Texas Catholic Letters
October 25, 2007
Mrs. Cathy Vance
Development Director
Our Lady of Perpetual Help School
Dallas, Texas
Dear Cathy,
Thank you for arranging for The Catholic Foundation to hold the Fall grant ceremony at Our Lady of Perpetual Help on November 7. Your idea of preceding the event with the all school mass at 8 am is a perfect way to begin the festivities.
When we award grants I think of the part of our Vision Statement that addresses “meeting all the needs of our Catholic community”. That is what we want to do, but sadly, we cannot at the present time. The Foundation must grow substantially to accomplish our vision. The twenty-one grants to be awarded represent only a portion of the $1.7 million in funding requests made this cycle. Total 2007 requests were over $2.5 million.
The good news is that we were able to meet almost every request with some funding, but the challenge of accomplishing our vision remains. To satisfy all of the needs the Foundation must double the unrestricted endowment to over $60 million. That’s a tall order which calls for a financial commitment from our entire community . Our grant recipients work to satisfy the needs and, The Catholic Foundation with the support of our community, can give them the means to successfully carry out their work.
Cathy, as we enter the time of year to be thankful, I am thankful for the Foundation’s ability to make grants and am confident that we will someday accomplish our vision. While it may be a little early in the season please accept our best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. See you on the 7th!
Sincerely,
Edwin M. Schaffler
President and Chief Executive Officer