Jennifer Tolle Whiteside named chief executive officer of NCCF
Jennifer Tolle Whiteside has been named chief executive officer and president of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF), according to Ron Scheeler, chairman of the board. She will succeed founding CEO Elizabeth C. Fentress in January. Fentress announced her retirement in June.
Tolle Whiteside brings more than 20 years’
experience in the nonprofit sector to her new position at the NCCF. She currently serves as CEO and president of Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, an organization she joined in 1990. Under her leadership the organization has undergone tremendous growth, including an increase of more than 350% in the annual budget; expanded programs delivered through a team of 14 full-time staff members; and an effective network comprised of affiliated organizations and individuals across the state.
Tolle Whiteside has been a member of several national and statewide inter-agency committees and groups, serving as chair of the Covenant with North Carolina’s Children and co-chair of the NC Child Fatality Task Force, a 36-member legislative study commission. She is a 2005 recipient of the US Commissioner’s Award.
"Jennifer is seen as a leading advocate for children and families − not only throughout North Carolina, but on the national level as well,” according to Sherwood Smith, who led the NCCF’s search committee.
“We are extremely excited about the caliber of leadership that she will bring to the Foundation,” Smith said. “That we were able to attract someone with her outstanding track-record and credentials is a credit to the stature and excellent reputation that the Foundation enjoys in North Carolina and beyond,” he added.
Both Scheeler and Smith credit the NCCF’s success to the visionary leadership of Fentress, who has served as CEO since the organization’s inception in 1988. Under her direction, the Raleigh-based foundation has grown into a statewide organization with more than $105 million in assets that sustain nearly 1,000 endowment funds established to provide long-term support of a broad range of charitable needs, nonprofit organizations and scholarships, with an emphasis on underserved areas. She helped to create a network of more than 60 affiliate foundations in six regions across the state designed to provide resource allocation and community assistance. She will remain in her position through the transition period and will serve as a consultant to the organization upon her retirement.
Tolle Whiteside said she was honored to join the NCCF and excited about her new leadership position. “This is a truly remarkable organization with an outstanding staff that is known for serving North Carolina in so many ways,” she said. “I look forward to building on its considerable assets, service and affiliate network strengths and capabilities.”
