Sally Rudney, 63, the founding executive director of the Montgomery County affiliate of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, died on Sept. 19 in her home, according to a press release and a letter her husband Scott Hoekman wrote to friends and family.
“We will be forever grateful to Sally Rudney for her exceptional leadership, strategic thinking, and deep commitment to our community,” the Community Foundation said in the release.
Rudney first joined the Community Foundation in 1995 to launch a chapter focused on philanthropy in the county, stated the foundation in the release.
She served in the role for 17 years, and “she helped hundreds of people and businesses establish their own funds and gain a deep sense of satisfaction by giving to the causes close to their hearts,” the release said.
A “cornerstone” of her legacy is the Sharing Montgomery initiative, which provided grants to donors, who collaborated with others to address the achievement gap, improve the safety net, foster greater cultural and civic participation, and create new college and workforce pathways, according to the release.
“Sally shaped the process so that philanthropists could work with peers who also want to give strategically, learning together how to evaluate a nonprofit’s strength, leadership, finances, and potential,” the release said.
The foundation said it created the Sally Rudney Memorial Fund in her honor. “Contributions to this fund will be used to continue Sally’s passion for supporting critical research to defeat EGFR-positive lung cancer, and to support other patient-centered initiatives for those living with EGFR-positive lung cancer.”
She battled this type of lung cancer for nearly four years and succumbed to it last month, Hoekman said.
Contributions can be given online or by contacting donorservices@thecommunityfoundation.org, the release said.
There will be a memorial service at 2 p.m. on Nov. 4 at Sidwell Friends School, located at 3825 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 20016, according to the release.
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