In 2006, Mary L. Thomas, Executive Vice President of The Spartanburg County Foundation was honored by the Council on Foundation's with the Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking. This prestigious award is a memorial to the creative legacy left to the field of philanthropy by Robert W. Scrivner, long-time director of the Rockefeller Family Fund. Mary was selected because she best exemplified the imagination, creativity and optimism that were the hallmarks of Scrivner's distinguished career.  She had the courage to lead The Spartanburg County Foundation into a period of innovation and grassroots leadership that even today continues to change the fabric of the Spartanburg community.

With this award came a $10,000 prize, and in the spirit of the award, Mary decided to use the $10,000 as seed money to open the Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and community Change Fund and started a similar recognition program in Spartanburg.  Through the support of numerous individuals and the Spartanburg community, Mary’s initial gift

as continued to multiply, reaching the fund’s original goal of $100,000.  The Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change honors individuals who, like Mary, are community leaders, innovators and contributors to community change by addressing critical issues in the Spartanburg community.The recipient will receive an award at the Foundation's Annual Meeting and be honored with a $5,000 grant to be given to a charity selected by the recipient and the Foundation.

Nominate an individual for the Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership & Community Change.

For more information on the Mary L. Thomas Award, please contact Jeanne Papst at (864) 582-0138.

Award Achives

2011 Award Recipient:  Jim Rutledge

2010 Award Recipient:  Kelley Ezell

2009 Award Recipient:  Benjamin Wright

2008 Award Recipient:  Teresa Loving

2007 Award Recipient:  Mary Ann Deku