FLINT, MI – Isaiah Oliver said it best in a letter to his hometown of Flint on the Community Foundation of Greater Flint website.
“After working for the last 10 years with you and for you, I am so proud to be from Flint,” Oliver said. “While I now know that you will always be with me, I also know I will miss this treasured time together.”
Oliver, the foundation’s president and CEO, announced his resignation this week from the nonprofit after serving six years as president.
His resignation date is July 28.
Oliver, his wife Shay and the couple’s four children are moving to Jacksonville, Florida where he has accepted the position of president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
“I’ve learned quite a bit navigating philanthropy in Flint and being exposed to national philanthropy through our affiliations across the country,” Oliver told MLive-The Flint Journal. “An opportunity presented itself through a search firm, and I responded to that request. This was a personal opportunity that worked for me.”
Under Oliver’s watch and during the Flint Water Crisis, he helped form a collaboration to create greater access to high quality, year-round early childhood education and care.
In April 2020, he directed the establishment of a multi-sector Covid-19 taskforce focused on addressing racial inequities and continues to serve as founding chair of this committee.
The foundation helped raise millions of dollars for immediate relief, collaborated with philanthropic partners to marshal resources for post-Covid recovery, and developed programs and services focused on addressing longstanding systemic health inequities.
He has led the development of a five-year strategic plan, asset growth, staff expansion, and a vision that centers equity in all of the foundation’s work. Assets under management grew under Oliver’s leadership, from $254 million in 2017 to $283 million at the end of 2022.
He also helped with the development and operationalization of Educare Flint, a premiere early childhood education center that serves 220 children.
Oliver established the Isaiah and Shay Oliver Community Leadership Fund at the CFGF to provide more resources for innovative programs reflective of the community’s voice.
“I see philanthropy — not only in this town, but across the country — as a huge lever for change that will impact the way systems engage and also multisector partners connect,” Oliver said.
However, Oliver’s greatest accomplishment doesn’t solely revolve around himself.
“The team the Community Foundation has and its partnerships with the stakeholders will be my greatest accomplishment,” he said. “There are so many different pieces of work that we’ve touched and I would say made better as a result of our partnership. But it would be the culture of working across sectors in order to address multisectoral problems that will live on long after I’m gone (that) would be my greatest contribution.”
As Oliver embarks on his new journey, his role as president of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida will be a similar role to his current one, he said.
“I understand the flow of information and relationships in Flint very well, and I don’t have that same proximity just yet in Jacksonville,” he said. “If there’s a thing that I need to sink my teeth into, it will be a better understanding of the local relationships that make organizations like Community Foundations thrive in Northeast Florida, but it has a similar role.”
Read more at The Flint Journal:
Isaiah Oliver to resign as president of Community Foundation of Greater Flint
Kildee announces new federal funds for United Way of Genesee County
Premier Security Solutions plans to move into former ELGA building
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Teta’s Grill takes pride in offering healthy, safe food
Activists take on Flint water crisis issues on 9-year anniversary
Michigan’s Best Local Eats: Slider Joint aims to become ‘icon’ in Lapeer
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