ABOUT MAKE YOUR MARK FOUNDATION
Built from love, in his memory.
Make Your Mark Foundation exists to honor Mark’s life by creating opportunities to support families, strengthen communities, and inspire others to leave a lasting impact.
2021
Founded
$116,000+
Raised
11
Families
OUR MISSION
Three pillars, one purpose.
Make Your Mark's mission is to alleviate the emotional weight of grief and help survivors navigate their journey toward healing, by offering those impacted by suicide loss with a supportive community, access to resources, and financial assistance.
Resources.
We help families find grief counseling, support groups, and educational resources. Partnerships with Haven of Northern Virginia, AFSP, Copline, and Health, Happiness & Hooves Farms extend our reach.
Financial Assistance.
The financial burden following a loss can be overwhelming. We provide direct financial assistance to families in crisis, holiday adopt-a-family support, memorial contributions, gift cards, and scholarship funding.
Supportive Community.
We create safe spaces where survivors can connect, share their stories, and find people who can help. From celebrations of life to community gatherings, no one has to navigate this journey alone.
OUR STORY
How Make Your Mark Began.
Every nonprofit starts somewhere. Ours started with Mark, and a promise to honor his legacy by creating a lasting impact for families and communities.
01.
Honoring a life, supporting a community.
In the wake of tragedy, Ryann Hart Stefanye, a close friend to the Frongellos, felt compelled to take action in honor of Mark. She created Make Your Mark Foundation in 2021 as a tribute to the memory of our beloved friend, son, and brother. The goal is to help others impacted by the loss of suicide through financial support, resources, and community.
02.
The creation of Make Your Mark.
In June 2017, the Frongello family and their loved ones experienced an unfathomable loss. Losing Mark sent waves of devastation throughout their community, and marked the second family member they’ve lost to suicide. The pain and devastation caused by this loss were too great to ignore.
03.
A community of hope.
We welcome you to be a part of our efforts to dismantle the barriers that prevent open discussion about suicide and foster a community of hope. By joining us, you help create a safe and supportive environment where individuals impacted by suicide loss can share their experiences without fear of judgment or stigma.
Together, we work toward a future where suicide is not a taboo topic, and where those affected by suicide loss can find the help and support they need to heal.
ABOUT MARK
For Mark.
For every family after.
Mark was tough as nails on the outside, and the gentlest soul on the inside. Painfully shy, but with a smile that could win over any room and a wit that could carry a conversation with anyone, about anything. Highly intelligent, endlessly curious, never one to show off about it. He spent his free time with the Bible, and with books on philosophy, science, and history, filling a small journal he carried everywhere with ideas about clean energy, nature, and protecting the Earth. He was a son, a brother, a friend, and he was loved without condition.
Then, on June 17, 2017, Mark was gone.
“Grief doesn't end. It becomes the place we build from.”
— Ryann Hart Stefanye, Founder
What he left behind was unbearable pain and unanswered questions the kind that don't resolve, no matter how much time passes. But loss like that doesn't erase what came before it. It doesn't erase the love he had for the people around him, or the love they still carry for him.
Mark's life was not defined by how it ended. He was intelligent, brave, strong, kind, and deeply faithful, someone who kept fighting every time life knocked him down, and who never stopped dreaming about a better world.
Make Your Mark Foundation exists to carry that forward. It's how Mark's story continues, not through loss or unanswered questions, but through love, awareness, and every family we walk beside in his name.
YOUR DONATION’S IMPACT
Every dollar tracked. Every gift honored.
No abstract budget lines. No anonymous overhead. Here's the complete list of where every donation has gone, by recipient, by year, by purpose.
