Dr. Marcia Robinson is the embodiment of ‘Prince George’s Proud’. A resident of Prince George’s County for more than 50 years, Dr. Robinson has spent much of that time in her community – as an entrepreneur and businesswoman, and as a pastor of the church she co-founded with her husband in Clinton, Maryland.
“I work in the community a lot,” Dr. Robinson explained. “I have thoroughly enjoyed it.”
“But working on Sharing Prince George’s has taken things to a whole ‘nother level!”
As a new member of Sharing Prince George’s Dr. Robinson had a chance to experience what she described as ‘collective philanthropy’ for the first time – working side by side with The Community Foundation and other donors to make impactful investments in her community.
“Before Sharing Prince George’s, I never thought of collective community-based giving as something I could do,” Dr. Robinson said. “I knew large companies like MGM could give community-wide, but Sharing Prince George’s allowed me to see how individuals can come together to help the broader community.”
Dr. Robinson added that she especially enjoyed working alongside fellow philanthropists as part of the grantmaking process.
“In Sharing Prince George’s, I got to work with talented professionals – people from all different backgrounds and skillsets – to make a larger, collective impact. I didn’t have to do [grantmaking] by myself; I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel to make a difference in my community. I was part of something bigger giving organizations the resources to help hundreds of families.”
Dr. Robinson’s expertise as a community leader and an entrepreneur brought a powerful perspective to the grantmaking table – allowing her to connect with many of the nonprofit partners who presented to the committee.
“I loved seeing the enthusiasm that the nonprofits brought – you could feel the passion that they have in working for the betterment of the community,” she explained.
She was especially impressed with nonprofits partners who were focused on financial literacy and empowerment.
“One of the things that I really have a heart for is breaking down the racial divide and legacy wealth,” Dr. Robinson shared. “Giving people the resources, tools, and knowledge to improve their situation. That's really where my heart is.”
“Knowledge – and the application of it – is power.”
“If you give people a foundation and teach them, they can go forth to help improve their circumstances,” she concluded. “That’s what this work is all about: giving people the foundation to springboard to a better life.