Mark Schwiebert recognized in Advisor Circle
Celebrating local advisors as partners in philanthropy
Mark Schwiebert of McCarthy, Callas & Feeney, P.C., a respected estate planning attorney with deep ties to the community, is one of the newly inducted members of the Quad Cities Community Foundation’s Advisor Circle. Each member has assisted one or more donors to establish a gift of $1 million or more at the Community Foundation to benefit our region.
“Professional advisors help donors translate deeply held values into action,” said Anne Calder, the Community Foundation’s vice president of philanthropy. “The new Advisor Circle members have shown a tremendous commitment to both their clients and our community in the work they do.” Schwiebert is joined by Aleeza Singh of The Singh Group at Merrill Lynch and Renee Virlee of Pearson & Virlee, PC, as this year’s honorees.
A graduate of Augustana College, Schwiebert has spent decades serving clients and his hometown of Rock Island with care, integrity, and a clear belief in the power of giving back.
Schwiebert was mayor of Rock Island for 20 years and has held leadership roles on numerous nonprofit boards. Today, he continues that civic engagement as a member of the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. Those experiences have shaped an approach that is deeply client-centered and community-focused.
“For me, the first objective is always finding out what people want to do,” Schwiebert said. “Once you understand what matters to them, you can help identify options that honor those wishes while also benefiting the community.” He regularly suggests flexible tools like field-of-interest funds, which allow donors to support causes they care about in perpetuity, while remaining responsive to future needs.
He credits his parents—especially his father, a leader in the estate planning field—for instilling a strong belief in philanthropy. For the Schwiebert family, giving and civic engagement were not an afterthought; they were a way of life. That outlook continues to guide Schwiebert’s work today, as he helps clients see charitable planning as a “win-win”—tax-wise for individuals and transformative for the causes they love.
To ensure the best service for clients and the biggest impact for the community, Schwiebert often works closely with the Community Foundation. Its breadth of philanthropic options, technical expertise, and proactive support make complex planning more approachable for advisors and donors alike. “Community foundations are a real asset for my clients,” Schwiebert notes, “not only for how they help structure gifts, but for the way they strengthen the entire nonprofit ecosystem.”
Schwiebert, and all the professional advisors in the Community Foundation’s Advisor Circle, exemplify the collaborative spirit that makes meaningful philanthropy possible. To learn more about how advisors partner with the Community Foundation, click here.