Press Release

MissionSquare Retirement Celebrates 50th Anniversary and Launches MissionSquare Foundation with $20 Million Grant for Communities

Issued by MissionSquare Retirement

June 8, 2022

In celebration of its 50th anniversary of guiding those who serve our communities toward a secure and confident financial future, MissionSquare Retirement is announcing the creation of the MissionSquare Foundation. With an initial $20 million grant from MissionSquare Retirement, the Foundation will focus on strengthening and supporting engagement of the communities we serve.

"For 50 years, we have been uniquely focused on helping those who serve achieve retirement security. With the creation of the MissionSquare Foundation, we want to ensure that our communities prosper and we can serve more people in the years to come," said Lynne Ford, CEO and President of MissionSquare Retirement. "We know that communities are stronger when those working in public service and their families can thrive. We are committed to strengthening communities today and for the long term.

Ford noted that the pandemic exacerbated existing challenges for public service workers, many of whom are frontline, essential employees. Those challenges however, created an opportunity to build further community engagement and programs that can expand MissionSquare Retirement’s support for those in service.

Ford says the Foundation is in place "to support the needs of the communities we serve through outreach and impact programs, signature projects to revitalize communities, and grants designed to give back to those who need support the most." The Foundation is working on identifying program partners, and the first grant is expected to be awarded in early 2023.

MissionSquare Retirement (formerly ICMA-RC), was founded 50 years ago – in 1972 – as a company dedicated to building retirement security for those working in public service. The company now serves over 1.67M participants in all 50 states and over 9900 plans, all uniquely focused on the public service sector. * (as of 5/31/22)

"MissionSquare Retirement investing in a shared sense of service for the next generation is not only fitting, but it underscores the company's commitment to inspire meaningful, positive change," said Tanisha Briley, Chairman of the MissionSquare Retirement board of directors. "We celebrate 50 years of serving those who serve and look forward to supporting the public service sector for the next 50 years to come."

MissionSquare Retirement has a long history of supporting communities where its clients work and live. In 2001, MissionSquare Retirement founded the MissionSquare Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor local and state government employees who lost their lives in service. The Fund provides financial assistance to the surviving children and spouses of employees who have died in the line of duty that are planning to attend an accredited two-year community college, four-year accredited university or vocational school full-time. To date, the MissionSquare Scholarship Fund has raised over $1.4 million and awarded more than 450 scholarships.

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