MARIETTA — The Marietta Community Foundation is asking Washington County residents to help build a larger permanent fund for local needs, launching a matching campaign in which every qualifying unrestricted gift through the end of the year will be doubled, up to $2 million.
The Foundation First Matching Campaign runs from Oct. 12 through Dec. 31, 2026. Ryan and Katarina Robinson will match qualifying unrestricted donations dollar for dollar, with gifts going into a new unrestricted fund stewarded by foundation leadership together with the Robinson family.
The campaign is already more than a quarter of the way to its goal. By the public launch, early supporters had contributed $522,862, and every member of the foundation’s board of directors and staff had also given, according to the foundation.
Foundation leaders say the point of the drive is flexibility. Most of the money the foundation holds is directed by individual donors to specific causes, while unrestricted resources allow the organization to respond when a new need or a promising local idea appears and needs an early backer.
That distinction has become more important as the foundation has grown. Since 2020, its assets have risen 86 percent, from $42.7 million to more than $79 million, and it now stewards more than 400 charitable funds. Over the same period, however, unrestricted resources fell as a share of the total, from 26.7 percent to 17.2 percent.
Since its founding in 1974, the foundation says it has awarded more than $37 million in grants across Washington County. Leaders describe the new fund as a way to strengthen staffing and systems, act as a catalyst for larger community projects, and be ready to lead on opportunities that cannot yet be predicted.
Ryan Robinson said the family’s commitment reflects confidence in the foundation and its leadership, and a belief that the community should be able to recognize future opportunities and bring people together around them. Foundation staff member Heather Allender, who has served there for 19 years, called the match a chance to build on decades of local generosity.
Residents can give online through the foundation’s Foundation First campaign page or by check payable to the Marietta Community Foundation with the campaign name noted in the memo line. Every qualifying gift made before Dec. 31 will count toward the $2 million match.
