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Few Impact 100 members in its 25-year history can claim a depth and breadth of service equaling that of Marilyn Kinne.
Since joining in 2008 after attending a Spread the Word event at the home of her neighbor, Jenny Berg (currently Impact 100’s president-elect), Marilyn has built an impressive Impact 100 resume:
Marilyn accomplished most of this while running her own business full-time.
A Chicago area native, Marilyn moved to Cincinnati in 1986 as a sales manager for Mobil Oil. In 1990, she started her own business, Acculube, as a distributor for Mobil, serving the Greater Cincinnati/Dayton area. Her team of 45 employees sold and serviced lubricants and metalworking fluids to manufacturing facilities in the region.
The lessons she learned as a successful businesswoman have benefited Impact 100 operations.
“Creating and running a company well teaches you a great deal about people and what motivates them,” Marilyn says. “Knowing what is required to run a business has given me insight into understanding nonprofit operations and financials.”
She continues, “Having a great idea and passion is paramount for any nonprofit, but equally important is the operational skill to be sustainable. When I look at our grant applicants, I try to put myself in their position and see their proposal through a business lens and how best to accomplish their mission.”
It’s the knowledge and insights of Marilyn and other members working together that make Impact 100’s grant application vetting process so successful.
Her personal favorites are “our smaller nonprofit applicants who are very proximate to their served population and engaged within that community.”
Marilyn readily acknowledges the profound impact her membership has had on her life. She notes, “I’ve made close, lasting friends with both fellow Impact 100 members and nonprofit partners. They all have a variety of talents and passions. These are bonds I may not have made without my affiliation with Impact 100. For that, I am very grateful.”
She sees the breadth of how Impact 100 touches our community and its families. “I have directed people needing assistance to various services I’ve learned about,” Marilyn says.
Marilyn also has witnessed the evolution of Impact 100 over the years. She likes how the organization has been able to pivot when needed – like recording applicants’ presentations for the Annual Awards Celebration (AAC) during COVID. This adaptation was so well-received by grant applicants that it has become a permanent part of the process. She likes the big venue at Music Hall, as well.
She applauds Impact 100’s efforts to get more young people involved. “How can we keep them?” she queries. “I was in sales my whole life. It’s so much harder to gain new business/members. Keeping current members is important.”
The stories of nonprofits with great passion and enthusiasm are what keep her coming back. She is still striving for the day when Impact 100 will award five grants.
Marilyn sold her business and retired in 2019. She still attends plenty of Impact 100 events, and frequently spends time at her second home in Naples, Florida. She loves to travel and took a trip last year to Australia and New Zealand.
At home, she enjoys flower gardening, reading and Pilates – “something an Impact friend got me into!”
Two books she especially enjoyed recently were Remarkably Bright Creatures, recommended by an Impact 100 friend and The Zookeeper’s Wife.
Impact 100 thanks Marilyn for her incredible service!
