Remembering EFA founding member Marc Wortmann

The European Fundraising Association was saddened to learn of the death of Marc Wortmann last month, at the age of 63.

Marc was one of the founding members of EFA and was also a board member and EFA treasurer, taking on this role following its 2002 founding, and in 2004 becoming EFA’s vice chair until 2007.

Outside of EFA, Marc was committed to the field of dementia, working in it for 18 years – including as executive director for Alzheimer Nederland from 2000 to 2006, and then CEO of Alzheimer’s Disease International. This was a position he held for ten years, from 2007 to 2017. He also volunteered for the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) for 30 years, from 1977-2007.

More recently, Marc had his own consultancy, specialising in strategy, governance, fundraising and advocacy for the nonprofit sector in the Netherlands and globally. He was also a frequent writer on nonprofit issues, research, events and fundraising for De Dikke Blauwe.

Commenting on the news, EFA founding member and former president Gosse Bosma said:

“We were all saddened to hear of Marc’s untimely passing. As chair of the former Dutch organisation for fundraising professionals Nederlands Genootschap van Fondsenwervers he was elected by EFA members as board member in 2002, and later as vice chair, playing a key role in EFA’s early years.

“A strong believer in international cooperation Marc was very aware of the growing importance of the EU for the fundraising environment, and as board member he was always interested and engaged, with a real skill for being able to deal with both the strategic and the practical. He was much valued by us all.”

Marc died on 15 August in the Netherlands, and leaves behind his wife Corien, his children, and grandchildren.