London Community Foundation mourns death of former CEO

London's philanthropic community is mourning the passing of one of its guiding lights.

Martha Powell was the London Community Foundation's (LCF) president and CEO for 16 years before retiring in 2023. Her family said she died peacefully on March 1.

"She really was a leader that encouraged and challenged you. She didn't accept the status quo and she had a real creative mind," said Lori Runciman, LCF's director of grants who worked closely with Powell during her tenure with the organization.

The public foundation operates as a community savings account, pulling and investing donations to turn into grants for initiatives in the arts, environment, social services and education sectors. It's built up a $100-million endowment since 1954 and supports well over $4 million every year into London, Middlesex and three neighbouring First Nations.

Powell was known for her kindness and generosity, always taking the time to listen to the people she served, said Runciman. Her other strengths were in building trusting relationships, along with an innovative approach to addressing or resolving issues.

An advocate for affordable housing

Powell established LCF's social impact fund when affordable housing first emerged as a pressing need, creating a loan for developers that has grown to more than $20 million.

Through the Vision SoHo Alliance, Powell also brought together six non-profit affordable housing developers to take advantage of vacant land on the former grounds of London's Old Victoria Hospital campus and build 650 new units, 400 of which will be affordable.

The Alliance anticipates the project to be finished by early 2026.

"That, I would say, is one of the crown jewels of Martha's legacy," said Runciman. "She was very visionary. Where others might not see an opportunity she would see the end result. That was her approach and she had the determination to see it through."

The week following her death has been an emotional one for all of LCF, added Runciman, with many of its fundholders, donors, volunteers and partners reaching out to reflect on Powell's remarkable journey with the foundation.

A celebration of Powell's life will be held on April 13th in Grand Bend.