Some gifts change lives today. Others continue changing lives for generations. Marilyn Maag understood both perspectives.
A longtime friend, supporter, and former Board member of Santa Maria Community Services, Marilyn devoted herself to strengthening opportunities for families throughout Greater Cincinnati. She deeply believed in the dignity, strength, and potential of the families we serve, and she believed in Santa Maria’s role in walking alongside them on their journeys toward opportunities and stability.
Michael Gentry, Santa Maria’s current Board member, who also served in the past on the Board with Marilyn (and serves on the Board today), says: “Marilyn was a very compassionate and committed human being, especially to Santa Maria and what it stood for as a beacon of education, support, and hope for the Price Hill community. Her service as a Board member and later, while off the board, was most helpful and appreciated.”
Those who knew Marilyn remember her thoughtful leadership, practical wisdom, and commitment to community. During her service on Santa Maria’s Board of Directors, she helped establish our Endowment Fund, recognizing that lasting impact requires long-term vision. She generously shared her knowledge of planned giving and encouraged others to consider how their values might continue to shape the future long after their lifetimes.
Marilyn understood something important: meaningful change takes time. Children need years of support to reach their full potential; families need consistent resources to build financial stability; communities need organizations that can remain strong and responsive through changing times.
That understanding inspired Marilyn to make a generous bequest to Santa Maria through her estate plan.
True to her character, she did so quietly and without seeking recognition. Her goal was simple: to ensure that the work she cared about would continue. Santa Maria’s President and CEO, H.A. Musser, Jr., reflects: “Marilyn’s bequest shows her deep belief in Santa Maria and in the families we serve. She cared about long-term impact and wanted to ensure that future generations would continue to have access to support and opportunity. Her legacy strengthens our organization and the community we serve.”
Marilyn also loved a good party. In 2019, she opened her heart and her house in OTR to help celebrate our President and CEO’s 35th anniversary of tenure at Santa Maria. She did it with impeccable planning acumen, in partnership with staff and board members, and most of all with love and quiet vibrancy she brought to anything she did or touched.
Today, Marilyn’s legacy lives on through Santa Maria’s Endowment Fund. Her gift helps provide the financial stability needed to serve future generations of families. It supports parents gaining job skills and financial confidence. It helps children enter kindergarten ready to learn. It helps families maintain stable housing and access the resources they need to thrive.
Perhaps most importantly, her gift reflects a profound act of hope – a belief that future generations deserve the same opportunities and support that Santa Maria provides today.
Planned gifts are often among the most meaningful gifts a person can make. They allow individuals to support the causes they care about while creating a lasting legacy that reflects their values, passions, and vision for the future.
Marilyn’s story reminds us that philanthropy is not only about what we give during our lifetime. It is also about the impact we choose to leave behind.
If Santa Maria has touched your life, inspired your generosity, or reflected values (make this a link to SM values) you hold dear, we invite you to consider how your own legacy might continue supporting families for generations to come.
Like Marilyn, you have the opportunity to create a future filled with hope, opportunity, and possibility. Because the most enduring gifts are not measured by recognition. They are measured by the lives they continue to change.