About The Catholic Foundation
The Catholic Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, was established in 1955 by a group of visionary Catholic business and professional leaders in the midst of a period of remarkable growth and prosperity in the Dallas area to ensure that the physical and spiritual needs of those in the community who were less fortunate would never be overlooked.
Since its inception, the Foundation, a perpetual endowment, has grown both monetarily and in services provided. In 1965, managed assets of the Foundation were less than $1 million. A $2.6 million gift received from the Simmons Foundation following the death of James W. Simmons, Jr., in 1972, led to exponential growth over the next 10 years, and by 1985, managed assets had grown to nearly $21 million. Today, operating as a community foundation, The Catholic Foundation is home to more than 350 different funds and manages over $121 million in assets.
Virtually every Catholic institution in the Diocese of Dallas and most other established social service agencies, arts and cultural, educational, and health care organizations serving the community have benefited from Catholic Foundation grants ranging in size from as little as $25 in the early days to a series of $1 million grants made in the 1990’s. Today The Catholic Foundation regularly awards grants in excess of $5 million a year.
A Community Foundation
A community foundation is a type of foundation formed by broad-based community support from multiple sources: trusts, endowments, individual contributions, or private foundation grants.
A community foundation generally makes grants only within a specified geographic area and is governed by a board representative of the community it serves.
As a community foundation, The Catholic Foundation enjoys the tax benefits and spending flexibility afforded a public charity by relevant federal legislation and IRS regulations. It appreciates the efficiencies and cost savings realized by investing and managing in tandem charitable resources from many sources. And, as an established source of charitable funding, it possesses an unparalleled knowledge of ongoing and emerging community needs.
Taken together these advantages make philanthropy easy and powerful.
Mission, Vision and Values
The Catholic Foundation enjoys the distinction among philanthropic funds of being mission-driven, of maintaining a unique focus on the needs of the institutions and peoples of the Catholic community and of faithfully fulfilling its promise to provide financial support to this community for all time.
Our Mission
The Catholic Foundation promotes compassionate charitable giving and stewardship that serves donors and the needs of our community.
Our Vision
The vision of The Catholic Foundation is to be the primary philanthropic leader whose trusted stewardship satisfies our donors’ intentions while meeting the needs of our Catholic community.
Our Values
In all that we do, The Catholic Foundation:
- abides by Christian principles,
- upholds the highest standards of ethics,;
- utilizes the talents of the laity,
- leads responsibly,
- respects donors’ intentions,
- manages resources efficiently, and
- serves and responds professionally.