Marcia Rapp
Marcia L. Rapp is the Vice President, Programs of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, where she has worked since 1988. As Vice President, Marcia administers the Community Foundation's grantmaking process and community leadership initiatives. Current leadership initiatives are transforming the systems of child welfare, public education, successful aging and urban housing in Grand Rapids. An active participant in the foundation field, Marcia was a founding member and former Chair of both the international and statewide ProNet groups, both professional associations of community foundation program officers. From 2001-2003 she served on the Council on Foundations Community Foundations Leadership Team, the national level body that works to position community foundations for growth and strategic leadership. Marcia has provided technical assistance with several projects designed to assist others in the community foundation field. This includes serving as faculty of a national Grantmaking Basics course for new program officers and of Essential Skills & Strategies for New Grantmakers, assisting with revision of the Council on Foundation's Grantmaking and Community Leadership Core Guide, and working with the Council of Michigan Foundations team to develop and present the Community Impact on-line course for board and staff. In May, 2005, Marcia completed the Women and Power Executive Education Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and in June 2004, she participated in the pilot course of the "The Grantmaking School" of Grand Valley State University's Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. In addition to her work in the community foundation field, Marcia was an Adjunct Professor at Grand Valley State University from 2003-2006.
Prior to joining the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, Marcia was a Planning Associate at the Heart of West Michigan United Way. In earlier positions, she worked in the mental health field. She has her Bachelor of Science Degree from Adrian College and her Master's in Social Work from Western Michigan University with a concentration in Policy, Planning and Administration.