The Maggie & Ken Sabbag Endowment is a PCF Endowment Builder fund, which provides unrestricted support for PCF’s local grantmaking programs.
Maggie Sabbag is a Pasadena-area native: She was born at Huntington Hospital, grew up in Sierra Madre, and attended Gooden and Polytechnic schools. She met her future husband, Ken, in Santa Monica during his UCLA hand surgery fellowship, which followed his graduation from Penn Medical School and his residency at Harvard University. Maggie holds a BA in Slavic Languages and Literature/Soviet Studies from Princeton and a master’s degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University.
Maggie and Ken moved to Pasadena in 2005 to raise their growing family, which eventually included three girls. The area was home to Maggie, and Ken, from Boston, loved the family-friendly feel and the tree-lined streets. “The Pasadena area has maintained a strong sense of history, with a focus on the future. We love to enjoy the artistic, institutional, and natural riches of Pasadena,” says Maggie.
A Commitment to Community
Maggie has always been interested in building community, whether local or international. A desire to build bridges between the US and Soviet Union led to a career in emerging markets finance and investment. As an orthopedic hand surgeon, Ken practices at Congress Orthopedics in Pasadena. Together with their children, the couple has also found time to serve with numerous community organizations. Maggie joined the Pasadena Community Foundation Board in 2016 and currently serves as its Board Chair.
“I love that we can touch so much and so many agencies through one institution,” she says. “I have witnessed extraordinary growth in PCF’s total assets and its grantmaking programs. We have expanded our flexibility to identify and address areas of particular need in Pasadena, allowing us to develop PCF initiatives in education, housing, and food insecurity. This is a testament to Jennifer DeVoll’s leadership, a great staff, and to PCF’s ability to inspire and engage the generosity of our community – a community that has trust in PCF’s mission and our ability to serve as a force for good in Pasadena.”
Maggie and Ken created their named endowment with PCF in 2023 to provide unrestricted support for the foundation’s local grantmaking. The endowment felt like a natural next step to the Sabbags after participating for many years in PCF’s expansion and impact. “We care about Pasadena and its future. We have been inspired by the great, and extended, impact of other endowments at PCF, and we love the idea that a current gift will meet current needs and, with time, grow and help to address the needs of future generations.”
THE POWER OF ENDOWMENT
Endowments are the cornerstone of PCF’s mission to build hometown legacies. The corpus of each endowed fund is invested with PCF’s portfolio for long-term growth. Each year, the endowments generate the funds that support PCF’s local grantmaking, which enriches the arts community, protects our environment, provides health care and critical social services, and bolsters public education in Pasadena. Endowments are permanent legacies for our community; these funds will continue to grow and provide philanthropic support forever. Learn more about creating an endowment at PCF.
Created November 2023