Marianna Schaffer

Marianna Schaffer (she/her/hers) is a curious connector and strategist with over 20 years of service in the philanthropic and movement sectors. She brings her highly passionate, personable, and dynamic approach to her work as Vice President of Programs at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, where she provides strategic vision, design, oversight, and management of all programmatic and grantmaking activities.

Prior to joining the Dodge Foundation, Marianna worked in support of artists and arts institutions dedicated to positive social change. She served as the inaugural Director of Artist Initiatives at Creative Capital, a New York-based organization that provides innovative and adventurous artists across the country with substantial financial and infrastructure investments. As a Program Officer at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, she worked with individual artists and small arts organizations working at the intersection of arts and social justice, primarily through pioneering initiatives such as the Artist as Activist Fellowship and SEED program. During her tenure, she also managed the New Climate Initiative, a partnership with the Sundance Institute to uncover and support films and emerging media projects that address the environment, conservation, and climate change.

Before joining Rauschenberg, Marianna worked in the Rockefeller Family Office as a member of David Rockefeller’s philanthropic team for eleven years, rising to become the Director of Programs at the David Rockefeller Fund, where she was responsible for day-to-day operations and grantmaking focused on arts access and engagement, criminal justice reform, and climate justice and advocacy.

She holds a Master’s in International Education from New York University, a B.A. in Social & Global Studies from Antioch College, and is a veteran of AmeriCorps, where she served in the Learn & Serve Corps based at the University of Denver. Outside of her professional activities,
Marianna serves on the Board of Directors of HI-ARTS, Outdoors Empowered Network, Impact Guild, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, and Opendox. She is also the first woman of color to serve as Board Chair of the Scherman Foundation, a New York City-based foundation dedicated to the arts and movement building in New York along with ensuring, democracy, environment, and reproductive justice nationally.

She is a multi-hyphenate with afro-Brazilian roots and the daughter of a Marlton, NJ native. You can find her in Harlem, NY dancing with her husband and two children and finding joy in the mundane and unconventional.