INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Measuring Impact & Planning Growth
Nancy Zallek, President and CEO of Mankato Area Foundation (MAF), likes to measure success by the impact of charitable giving in her region. When she joined MAF in 2009, it had a little over $2M in assets. And because of that, their annual granting to regional nonprofit organizations ranged from $80K to $100K.
Flash forward to 2022, the Foundation now has assets of more than $30 million, and annual granting well exceeds $2 million. Zallek, however, does not measure success strictly in funds granted. Under her leadership, MAF strives to elevate philanthropy as a resource for defining and advancing solutions to the community’s most pressing challenges and opportunities. “Our strategic goals are to build and share knowledge, strengthen nonprofit capacity, and create an impact that leads to a more vibrant, prosperous, and welcoming region – today, and into perpetuity,” Zallek says. In 2009 Zallek joined MAF as its first paid executive. Before that, it was a volunteer-run organization. “When I started, I was hired for 25 hours a week, and the only other person was our accountant who was contracted for 8 hours,” Zallek says. Together with the Board of Directors, the priority at the time
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July | August 2022
