Cumberland Community Foundation leader stepping down after 30 years

By Staff Report, posted Jun 29, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

Mary M. Holmes, President & CEO since 1997

After almost 30 years of leading Cumberland Community Foundation, President & CEO Mary Holmes will step down in March 2027.

Holmes began her work at the helm of Cumberland Community Foundation in March 1997, becoming CCF’s second president & CEO since the foundation’s founding in 1980. She has led the foundation through periods of significant growth and impact, building a community foundation with excellent systems, personalized services for donors and high-impact programs that improve the quality of life for all in Cumberland County.

Cumberland Community Foundation helps donors establish charitable funds to support their favorite organizations and the best opportunities in the community every year. CCF invests and grows these endowments, ensuring that each donor’s legacy has the intended impact for generations to come.

Under Holmes’ leadership, the foundation’s assets have grown from $7.2 million to over $175 million. The foundation now manages 677 different donor funds. Grants and scholarships awarded annually have also increased, growing from $427,885.43 in 1996 to $10,974,668.86 in 2025. While Holmes has been at the helm, more than $104.8 million in grants and scholarships have been awarded, supporting hundreds of nonprofits and students in Cumberland County.

Holmes provided a steady hand during uncertain times. When Hurricane Matthew (2016) caused devastating flooding in Cumberland County, within 24 hours CCF had established the Hurricane Relief & Recovery Fund, raising $379,783.43 within a few weeks to help victims. In 2020, nonprofits were unable to host their fundraising events due to COVID, so CCF awarded $400,000 in emergency grants and then launched a community-wide GivingTuesday campaign to help them raise support for their missions. In 2025, that campaign raised over $4.1 million in nine days.

“The community is extremely fortunate to have had Mary Holmes as the CEO of Cumberland Community Foundation for almost 30 years. She is without a doubt the face of CCF,” said Ricky Lopes, chair of the CCF Board of Directors, in a press release. “Mary has developed relationships that will benefit CCF in perpetuity. Her strong leadership and interpersonal skills have made it a pleasure for board members and staff to work with CCF. She has recruited and trained an incredible staff, in addition to establishing a sound financial base that will allow her successor to join us under ideal conditions.”

Prior to joining the community foundation, Holmes was Market President for a local commercial bank, a hedge analyst for a commodities trading firm in New York, NY, and a student fellow at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University (B.S. 1980) and Kenan-Flagler Business School/UNC (MBA 1990).

Holmes has served on many boards in North Carolina. She is a Fellow of the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations and a Fellow of Philanthropy Southeast’s Hull Leadership Program. Awards include the ATHENA Award, Greater Good Award of Methodist University, the Mary Mildred Sullivan and Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, and Business North Carolina’s Power 100 List. She is a frequent mentor to new nonprofit executives in her hometown, Fayetteville, NC, and early career community foundation leaders across the country.

“It has been an honor and pleasure to be part of the work of Cumberland Community Foundation,” Holmes said in a press release. “The most wonderful people are involved in our work – donors, volunteers, staff members and nonprofit organizations – and it really lifts your spirits to see how many people are working to make the world a better place.”

CCF will conduct a national search to select the next president & CEO. Emily King Schaefer will serve as the Search Committee chair, along with Bruce G. Dantzler, John M. Healy, The Honorable A. Elizabeth Keever, Frank R. Lopes, Jr., Kelly D. Puryear, Gail A. Riddle, Brenda C. Sparks and Max J. Weinstein.

Additional information about the search will be added to the CCF website as it becomes available.

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