Generosity in Motion

Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ”   

Blair Demers of Portsmouth answers that question every day.

Demers became the chief executive officer of the Foundation for Seacoast Health in October 2024, and in her role, she oversees the nonprofit organization, which is a catalyst for positive change by supporting a creative mix of initiatives that build healthier communities through grants and programs throughout the region. 

“For me, it’s always been about opportunity,” says Demers, who is a graduate of St. Paul’s School in Concord and Princeton University. “I’ve had so much opportunity in my life. I was raised to appreciate that and to take advantage of it and not take it for granted.” 

She also earned an executive MBA at Stanford University and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management at Johns Hopkins University. 

“I see a lot of opportunity to make a change in manageable ways to make other people’s lives better, and particularly for young people,” Demers says. “At the same time, I really love people, and I really love helping people. That sounds ‘trite or clique’ but it is part of who I am.”

Demers, 51, heard the call early on and went to work in the nonprofit sector straight out of school. Her first job was at a startup nonprofit working to close the opportunity gap for inner-city kids in San Francisco, and over the next 25 years, she has served as the head of several purpose-driven organizations and as a philanthropic consultant. Her passion lies in harnessing generosity in all its forms to change the world for the better. 

“I think that people benefit so much from having the mindset of generosity, the mindset of abundance over scarcity,” she says. “I don’t mean that strictly in the form of dollars. I mean that in every way that they approach their life and the way that they connect with their neighbors and com-
munity members.”

Haven’s Executive Director Kathy Beebe, left, with Blair Demers. Photo by Codee Linen

The Foundation for Seacoast Health, which was founded in 1984 and has an endowment of approximately $35 million, is strictly a grant-maker. Currently, it focuses on the three main areas of mental health, healthy aging and the health care workforce. It addresses those needs within the local sector while at the same time connecting and collaborating with other funding organizations and nonprofits. Demers says the intent is to think more deeply about the ways in which what the organization is accomplishing can ultimately impact the entire state of New Hampshire.

“Where is the clog in the pipe? There are probably many,” she says. “We at the foundation are small but mighty. We can’t change the whole system, but perhaps there is a piece of that clog that the foundation can help loosen. I want to find those parts with the limited resources that we have. How can we make the biggest impact?”

Attorney Andrea L. Daley, who is in her 10th year as the foundation’s board chair, is convinced Demers is the right person at the right time to hold the reins.

“Blair has been an integral part of the Seacoast for a long time,” Daley says. “Her employment background and extensive involvement with many well-respected nonprofit organizations in this community has provided her with a set of skills that has
made her uniquely qualified to lead the Foundation for Seacoast Health at a time when we are significantly expanding our grantmaking work.”

Demers, who met her husband, Jeff, while they were students at St. Paul’s and with him shares three daughters, aged 23, 21 and 18, feels that she is living a life of consequence in this role that ideally suits her.

“It’s fitting all the puzzle pieces together of the types of work, the types of hats that I’ve worn in relation to the nonprofit sector, whether I’m doing philanthropic advising or running a nonprofit, or I’m running the Seacoast Women’s Giving Circle, which I did for a number of years, and is collective giving at the grassroots level,” she says. “I really love what happens when people come together for a common goal.” 

Haven NH is the largest agency in the state providing support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The nonprofit, which also offers prevention education and community outreach, is a grant recipient from the Foundation for Seacoast Health. 

“Part of what makes Blair so effective is really getting to know the nonprofits, and she is finding more about the needs in the community. It’s a huge advantage. Since Blair has taken the helm, there has been a great shift in really focusing on the nonprofits and their needs in trying to streamline the grant process, so it’s not so complicated or challenging for folks to get this funding that is so necessary,” says Executive Director Kathy Beebe. 

One of the targeted grants received by Haven NH this year enables the agency to add an additional prevention educator who will give school kids in grades K-12 age-appropriate presentations on personal body safety, healthy relationships, consent, and power and control.  The goal is to help if they are in need or want to know how to step up for a friend. 

“We’ve been seeing about 13,000 kids each year, and that’s less than half of the kids in our geographic area. It’s very important that kids have the tools,” Beebe says. “It’s helpful to link any of them to an adult who will be able to help them get out of a situation and get the support that they need, or help get somebody else out of a situation.”