Rosemary Dorsa, Vice President for Partnerships and Special Initiatives, CICF

Rosemary Rosemary Dorsa is Vice President for Partnerships and Special Initiatives for Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF).  Her current responsibilities include leading CICF’s work as local grantee and strategic partner for the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) in its decade long work in improving lives of families and children in two Indianapolis urban neighborhoods.  Over the past 10 years, AECF has invested over $15 million in programs designed to improve economic success, early grade literacy, child health outcomes and to develop indigenous leadership. 

An outgrowth of the work with AECF is CICF’s current initiative to acquire and redevelop IPS School 37 as a community center for the Martindale-Brightwood, an effort Rosemary is leading. This project, still in its early stages, has galvanized excitement throughout the neighborhood.  It provides an opportunity for CICF to bring together its three community initiatives – Family Success, Inspiring Places and College Readiness.

In her 16 years with CICF, Rosemary has served in many capacities including and 10 years as Chief Operating Officer.  As COO, she had responsibility for organizational planning, internal communications and aligning resources toward organizational goals.  During this time, CICF redefined the business model and created clarity and focus on how best to accomplish the Foundation’s mission to inspire, support, and practice philanthropy, leadership, and service in central Indiana. 

During her years as Vice President for Programs, Rosemary worked extensively with the Far Eastside neighborhood with a $1 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts.  Rosemary also played a lead role in the creation of the Summer Youth Program Fund and in the early development of the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana.  

Rosemary came to the Foundation in 1993 from Community Centers of Indianapolis (CCI), a federation of fourteen neighborhood centers, where she served as Director of Programming.  Prior to joining the staff of CCI, she worked for the United Way of Central Indiana with responsibilities in community-oriented planning, needs assessment and agency evaluation. 

A native of New York, Rosemary has called Indianapolis home for her entire career and has been engaged in many community organizations over the years.  Currently, she serves as the Chair of the Indiana Humanities Council and is on the boards of the United Way of Central Indiana, Making Connections Indianapolis, Indianapolis Parks Foundation, and TechPoint Foundation.  Rosemary holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University (Ohio) and a master’s degree in social work from Indiana University.

Contact Rosemary at 317.634.2423, ext. 501 or e-mail rosemaryd@cicf.org.