Mary Stranahan

Let’s start with spark plugs. To put it simply, spark plugs are the small bolts of lightning that start your car. They work by creating an arc of electricity across a gap that ignites the mixture of fuel and air. This small explosion powers your pistons and makes the entire vehicle move. All of the ingredients: the gap, the mixture of fuels, the larger machine, all need the tiny spark plug to go–  Now think of all the people, products, and industries that move everyday because of that small spark. 

 

Perhaps it is appropriate that Mary Stranahan was born into the family that created and owned the largest spark plug company in the world. She herself finds the small gaps, with the right mixture of people and place, and adds the spark that makes an entire system move forward.

 

Mary was born in Toledo, Ohio as the fifth of six children of Duane and Virginia Stranahan. Duane's father and uncle started the Champion Spark Plug Company. The family was deeply philanthropic and dedicated to their community, open spaces, and nature. From the time Mary was young, her mother, Virginia, who went by the nickname “Did,” followed her mother's example and took Mary with her when she voted, and to rallies and meetings of organizations like the League of Women Voters. 

 

“Did” taught Mary to DO, sparking her on a journey of equal parts participation and impact.

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The Journey

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After college, Mary became a teacher in Philadelphia where she saw the power of education, subtle and destructive racism, and leadership that abused power. She knew to effect change, she needed to hold power and humility. Even though she barely graduated from her college the first time, she went back to school and became a doctor, choosing to practice medicine in a rural community.

 

Her compass set west, Mary moved to Montana in 1981 and became a doctor in St.Ignatius on the Flathead Reservation. As a doctor in the rural hospital which included an ER, nursing home, obstetrics, surgery, and geriatrics, Mary touched all aspects of healthcare on the Reservation for over 20 years. The Flathead Reservation was unusual in that it allowed for individual private practice, not just employees of Indian Health Services, which gave Mary the opportunity to embed herself in the community, earn credibility, and build real relationships. The community was about a 50/50 split of Native Americans and white people so she was keenly aware of the racism, both overt and subtle. She was a white doctor on Native land so she learned everything she could, including taking Native History classes at the Salish Kootenai College. She loved delivering babies, tolerated surgeries, and especially adored the way entire Native families would show up whenever someone was in the hospital. By living on the Reservation, she saw the enormous impact job creation had on decreasing domestic violence and substance abuse and improving lives, families, and entire communities. Mary became passionate about economic development.  Both combating racism and supporting economic development became cornerstones of her ongoing work after retiring from healthcare.

 

Up until this point, Mary had been individually philanthropic with LGBTQ and environmental organizations, as well as through a family foundation started by her parents, The Needmor Fund, but also somewhat closeted as a wealth holder. In 2006 she attended a Play BIG conference in Canada. Play BIG was started by Carol Newell who had shifted from being an anonymous investor to a leader in impact investing. Play BIG supports individual wealth holders who want to activate their whole portfolio (investing, lending, and  giving) to be in greater alignment with the values of environmental regeneration and social equity. After the push from Play BIG,  in 2007 Mary went public as a resource and hired Dawn McGee as her CEO to help her focus and transform her wealth into impact in Western Montana. When asked what is the smartest thing she has ever done, the answer comes quickly, “Hire Dawn.”
 

High Stakes Foundation gives small, early and consistent grants, again much like a spark plug, to nonprofits focusing on environmental protection, social justice, economic development and leadership development.

They also run two triple bottom line for-profits: Goodworks Ventures which invests in regional, value-aligned startups, and Goodworks Evergreen which buys existing businesses from retiring owners to retain jobs and businesses in local communities. In true Mary Stranahan fashion, all of the work is about impact, no BS, no frills, and run by a team that is both shockingly small and effective. 

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Today and Tomorrow

 

While Mary has held many jobs titles - teacher, doctor, farmer, investor, philanthropist, founder, mom, her goal has always been, "Be effective."  

 

She still lives on the Flathead Reservation, now in Arlee, Montana, communing to Missoula and around Western Montana to be a hands-on investor, grant maker, change maker, and thought partner to countless good people doing good work. 

 

In the last 18 years Mary and her team have made an enormous impact in Montana. The High Stakes Foundation has granted over $13.2 million to more than 87 organizations, all through grants of under $30,000. Good Works Ventures has invested in 35 companies, four of which have exited. Good Works Evergreen has acquired 6 companies, creating or saving over 75 jobs, preserving jobs paying roughly $2 million in wages to Montanans. 

 

Her next goal is to bring events like Play BIG to Montana to inspire other wealth holders to organize, galvanize, and maximize their giving and investing around their values, to give more, and continue to support the many organizations Mary has helped start, grow and sustain. Mary’s hope is that others take up the charge to give and invest similarly– with a plan and a punch. 

 

She remains as direct, focused, informed, feisty, no frills, funny, and motivated as ever. From a small spark moving a large machine to make a difference, Mary Stranahan continues to be nothing less than lightning. 

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