2024 Power 100: Pete Dunn
Photo | Courtesy of Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Pete Dunn, president and CEO of Greater Worcester Community Foundation
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Pete Dunn arrived at Greater Worcester Community Foundation with an impressive track record at the Central New York Community Foundation in Syracuse, N.Y., where assets quadrupled to nearly $400 million during his 15-year tenure. The GWCF board of directors looked to Dunn to stabilize Worcester’s largest philanthropic foundation after a period of rapid turnover of two former CEOs.
Dunn, a former litigation attorney who pivoted to fundraising early on in his career, believed the time was right for him to make a change, having led his third, five-year strategic plan in New York.
“My interest in building institutions and supporting the growth of community philanthropy coincided with GWCF's needs here,” Dunn said.
GWCF approved $8.5 million in grants in fiscal 2022, according to an annual report. About $2 million is issued to nonprofits through its major Community Grants program each year to fund the nonprofit’s operations and improve the quality of life for people in 60 Central Massachusetts cities and towns. It had assets of $175 million at the end of fiscal 2022, according to an Internal Revenue Service filing.
In August, Dunn got to work in Worcester. One of his first tasks was to oversee the move of GWCF offices from the Guaranty Building to One Mercantile just weeks after his hire. The new 4,500-square-foot suite features community meeting space.
Another notable move was the relaunch of the organization’s Nonprofit Support Center with a $1-million commitment to support nonprofit capacity building over the next three years. The program had been scaled back in the COVID era, but reopened March 1. A $1-million low-interest loan to Worcester Community Housing Resources marked GWCF’s first impact investment this year, to support affordable housing.
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