b'SPRING 2024VOLUMEXXXVIIIISSUE 1T H Evisit our website: www.catholicfoundation.comLY O N S U S E D O N O R A D V I S E D F U N D T O A C H I E V EC H A R I TA B L E G I V I N G G O A L SAs Georgia and Marc Lyons accepted the 2024a little there, with our time and our resources. Catholic Foundation Award, they let the wordsBlocking and tacklingno touchdowns or home of a universally known saint motivate others torunsjust ordinary giving and activities that offer their talents in support of the philanthropicmost in this audience do every day.needs of the Dallas area Catholic community. The South Louisiana natives who met in Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who devoted hercollege described how they established a Donor life to serving the poor, gave us an inspiring quoteAdvised Fund at The Catholic Foundation to encouraging us that we can all come together toassist with their charitable giving goals after make a difference in satisfying the many needsmoving to Dallas in 1985.surrounding us, said Georgia before moreGiving Through The Catholic Foundationthan 1,000 guests at the 41st annual Catholic Foundation Award Dinner. They said some of their friends asked them over Imagine the small, hunched over nun, lessthe years why they give through The Catholic than five-feet tall saying these profound words,Foundation instead of just giving directly to she said. The needs are great, and none of us,specific charities.including me, ever do great things. But we can allThe answer is two-fold, Marc described. do small things, with great love, and together weFirst, when we make tax efficient can do something wonderful. contributions to our fund, we are still able to With that saintly reference, the Lyonsdirect our donations to our favorite charities. exclaimed that together we can accomplish theSecondly, our fund is combined with the many extraordinary. other funds established through the Foundation, Humble Honorees and is wisely invested.The earnings from these investments Throughout their nearly 52 years of marriage,(the births of our children and grandchildrenprovide part of the grant funding from the Marc said he and Georgia tried to model whatnotwithstanding) and certainly dont haveFoundations unrestricted fund each year, he they learned as children. the extraordinary accomplishments of oursaid. So, many organizations in our diocese and To them, that meant working hard andpredecessors, said Marc. community have benefitted from The Catholic remaining true to their Catholic principles. We have tried to do just a little bit here andFoundation grants!\\We have no marquee events in our lives THE PRESIDENTS LETTER With important relationships in place, the Foundation facilitates, The Catholic Foundations donors continue toreceives and stewards current donor gifts, plus gifts from the estates of build legacies of positive change. philanthropic people, even those who wish to remain anonymous.Our three newest trustees just began theirOver time, weve provided more than $287 million dollars in grants term at a time when Foundation donorto religious, charitable and educational institutions. That includes more contributions, donor assets under managementthan $200 million in the last 10 years alone.and grant distributions are at record levels. As we heard from our 41st Catholic Foundation Award honorees In just the first quarter of 2024, new funds areGeorgia and Marc Lyons during the recent annual Award Dinner, doing being established at a steady rate. small things with great love leads to endless possibilities.The recent pace of philanthropic activity reflects the generous impactIn the never ending effort to help donors fulfill theirthat are donors are making in the local Catholic community and beyondcharitable intentions, heres to the creation of many more community and its something that can make us all proud. altering outcomes. \\For nearly 70 years, The Catholic Foundation has helped generouslyJ. Matthew Kramerminded people fulfill their charitable intentions.At our core, we foster connections between donors, professional advisors and charitable organizations with an emphasis on local Catholic churches, schools and worthy causes.'