Marble Falls: Seriff Foundation closes its doors

By Daniel Clifton • Daily Tribune Staff

MARBLE FALLS - After eight years as a major philanthropy for nonprofits across the Highland Lakes, the Seriff Foundation will be shutting down operations at the end of October, the founders said Friday.

“The bottom line is we set several goals for ourselves eight years ago and we’ve largely accomplished them,” said Marc Seriff. He and wife Carolyn Seriff started the foundation as a grant-making entity, but shifted to an operational foundation eight years ago.

While the Seriffs are closing the foundation, Marc Seriff said he and Carolyn were still committed to the community.

“In no way, shape or form is this a pulling back by Carolyn or myself from this community,” he said. “We will still remain active in the community. We love this community.”

Marc Seriff, 59, is a former programmer who helped found America Online, then retired in 1996 to Central Texas. He attended the University of Texas and earned an advanced degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to an online biography. The Seriffs have been very active in the community, helping establish the Boys & Girls Club of the Highland Lakes, among other groups.

Marc Seriff said many of the projects started through the foundation or with its help have either been picked up by other organizations or are standing well on their own, such as the Highland Lakes Health Partnership, the Children’s Day Celebration and the Marble Falls Family Services Center.

But what really made the Seriffs aware their eponymous foundation had served its purpose was this summer’s devastating flood. The couple was in Colorado when rains June 26-27 drenched the Highland Lakes with as much as 19 inches of water during just a few hours.

They watched reports that showed the Marble Falls community successfully responding to the disaster and residents helping each other.

“The first reaction from this community was it came together,” Marc Seriff said. “Nobody sat around and waited for help.”

Watching the recovery from afar, the Seriffs realized many of the characteristics and values embodied by the foundation were reflected in the community.

“You can’t imagine what it feels like to be in Colorado and your hometown is floating away,” Carolyn Seriff said.

But after seeing the community’s response, which involved dozens of organizations and thousands of people working together, Seriff said, “I turned to Marc and said, ‘They don’t need us.’”

It wasn’t a bad thing, though, Marc Seriff said. It just helped him and his wife realize the foundation had accomplished its mission.

Seriff said the annual summer Colorado trip usually served as a time for him to brainstorm on a new project for the foundation.

“This year, I just couldn’t come up with one,” he said.

Though the foundation will cease to exist Oct. 30, Seriff said the projects it helped establish will continue.

The Legacy Fund, which the Seriff Foundation set up along with the Marble Falls Independent School District to provide scholarships and educational funding, will continue to operate through the Austin Community Foundation. Seriff Foundation co-director Midge Dockery will work for the ACF to manage the Legacy Fund.

School district Superintendent Ryder Warren said the transition for the Legacy Fund will be a smooth one.

“The first thing that Marc did after he made the decision, he and I sat down and planned out how the transition could take place without any effect on the Legacy Fund,” Warren said. “We’re not going to skip a beat with the Legacy Fund. While we won’t have the same infrastructure, we’re still providing scholarships to students and grant opportunities to staff. It was really important to Marc that the Legacy Fund continue to flourish.”

The Seriff Foundation has about $500,000 left, Seriff said.

He said the remaining assets will be used to set up three endowment funds: the Legacy Community Endowment Fund, the Marble Falls Independent School District Teacher Enrichment Endowment Fund and the Legacy Burnet County Hope Fund.

The endowments will continue addressing needs and concerns the Seriffs feel strongly about, Seriff said.

An emotional Seriff praised the foundation’s staff for their hard work during the past eight years.

“It’s been an amazing trip,” he said to his staff. “You’ve faced the challenges and you’ve met the goals.”

Foundation co-director Kathy Fletcher will continue to work for the Seriffs.

The foundation has been instrumental in helping several organizations grow, officials said. Warren said the foundation and the Seriffs have played a major role in the community.

“I cannot say enough about Marc Seriff,” Warren said. “He and his wife Carolyn, along with the individuals associated with the Seriff Foundation, have meant so much to this community. The relationship we’ve had from the school standpoint, the Legacy Fund as it is today would not have every come about without the partnership from the Seriff Foundation.”

Seriff said the decision to close the foundation didn’t come easy.

“There have been quite a few tears coming to this decision,” he said. “But, we view this as a good thing.”

He and his wife are still committed to the community and will still be on hand to help out.

“This is a very special place to live,” he said. “I think we now have a community that believes it can do anything - and it can.”

Staff Write Chris Porter contributed to this report.

daniel@thepicayune.com

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Seriff Foundation closes its doors