Ralph Serpe, president and CEO of the Adams County Community Foundation, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Excellence in Community Foundation Leadership Award by the Council on Foundations.
The award recognizes leaders of community foundations who demonstrate long-term vision, leadership, and impact in advancing community philanthropy.
Serpe has spent more than 25 years working in community foundations and has led policy initiatives aimed at strengthening charitable giving. Among them was a change to Pennsylvania’s interstate succession laws that created a local charitable option for the assets of residents who die without a will or heirs.
In Maryland, Serpe helped pass the Endow Maryland Tax Credit and began work to address scholarship displacement, the practice of colleges reducing financial aid when students receive private scholarships. That practice was later eliminated at public colleges in Pennsylvania.
His current legislative work includes advocating for federal tax exemptions for post-graduate scholarship awards and seeking changes to the charitable status of cemeteries so they can receive grants from foundations.
At the Adams County Community Foundation, Serpe introduced a “forever gift” option to the organization’s annual Give Day campaign, allowing donors at any level to contribute to nonprofit endowment funds. As a result, 114 nonprofits now have designated endowment funds through the foundation, providing them with predictable annual grants.
Serpe has also helped grow the foundation’s annual Giving Spree, which has become a major day of community philanthropy in Adams County. On Nov. 6, 2025, the event generated a record $4,342,196.47 in a single day, supporting 100 local nonprofits. Organizers say the Giving Spree, now in its 15th year, has become one of the largest per-capita giving days in the nation as Adams County residents come together annually to support local charitable organizations.
Since 2007, Serpe has also led groups of community foundation leaders in year-long initiatives focused on building unrestricted charitable assets, sharing best practices, and setting measurable goals. More than 350 community foundations have participated in those efforts.