Q&A with Foundation Chair Sara Wiencken

From Collaboration to Celebration

Sara Wiencken, Chair of the Mutual of America Foundation, recently shared her thoughts on the 2025 Community Partnership Award and how each winning organization is driving meaningful change in the communities it serves.

2025 marked the 30th annual celebration of the Community Partnership Award. Would you set the stage for this landmark year?

Sara Wiencken: The Community Partnership Award was created in 1996 to spotlight the remarkable collaborations and programs created by nonprofit organizations to address some of society’s greatest challenges, especially for our most vulnerable populations. Today, nonprofits across the country continue to demonstrate that remarkable solutions can happen when they partner across public, private and social sectors for the greater good of the community. This power of partnership shines in each of our 2025 award-winning programs, including the ways they’re actively helping to shape a better future.

This year also marked an evolution for the Community Partnership Award. What felt most meaningful to you?

Sara Wiencken: In 2025, we refined the program to honor nonprofit organizations that are working in partnership with the private and public sectors for the good of their communities in a more focused way. By recognizing three outstanding organizations, we’re able to shine an even brighter light on the extraordinary impact they’re having in the communities they serve. It is incredibly inspiring to see the dedication, creativity and bold thinking behind their programs and how their success has become a road map for other nonprofits to move forward in their missions as well.

I understand this year’s Frances R. Hesselbein Award has a nice backstory?

Sara Wiencken: It sure does. The Frances R. Hesselbein Award was established in 2022 to honor the immeasurable impact Ms. Hesselbein had on the creation and continuing success of the Mutual of America Foundation Community Partnership Award. Among her many achievements over her amazing 107 years, Ms. Hesselbein served as the National CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA from 1976 to 1990.

So, it felt like a “meant-to-be” moment when our independent Selection Committee named the Girls Scouts of Nassau County’s CAP 10 program as the 2025 Frances R. Hesselbein Award winner.

It sounds like there is a lot to look forward to. What’s on the front burner for the Mutual of America Foundation for 2026?

Sara Wiencken: Our team remains dedicated to the thoughtful and responsible stewardship of the Foundation’s charitable goals and philanthropic impact. Supporting the nonprofit sector is fundamental to our mission, and we are thrilled to showcase the remarkable work that they are doing to create more equitable and thriving communities for all.

At the same time, we remain committed to helping nonprofits chart the way forward by offering more opportunities for them to share best practices and leverage the collective wisdom they’ve gained in forging new pathways to deliver impact.

As I reflect on the history of the Community Partnership Award, I’m inspired by the stories of the 2025 winning organizations and how they’re uniquely working in partnership with public and private organizations to drive meaningful and sustainable change in the communities they serve.

“Our team remains dedicated to the thoughtful and responsible stewardship of the Foundation’s charitable goals and philanthropic impact.”