Partner Organizations
$6,212.30 over 3 years
$1,500
Haven of Northern Virginia
Suicide loss survivor support
2025
$1,579
Copline Run for the Call
First responder suicide prevention
‘24-’25
$1,552
AFSP
AFSP Walk + direct donations
Multi-Year
$1,531
RUYTS Foundation
Suicide loss family support
2024
$500
Copline (crisis line)
First responder mental health
2023
$500
FBHA
Firefighter mental health
2025
$500
Mind and Wellness
Foundation
Mental health resources
2024
$50
Breathe Body & Mind
Suicide prevention yoga
2024
Direct Family Support
$3,838.80
in immediate aid
$1,510
Memorial Bench,
Gays Family
Bench in honor of Mitchell Gays
2023
$1,000
Holiday Adopt-a-Family
Direct family support during
the holidays
2025
$500
Obregon Family
(GoFundMe)
Direct family support
2023
$500
Matt Rice (GoFundMe)
Direct family support
2024
$250
Amazon Gift Card for Family
Direct family support
2025
$78
Brandon's Flowers
Celebration of life
2025
Memorial Scholarships
$500 in honor
of a life
$500
PVCC Education
Foundation
Memorial scholarship in
honor of Alex Hahn
2023
Community Events & Partners
$616 in community building
$361
PVCC Education
Foundation
Memorial scholarship in honor of Alex Hahn
‘23-’24
$255
Health, Happiness
& Hooves Farms
Local nonprofit partner & goat yoga co-host
2024
TOTAL SINCE 2021
$116,000+
CHARITY CLASSIC GROWTH
A tournament that keeps growing.
The Make Your Mark Charity Classic started small in 2023, 18 teams, 70 golfers, 8 sponsors. Three years later it's nearly doubled in every dimension.
The growth tells a simple story: the people who come once tend to come back, and they bring people with them. Each year's success makes the next year's mission possible.
OUR IMPACT
Every connection matters.
Every dollar heals.
Since 2021, every dollar Make Your Mark has raised has gone directly into the hands of families, partner organizations, and community efforts that support those left behind by suicide loss.
$14K+
DONATED DIRECTLY
To families, partner organizations, and community efforts.
400+
GOLFERS
Across three Charity Classic tournaments since 2023.
20+
LOCAL SPONSORS
Businesses, partners, and individuals who show up year after year.
05
YEARS OF MISSION
Since the foundation was established in 2021.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
Ryann Hart Stefanye
Founder & President
Ryann founded Make Your Mark Foundation in 2021 after losing her best friend's brother, Mark, to suicide. What began as a way to honor his memory has grown into a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting families navigating the same unimaginable loss.
Ryann built her career in the nonprofit and customer success fields and now supports public safety professionals. She launched Make Your Mark alongside her full-time career and continues to apply her operational and leadership experience to help the foundation grow.
"My only credential is that I cared enough to take action. Supporting families through the unimaginable is the least I can do. I will spend the rest of my life creating a community where grief is met with compassion, where stories are honored, and where people can find strength in one another when they need it most."
She lives in Virginia with her family and continues to lead Make Your Mark's programs, partnerships, and community outreach. She also personally responds to every family who reaches out to the foundation for the first time.
Meet the Team
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Ryann Hart Stefanye
FOUNDER & PRESIDENT
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Julie Hart
VICE PRESIDENT
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Bonnie Edwards
TREASURER
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Meghan Leatherwood
OFFICER
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Raychal Hart
COUNSELOR
THE MARK BEHIND OUR NAME
Rooted in love.
Evergreen in memory.
Evergreen trees keep their leaves through every season. A quiet, year-round symbol of eternal life. For Make Your Mark, the evergreen represents the enduring memory of the loved ones we've lost, the ones who live on in our hearts no matter what changes around us. Every part of the symbol carries meaning.
The Evergreen
A symbol of eternal life steadfast through every season. Our loved ones live on in our hearts, year-round, regardless of what changes around us.
The Five Flowers
Three honor those who have died by suicide. One stands for Suicide Awareness Month. One stands for Mental Health Awareness Month. Remembrance and advocacy, growing on the same branches.
The Roots
The beginning and end of life. Stability and strength, drawn deep. Roots are the support system that holds families struggling to move forward through their grief.
TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST
We earn the trust we ask for.
We believe a nonprofit should be as accountable as the trust it asks for. Our books are open, our reporting is public, and our stewardship is independently verified.
LABOR OF LOVE
No one at Make Your Mark takes a salary.
TAX STATUS
TAX ID-87-1685344
501(c)(3)
VERIFIED ON
Guidestar &
Charity Navigator
Help us reach the next family.
Every gift, no matter the size, makes the next call, the next care package, the next gathering possible.