About the Fund
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Marie Graber Martens built a remarkable life defined by innovation, leadership and generosity. After completing high school in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and graduating from St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Madison, she found herself on an unexpected path to business success.
What began as a search for suitable window hardware led her and her family to create the “Badger Crane,” patented in 1939 by her father, J.N. Graber. Together, the family founded Graber Industries, which grew into a nationally recognized firm in the window fashion industry. Known as the “First Lady of Window Fashions,” Mrs. Martens was celebrated for her business acumen and was the author of “The First Official Window Decorating Guide,” published by Simon and Schuster. She retired as president of Graber Industries in 1970.
Never one to shy away from new challenges, Mrs. Martens moved to Boca Raton and acquired Autohaus Mercedes-Benz in Pompano Beach. In 1973, she became the first woman in the United States to serve as president of a Porsche Audi dealership, growing it into the largest distributor of its kind on the East Coast.
A quiet but profound philanthropist, Mrs. Martens left a transformational $15 million bequest to the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, more than doubling the organization’s assets at the time. Her generosity also extended to the Madison Community Foundation, tripling its assets with a gift of equal size.
Her bequest established the Marie Graber Martens Unrestricted Fund, which provides annual grants supporting arts and culture, education, community development, health, human services, the environment, and the preservation of historical and cultural resources.
Mrs. Martens’ extraordinary vision and generosity have left a lasting legacy, empowering the Community Foundation to serve and strengthen the region for generations to come. We salute her enduring spirit and unwavering belief in the power of philanthropy to create lasting change.
