Our extended Community Foundation family is grieving the loss of Sally Rudney, our founding Executive Director for Montgomery County, who passed away on September 19, 2023.
Sally joined The Community Foundation in 1995 to launch our first affiliate focused on building philanthropy by Montgomery County residents and businesses. Over her 17-year tenure, she helped hundreds of people and businesses establish their own funds and gain a deep sense of satisfaction by giving to the causes close to their hearts.
Sally was a connector. Her approach always started by simply listening, hearing what inspired donors to take action and learning about their hopes for how they could make a difference. She also listened to and engaged the community, spending countless hours with nonprofit, community and government leaders, strategizing about how philanthropy could have the greatest impact.
Sally with former Board Chair Alexine Clement Jackson, who passed away earlier this year.
A cornerstone of Sally’s legacy is the donor-led giving process of our Sharing Montgomery grantmaking initiative. She knew that if caring neighbors visited all corners of our vast County and learned about the needs and opportunities, they would be inspired to give. Sally shaped the process so that philanthropists could work with peers who also want to give strategically, learning together how to evaluate a nonprofit’s strength, leadership, finances, and potential. Over time, Sharing Montgomery grants were leveraged further by donors who discovered these great nonprofits and felt inspired to ramp up their giving to address the achievement gap, improve the safety-net, foster greater cultural and civic participation, and create new college and workforce pathways.
We were delighted to have so many friends join us in saluting Sally Rudney with the Inspired Leadership Award at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of The Community Foundation in Montgomery County.
We will be forever grateful to Sally Rudney for her exceptional leadership, strategic thinking, and deep commitment to our community.
In honor of her legacy, we are supporting Sally’s family in creating the Sally Rudney Memorial Fund - a component fund at The Community Foundation. Contributions to this fund will be used to continue Sally’s passion for supporting critical research to defeat EGFR-positive lung cancer, and to support other patient-centered initiatives for those living with EGFR-positive lung cancer.
Friends interested in contributing can give online at https://bit.ly/sallyrudneymemorialfund or contact donorservices@thecommunityfoundation.org.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 2pm at Sidwell Friends School, located at 3825 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016