiting nonprofits total more than $4.2 billion.
The foundation’s governing board has appointed a committee to lead a national search for its next president and CEO. Marsicano said he won’t be involved with the search.
Asked what advice he’d give his successor, Marsicano said he would simply let the person know: “There isn’t a better job in a better city at a better time.”
He said while Charlotte has accomplished so much, the city still has much potential.
Leading high-profile campaigns in Charlotte
Marsicano led many high-profile fundraising campaigns over the years, including Mayor Vi Lyles’ recent Racial Equity Initiative, which has raised $217 million so far. The $250 million program was designed to address racial disparities in Charlotte.
An additional $53 million was raised for the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund, and more than $50 million was raised to renovate the historic Carolina Theatre, which is scheduled to reopen in the fall as a civic gathering space.
Marsicano also led recent efforts that resulted in $23.5 million for the COVID-19 Response Fund and $23 million to support Charlotte’s arts and culture sector.
Since 2019, Marsicano has helped raise nearly $500 million for civic initiatives, according to the foundation.
Under his leadership, the foundation established the Robinson Center for Civic Leadership, now its flagship program. The center greatly increased the organization’s capital and impact, he said.
“I really don’t think the foundation would have had the impact that it’s had” without the center, Marsicano said. He calls it his proudest accomplishment during his time there.
The center helped launch the Carolina Thread Trail regional trail network; Read Charlotte; Project L.I.F.T, a reform project in four struggling Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools; Veterans Bridge Home and the endowment campaign that made Levine Center for the Arts possible.
Accomplishments and a regret
Despite such accomplishments, there’s still a few things Marsicano wishes he’d done more of.
For example, while working on the COVID response fund, he discovered many smaller grassroots organizations the foundation hadn’t worked with before.
Marsicano said he would advise his successor to seek out those groups at the neighborhood level.
Marsicano does have one regret — if you can call it that.
“I wish I had arrived (at the foundation) earlier,” he said. As for the true top accomplishment of his tenure, Marsicano said he would leave that up to the 13 counties the foundation serves. “I think that’s a judgment of the community,” he said.
‘We have been blessed’
The foundation’s governing board has retained advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates to help in the search and will first seek community input, said board chair Barnes Hauptfuhrer, in a statement.
Hauptfuhrer will chair the search committee. Members include past chair Jewell Hoover and foundation board members Cathy Bessant, Jesse Cureton, Jada Grandy-Mock, Kelly Katterhagen, Susan Kluttz and Ruth Shaw.
“In terms of Charlotte civic leadership, few, if any, loom larger in this community than Michael Marsicano,” Hauptfuhrer said. “He has served our region tirelessly.”
“We have been blessed to have Michael at the helm for the last two decades,” Hauptfuhrer said, adding that Marsicano has positioned the foundation “for success for years to come.”
A busy final year at the foundation
Marsicano said he’ll be busy in his final year at the foundation.
“We’ve got a lot to do,” he said, including finishing fundraising for the Racial Equity Initiative by the end of March, reopening Carolina Theatre and increasing estate gifts.
“There is no city that has greater public private partnership than Charlotte,” he said. “If we can keep that up, there’s no stopping Charlotte.”
Charlotte also has strong leaders in grassroots organizations, government and corporate boardrooms alike, Marsicano said, adding that he’d like to see the connections between those forces deepen.
“The corporate leader and the grassroots leader in the future — and this has already begun to emerge — are equal at the civic table,” he added. “I think that’s a good thing, the healthy thing.”
Marsicano’s retirement plans
When his tenure ends, Marsicano said he won’t seek a full-time position.
“I have a lot of things I want to do in the next chapter in my life, one of which is not working full time,” he said. “I’ve had a long and good run.”
Given his academic background — Marsicano has a Ph.D and a Master of Education from Duke University — he may teach. And he may write books, including about leadership in the non-profit sector and another about building philanthropic capital, told through real fundraising stories and lessons learned.
He could try fiction, too, although writing fiction “could be a real bomb,” Marsicano joked.
He’s most looking forward to spending time with his granddaughter, he said, and has no plans to leave Charlotte. “The roots are deep, and I love this community.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 10:00 AM.
