‘Visionary’ was driven to serve her community
Beloved local philanthropist, foundation founder dies at 79
Carol Thompson, a beloved local philanthropist and founder of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, died March 21. She was 79.
Thompson, who lived in Annapolis, had been living with Parkinson’s disease for 23 years, according to her obituary.
Around 1998, Thompson, a Maryland native, moved to the county and was surprised to find that Anne Arundel did not have a community foundation. So, she and a group of other philanthropically minded residents formed the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County.
Thompson became the organization’s first CEO and president, working tirelessly at her kitchen table in the early years, compiling donor lists and reaching out to contacts to form the foundation’s board, said Amy Francis, who has been with the foundation for 14 years and currently serves as the director of development.
“She saw the need for a foundation and what it could do,” Francis said. “She was driven to make sure it happened.”
The foundation received its first donation of $600 and has since grown its assets to more than $23 million, according to the foundation’s website.
It is now the largest institutional grantmaker and controls more than 150 funds. In 2020, it distributed nearly $5 million in grants.
“It is an honor for us to carry on the important work Carol started more than 23 years ago,” Mary Spencer, the current foundation president and CEO, said in a statement released by her office. “We remain committed to her legacy, to elevate philanthropy in the county by partnering with donors to maximize the impact of their philanthropic investments to address persistent community needs today and for the future. We know Carol was proud.”
In 2012, Thompson established the Carol Thompson Fund, a permanently endowed fund that will support the organization’s operations and programs into perpetuity. Last year, the foundation honored Thompson with the first Carol Thompson Lifetime Achievement Award at its Celebration of Philanthropy event.
The award is for someone “who like Carol, has made outstanding contributions to advancing philanthropy by demonstrating long-standing leadership, creativity in responding to societal problems, and significant positive impact on philanthropy in Anne Arundel County,” the organization said.
Bess Langbein, a former director of the foundation, recalled meeting Thompson and being struck by her singular drive to make sure the organization sought out and met the needs of Anne Arundel citizens, a notion shared by the foundation’s donors, many of whom Carol personally recruited.
“Carol was a visionary, without her perseverance and foresight, we would not have a Community Foundation in Anne Arundel County. She was the driving force in our early days. She made a difference in our community and impacted many lives — she will be missed,” said Greg Strott, one of the original foundation board members. He and his wife Trish Stott were the first donor-advised fundholders.
While Thompson was the driving force behind the foundation, her husband Bill was always by her side to make sure she could attend meetings and events.
“Bill was her ballast,” Langbein said. “He was such a partner to her in all of this. It’s impossible to talk about Carol without talking about Bill. He, in the last years of her life, really enabled her to continue to attend events and get her voice heard.”
Even after she left her leadership role at the foundation, she would express her gratitude to them in later years for continuing her legacy. Francis recalled Thompson always making sure Bill rolled her wheelchair to her for a hug and a word of encouragement.
“She would hug me and just tell me how proud she was of me. That’s one of my favorite memories of her,” Francis said.
Born in 1941, Carol Cross Thompson was raised in Bethesda where she graduated high school from National Cathedral School and the University of Maryland, according to her obituary.
A sports fan, Thompson was an avid supporter of the Washington Football Team and Maryland and University of Connecticut athletics.
She leaves behind her husband William “Bill” E. Thompson; her children Karen Brown Beveridge (Peter) and David Brown (Brenda); and four grandchildren Kelsey and Westin Beveridge, Harrison and Torie Brown. She is predeceased by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walker Cross, and her brother, Dr. John Cross.
Carol spent her last days at home with her husband, children, grandchildren, and nephews, the organization said in a news release. A celebration of Thompson’s life will be held at a later date due to ongoing pandemic restrictions.
“We will have something to remember Carol once we can all gather together and celebrate her the way she deserves,” said Bill Thompson in a statement.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Carol Thompson Fund at the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County, 900 Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD 21401. Or donate online at https://cfaac.fcsuite.com/ erp/donate/create?funit_ id=1033.