Donna Waites

Donna Waites serves as president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. In this role, she leads the Foundation’s statewide efforts to reduce poverty through action, advocacy and systems change. She also provides executive oversight and supervision of the Foundation’s two South Carolina ministries — the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families and Healthy Learners — working closely with their leadership to strengthen impact, accountability and mission alignment across the state.

Donna began her career with the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in 2000, supporting fund development for Healthy Learners. She later helped establish the Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals Development Foundation, serving as director of philanthropy. In 2015, she joined the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina as program director, advancing to vice president of programs before being named president in 2022.

Under her leadership, the Foundation focuses on long-term, systemic solutions in housing security, economic mobility and health access, while remaining rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and the Sisters’ mission to serve those most in need. Donna works collaboratively with nonprofit partners, funders and community leaders to address structural barriers to opportunity and improve outcomes for families experiencing poverty.

Donna holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Columbia College. She also earned a Certificate in Finance Essentials from Duke University and is a Change Leaders in Philanthropy Fellow through Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, a Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Initiative Fellow, and a member of the Blue Ridge Institute.

She serves on the boards of MUSC Midlands, the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development, SC Grantmakers Network, Healthy Learners and the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families.

CONTACT