Texas Catholic Letters
December 27, 2007
Mr. and Mrs. James Hotchkiss
Allen, Texas
Dear Jim and Mariam,
It was a real pleasure to have lunch with you last week to discuss The Catholic Foundation, grant making and the need for the Foundation to grow. I hope you found our conversation helpful.
The Catholic Foundation has had several good years of growth, both through contributions and the stock market, but it is still not enough for us to help everyone making requests to the extent the Trustees would like.
In 2007, the unrestricted fund of the Foundation received over 50 requests for funding from throughout the Diocese, amounting to $2.5 million. Unfortunately, we were only able to grant $1.3 million – just over 50%. All requests were worthy of funding and the final distribution decisions were difficult. Each time the Distribution Committee completes its work it is reminded of our vision statement which includes the goal of meeting all of the needs of those requesting grants. In 2007, that would have required a permanent endowment of about $55 million and we are now just over $30 million. We have a long way to go and that is why your support is so important to us. We could not do our work without benefactors such as you and we need many more.
The community needs our support and that is why we are so passionate about the growth of the Foundation. I hope you will join with The Catholic Foundation in our work. Every contribution makes a big difference.
Happy New Year and God Bless..
Sincerely,
Edwin M. Schaffler
President and Chief Executive Officer