A Tribute to Martha Powell
A Tribute to Martha Powell
It is with a heavy heart that I share sad news with you today. Martha Powell, London Community Foundation’s President and CEO from 2007 to 2023, passed away on March 1 enveloped in the love of her family and friends. Her family has published a beautiful obituary, which you can read online.
The London Community Foundation Board of Directors and staff, past and present, are devastated by Martha’s loss, and we know our fundholders, donors, volunteers, and community partners are also grieving.
Martha had a wonderful way in which she lived each day. Her heart abounded with caring and kindness. She always put people first, creating a culture where everyone is respected and honoured for their contributions
During her tenure, Martha worked toward true community change with tremendous passion and determination. Key to her accomplishments were the many relationships she held. Martha’s actions called forth the humanity of others, drawing them to join her and the Foundation toward building a greater good.
Donors’ belief in Martha and the Foundation encouraged their engagement in new philanthropic approaches to support the wide-ranging needs of London, Middlesex County and the three neighbouring First Nations.
Martha involved the Foundation in numerous impactful initiatives. It’s because of her dedication that the Foundation could undertake several of significant scale, including:
establishing the Social Impact Fund as a vehicle for supporting affordable housing development;
collaborating on the Back to the River community development initiative; and
convening the Vision SoHo Alliance to redevelop a historically significant area into much-needed housing.
Martha was the voice of the Foundation’s call to action to assist with improvements to the mental health and addiction system. These efforts to increase access and collaboration continue today.
Martha’s steps amid the uncertainty of the early days of COVID led to a collaboration enabling generous and strategic responses to urgent and ever-evolving needs.
Martha didn’t accept any status quo and never shied away from asking questions to consider all angles and discover new ideas and solutions.
For all of this, she gained the esteem and recognition of her peers among the national Community Foundations of Canada movement.
As a leader, Martha was unmatched. Her steady guiding hand, strong faith in others and gracious presence will be missed but the legacy she leaves in individual hearts and the community at large will be cherished forever.
We extend our deepest condolences to Martha’s family and thank them for sharing her with us.
We are all better because of her.
Jim Alexander, Board Chair,
and the London Community Foundation team