HUNTINGTON, NEW YORK – August 29 – The Townwide Fund of Huntington is proud to announce that Executive Director Alice Marie Rorke has been selected as a recipient of the Long Island Business News
Corporate Citizen Leadership Excellence-Nonprofit Award. The awards will be presented at a breakfast program on Tuesday, September 20 at the Crest Hollow Country Club.

The award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated vision and leadership over several years, through good times and bad, guiding and inspiring their organization to new levels of growth and achievement.

“We are so pleased that Alice Marie has been recognized by Long Island Business News for her achievements as a tremendous leader,” said David Altman, former president of the Townwide Fund and founding partner at the law firm Brown, Altman & DiLeo. “She joined the Townwide Fund in the spring of 2019 and immediately her welcoming, inclusive attitude and positive energy launched a revitalization of the organization.”

The Townwide Fund of Huntington serves more than thirty (30) member charitable agencies in Huntington, annually providing grants based on merit based application process, as well as in the event of emergency. In 2020, when COVID became an immediate reality, non-profit fundraising activities were quickly curtailed by their inability to hold traditional fundraising events and many charities informed
their beneficiaries that funding would be negatively impacted. Alice Marie, however, reached out to the agencies supported by the Townwide Fund to promptly assess their needs and launched a COVID appeal that raised, within days, more than $20,000 that was immediately disbursed through emergency grants.

Throughout 2020, Alice Marie developed and executed several online fundraising events and small, socially distanced, in-person events to successfully meet the Townwide Fund’s original 2020 budget, allowing the organization to fund more than $100,000 in grants. With continuation of the Pandemic and the resulting cancellation of the Townwide Fund’s annual Gala, the principal fundraising event, Alice Marie pivoted, again, and held intimate outdoor events all summer, successfully held a second golf outing, grew corporate sponsorships and grants received by over 60%, and reconstituted the Townwide
Fund’s Annual Newsletter to reach out to donors. The result was a 7% year over year growth in fundraising revenue, with net income exceeding budget estimates by 15%.

For 2021, the Townwide Fund was able to issue almost $120,000 in grants, a successful performance not experienced by many non-profit organizations. In 2022, the Townwide Fund expects to issue nearly $160,000 in grants to member agencies.

Alice Marie Rorke has been an incredibly hard-working, inspirational leader during her tenure at the Townwide Fund. She successfully pivoted and managed to exceed financial budgets and actually increase grants given to the agencies in the greater Huntington community, whose grassroots programs depend on the Townwide Fund’s support, particularly during the past couple of years. In addition, she has created a true community of non-profits and supporters in Huntington with her positive energy, caring personality, and determination to make Huntington a better place for all.

A dedicated philanthropist and volunteer, Alice Marie Rorke is a 30-year Huntington resident who devotes herself to help the underserved and less fortunate. As Executive Director of The Townwide Fund of Huntington, Alice Marie is responsible for helping continue its 60+ year mission of supporting Huntington’s charitable agencies. She manages operations, assisted by Assistant Director Debbie Knowles, President Greg Kennedy, and the Board of Directors in furthering the Townwide Fund’s corporate relationships, partnerships with private and public companies, sponsorships, and payroll deduction plans. She is an avid networker, involved and informed with member organizations and the Huntington community.

Alice Marie is a dedicated advocate for helping people in need and making Huntington a stronger community, using the phrase “one donation touches many lives” to explain the Fund’s role. A Junior Welfare League of Huntington past president and 26-year member, Alice Marie worked closely with many social service agencies that are also Townwide Fund member organizations. She was president of the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education (HFEE) from 2015- 2019 and regularly attends classes and seminars in the nonprofit realm to stay on top of current trends in fundraising.

Alice Marie is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) with a B.S degree in Marketing with a specialization in International Trade and Economics. She started her career in Hong Kong and worked for many years in showroom sales and merchandising in Manhattan. While raising four children with her husband Jerry, Alice Marie launched a marketing and design business. The Townwide Fund of Huntington has served charitable organizations within the Town of Huntington for more than sixty years, with a focus on social service agencies supplying residents with basic human needs. On September 18 the Townwide Fund holds IPA & Rose, a Sunday afternoon event at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Lloyd Harbor. The East End Golf Outing is on Oct 6th at Westhampton Country Club and The Townwide Fund’s Thanks4Giving Run takes place in Halesite on November 24, 2022.