Foundation now accepting nominations for the 2016 Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change

The Spartanburg County Foundation is accepting nominations for the Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change. This annual award honors individuals who have worked to improve the quality of life in Spartanburg County with innovation, leadership and civic participation. The recipient will be presented with an award at The Spartanburg County Foundation’s Annual Meeting March 22, 2016 and will be honored with a $5,000 grant to be given to a charity selected by the recipient and the Foundation.

Through the Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change, The Spartanburg County Foundation seeks to recognize residents of Spartanburg County who are not typically in the limelight but who perform valuable public service at the community level. Individuals nominated should be connected to a Spartanburg County nonprofit organization either as a volunteer or through paid employment. Paid employees must demonstrate community impact beyond the scope of their job. When selecting the recipient, the committee will look for individuals or groups who, within the last year, have made a positive impact on the community through one or more innovative projects and who meet the following criteria:

Innovation: Bringing new ideas to fruition in tackling critical issues facing the Spartanburg community.

Community Leader: Adding value, providing leadership and being a change agent in the Spartanburg community.

Civic Participation, Engagement and Broad Community Impact: Demonstrating leadership in working with the Spartanburg community, and particularly the grassroots community, in bringing about positive community change; and effectively engaging all segments of the community in problem solving.

The Mary L. Thomas Award is a legacy from Thomas’s 2006 recognition as recipient of the prestigious Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking. Upon receiving the Scrivner award $10,000 cash prize, Thomas chose to use the funds as seed money to open the Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change Fund in order to start a similar recognition program in Spartanburg. Through the support of the Spartanburg community, Thomas’s initial gift of $10,000 continues to multiply and has exceeded $100,000, enabling the Foundation to permanently endow the award. Thomas, chief operating officer of The Spartanburg County Foundation, is known for leading the Foundation into a period of innovation and grassroots leadership. The award will honor individuals who, like Mary, are community leaders, innovators and contributors to community change.

The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2016. To nominate an individual or group for the 2016 Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change, go to www.spcf.org to fill out an online nomination form.