IMPACT Spring 2011

Save the Date: North Texas Giving Day is September 15, 2011

Mark your calendar to open your heart on September 15, 2011 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Donations above $25 made through the DonorBridge website will be matched! In 2010, 8,000 donors gave more than $5 million to 450 nonprofits.
Visit www.DonorBridgeTx.org to increase the impact of your gift.

Advance Planning Required for Response to Catastrophes

ven now, the after-effects of natural disasters in Japan and across the southern United States are overwhelming. No matter where disaster occurs, an effective response requires sustained involvement on behalf of donors, responding organizations and myriad other actors.  To respond, Communities Foundation of Texas recommends that support cover the full spectrum of the disaster management effort: from immediate relief to recovery and then to reconstruction and rebuilding. CFT has posted a guide at www.cftexas.org about the phases of charitable giving that are needed after a natural disaster. For longer-term rebuilding, CFT has established a Disaster Relief Fund that donors may give to directly online or via their donor-advised funds.

One devastating Category 5 tornado could create an immediate need for food, shelter and humanitarian relief for as many as 37,500 people. To respond to area needs during crises, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the North Texas Food Bank and the Volunteer Center of North Texas developed the Mass Care Task Force Initiative. A $5 million challenge grant from the W.W. Caruth Jr. Foundation at CFT provided initial support. The task force also received funding from Southwest Airlines, the Hoblitzelle Foundation and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, but additional contributions are needed to fully implement the $26.7 million plan. When disasters like this happen, we ask ourselves, "How would North Texas respond to a disaster in our region?" An average of 168 tornadoes churns through Texas every year.

Dallas’ Youngest Philanthropists Trained with Common Cents

Louise Gartner, a visionary philanthropist, brought Common Cents from New York to the Dallas Independent School District in 1998. Common Cents teaches the key fundamentals of philanthropy, enabling students to actively impact their communities. The program provides a forum for students to identify community needs, to plan and organize fundraising activities, and finally to review and fund grant applications from nonprofits. This year, DISD students from 47 schools presented donations totaling more than $49,000 to 25 charities in the 13th annual Common Cents campaign at Communities Foundation of Texas. To date, Common Cents has granted over $500,000 to local and national nonprofits.

As a further reward, participating students are eligible to apply for the Common Cents Scholarship at CFT, a $500 scholarship awarded upon graduating from high school. Students from Rosemont Elementary present Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children with a $500 check

Building the CFT Team

Communities Foundation of Texas is expanding its leadership with the addition of Susan Swan Smith as chief relationship officer, Carol Pierce Goglia as director of communications, and Billie Williamson as a non-trustee member of the finance and audit committee.

"We're thrilled that they are joining our foundation's efforts and look forward to benefiting from the breadth and depth of their experience," says Fred Hegi Jr., chairman of the CFT board.

Susan Swan Smith joins CFT as the foundation's chief relationship officer, leading the staff members who are on the front lines of cultivating new donor relationships, stewarding existing donor relationships, and communicating the organization's story.

Prior to joining CFT, Smith served for nearly six years as assistant head for development and external affairs at The Hockaday School. She was recruited to Hockaday from Southern Methodist University where she oversaw the operations of the SMU development department as assistant vice president for development and external affairs operations.

She earned her undergraduate degree in economics from Duke University and will complete a master's degree in educational leadership at George Washington University this August.

Carol Pierce Goglia, appointed as director of marketing and communications, Carol Goglia will lead CFT's marketing and communication strategies with the goals of increasing awareness of the foundation and creating a common understanding of CFT as a trusted partner for community knowledge and collaboration. She will oversee CFT's brand as well as the foundation's website and publications.

Goglia comes to CFT after 10 years at Frito-Lay/PepsiCo. At Frito-Lay, she worked to build and re-position billion-dollar brands like Cheetos and Doritos, launch new products, develop corporate strategy, create intriguing shopper experiences and lead marketing mix modeling. Her brand work received advertising industry awards.

Goglia holds an undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee in Virginia and a master of business administration degree from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

Billie Williamson has accepted an appointment to CFT's finance and audit committee as a non-trustee member. She brings extensive finance experience.

Williamson is a senior client-serving partner at Ernst & Young and has served some of the firm's largest global accounts, such as Texas Instruments, Lockheed and Sprint. She also is the firm's Americas inclusiveness officer, fostering and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Before returning to Ernst & Young, where she began her career and became one of only five female partners in 1984, Williamson was senior vice president, finance of Marriott International Inc. in Washington, D.C., and CFO of AMX Corp. in Dallas.

Williamson graduated with highest honors from SMU and holds CPA certifications in Texas and Maryland. 

In Memoriam Milton P. Levy Jr. August 7, 1925 - April 2, 2010

Milton Levy was an inspiration—not only for his devotion to his family and his business sense, but also for his philanthropic vision. Levy served the boards of the Jewish Welfare Federation, the Golden Acres Home for the Jewish and Baylor Health Care Foundation as well as the Communities Foundation of Texas. He was especially passionate about serving those with mental disabilities and gave much of his time and resources to LaunchAbility. 

CFT also misses the following friends and supporters who cared deeply about their community:

Paul M. Bass
Frank M. Burke
Stanford C. Finney
James C. Forbes
Pat Gilchrist 
Arthur Greenspan
Jack H. Hamilton
Fred J. Huitt
Douglas E. Jackson
E.C. Karnavas
Sylvan Landau
Lou Ann L. Ligon
Sally McKenzie
William A. McKenzie
Ida K. Papert
Dan S. Petty
Louise B. Raggio
Hughes G. "Hugh" Robinson
Ann V. Rogers
Robert E. Titus
Thomas S. Walker
Ray Ward
David J. Wootton

Board & Officer List 

CFT Board of Trustees Frederick B. Hegi Jr., Chairman Frank A. Risch, Vice Chairman James E. Bass Becky Bright Jeanne T. Cox Judith W. Gibbs Jack M. Kinnebrew Bobby B. Lyle John McStay Harold Montgomery Carlos González Peña Karen L. Shuford Terdema L. Ussery II Joseph M. “Jody” Grant, Ph.D., Immediate Past Chairman Ruth Sharp Altshuler, Chairman’s Circle Charles J. Wyly Jr., Chairman’s Circle  Legal Counsel Kathryn G. Henkel, General Counsel, K&L Gates Vester T. Hughes Jr., Senior Tax Counsel, K&L Gates

Leadership Brent E. Christopher, President and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth W. Bull, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jeverley R. Cook, Ph.D., Executive Director, W.W. Caruth Jr. Foundation John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, THSP Sarah C. Nelson, Chief Philanthropy Officer Susan Swan Smith, Chief Relationship Officer George Tang, Chief Operating Officer, THSP