Board Chair Honored

The Maryland Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals named Jay Griswold, Chair of Washington College's Board of Visitors and Governors, as the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser of 2005. The award luncheon was held June 14 in Towson.

Director and Senior Advisor of Brown Advisory & Trust Company, Griswold and his family have long been involved in charitable work throughout Maryland. In 1997, three years after his daughter Sarah graduated from Washington College, Griswold became chair of the $72 million Campaign for Washington College. Before accepting the position, he pledged a leadership gift and at least one day of his week to the cause, a commitment he far exceeded. Quickly rising to become Washington College's chief "friend- and fund-raiser," he was named Chair of the Board of Visitors and Governors in 2001. Under his leadership the College completed the largest capital campaign in its history, surpassing its original target by more than $30 million.

Griswold's philanthropic interests don't stop at Washington College. A lifelong history buff with family roots running 200-years deep into Maryland's maritime past, Griswold also served as chairman of the Maryland Historical Society, guiding its fundraising and forging ties with Kiplin Hall, the ancestral home of Maryland's Calvert family in Yorkshire, England, which opened up new study abroad opportunities for Washington College's students of history and literature. He also has served on the board of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Living Classrooms Foundation.

"Jay combines an innate sense of what it takes to raise considerable sums of money with a passion for any cause he champions," said Dennis Fiori, Director of the Maryland Historical Society. "He liberally cross-pollinates among his charities to create new strategies and partnerships furthering the goals of increased support for all. It is hard to avoid his infectious enthusiasm."