Canton Community Foundation President Announces Retirement

Canton Community Foundation President Joan Noricks has announced her retirement in a statement received via email.

Noricks' statement reads:

I am writing to share with you plans for a change at the Canton Community Foundation and for me. At the beginning of March 2013, I will leave the foundation after 19 years as president and CEO. I plan to retire and enjoy my family and personal pursuits.

Among my achievements during this time, I am most proud of growing the endowment fund from nothing, building the organization structures, meeting national standards for community foundations, and above all, working with thoughtful, generous donors who care more for the impact of the work than the recognition.

When I was selected to lead the foundation in 1994, it had a negative fund balance, a fractured board, and only a vision of a vital organization to serve Canton residents and their charitable desires. Under my leadership, the foundation collected $5.2 million, and earned an additional $550K from investment return. As a result, the foundation returned $3.2 million to the community via grants, community projects, and college scholarships.  And finally, my best legacy is the $1.7 million in the endowment fund to meet future needs.

The projects that I am most proud of include: Giving Hope, Women's Giving Circle, the feasibility study funding that launched the Village Theater at Cherry Hill, the Plymouth Community Veterans' Memorial Park, the original Canton Public Art Fund which commissioned the "Rising" mural in the Canton Human Services Center and the "Community" sculpture in front of the Summit at the Park, the Cady-Boyer Barn restoration, Heritage Hideout Playscape, the Canton Mobility Transport van, and the 500+ scholarships awarded under my watch.

Despite continuing economic challenges, the foundation remains solvent. And through the commitment of the board to our strategic planning, I know I am leaving at a time when the vision to achieve our identified goals requires only a new set of hands to guide the foundation to that end. The executive committee is working on the transition plan to find my replacement. Board Chairman Jerry Grady is leading the work to assure donors and stakeholders of a smooth transition.

I genuinely enjoyed the work of building an institution that continues the charitable intent of caring donors to accomplish things that government and individuals cannot. The foundation's path forward as an institution is clear. I look forward to watching its continued progress and success. 

Respectfully yours,
Joan E. Noricks
President and CEO