Dallas Philanthropist Nancy Dedman to serve as annual luncheon’s first
honorary chair in celebration of the anniversary
The Greater Dallas Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals will host the 30th luncheon celebrating Dallas’ National Philanthropy Day – bringing together area nonprofits, volunteers, funders, foundations, business and community members to honor many of this city’s finest who give selflessly in support of numerous worthy causes – on Friday, November 13, 2015, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Hyatt Regency Dallas, Landmark Ballroom. On this special anniversary year, Dallas Philanthropist Nancy Dedman, serving as the event’s first honorary chair, will join AFP and presenting sponsor KERA to honor award recipients in seven categories.
“We are thrilled to have Nancy Dedman as our honorary chair for the 30th anniversary,” said Sarah Elliott, luncheon chair. “As we think back over the last 30 years, Nancy Dedman, a past recipient of the Outstanding Philanthropist Award, possesses all of the qualities we look for in our award recipients each year. She is a true philanthropist who extends her generosity to a host of worthwhile causes, including education, health care, and the arts.”
The 30th annual luncheon will be emceed by longtime supporter Scott Murray, who will also be recognized as an award recipient for his ongoing support and outstanding contributions to the community.
Luncheon Chair Sarah Elliott and Co-Chair Rebecca Rhule, CFRE, announce the 2015 award recipients:
Outstanding Philanthropists Cecilia and Garrett Boone, nominated by Dallas Women’s Foundation and sponsored by Clarkson Davis, are inspiring philanthropists, creating transformational change in Texas and beyond with generous gifts in three areas: equity for women and girls; quality of life for children; and environmental stewardship. As a director of the Boone Family Foundation, Cecilia has directed significant funds to Dallas Women’s Foundation, Women’s Funding Network, Planned Parenthood, the Young Women’s Preparatory Network, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, and others. After serving as board chair of Dallas Women’s Foundation, she chaired the largest campaign in its history, making one of the first $1 million gifts and raising $35 million. Cecilia also chaired the largest-to-date campaign for the Women’s Funding Network. She has held board positions with Planned Parenthood Federation of America as well as North Texas; Girls Inc.; and Annie’s List, a PAC that recruits, trains, and funds progressive women candidates running for office in Texas. As an adjunct faculty member at the Center for Philanthropy at the University of Indiana, she taught others how to be more strategic in their giving. Garrett, president of the family foundation, leads their focus on environmental stewardship and education as a board member of Trinity Trust Foundation, Groundworks Dallas, Teach for America, and through involvement with Commit! (the Dallas community-wide education initiative), Reading Partners, and more. Co-founder of the Container Store in 1978 and former CEO, Garrett is now chairman emeritus. He co-founded Texas Business for Clean Air and is chairman of Treehouse in Austin and a former board member of the National Council of Young Men’s Christian Associations of the U.S., the Woodall Rogers Park Foundation, Trinity Commons Foundation, and YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, where he chaired a $28 million capital campaign. He is a member Texas Women’s Ventures Fund, LLP, and is an advocate for public education, serving on the Dallas ISD Star Commission to share business best practices with DISD. Together, the couple serves on the Dallas Women’s Foundation Advisory Council. The Boones influence and lead a broad network of philanthropists, business leaders, elected and appointed officials, and the nonprofit community across Texas and nationally.
Outstanding Corporation JP Morgan Chase (JPMC), jointly nominated by Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and sponsored by Dallas County Community College District Foundation, has a long-standing history of providing significant philanthropic support locally and nationally. Most recently, JPMC launched a five-year, $250 million global workforce readiness training initiative called New Skills at Work. In Dallas, this initiative’s investment of $5 million over five years prepares citizens for careers in high-demand, middle-skill occupations. This includes a $150,000 grant to the Mayor’s Intern Fellows Program and a $500,000 investment in DCCCD through Project OnRamp, which enables healthcare workers to increase their wages and career opportunities. Chase’s support also led to the creation of United Way’s Pathways to Work program. JPMC’s Good Works Campaign has provided United Way’s financial stability initiatives with more than $1.3 million over the past eight years. Other JPMC initiatives include Dallas Startup Week, a series of events to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem; a $30 million commitment for a Financial Solutions Lab to help underserved consumers; and the 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition committed to hiring 100,000 veterans by 2020 that has already surpassed 217,000 veteran hires. JPMC employees serve on numerous boards and committees and out in the community helping with financial education efforts. Chase’s investment in local programs, capacity-building efforts, and cutting-edge research continue to transform the workforce development ecosystem in North Texas.
Outstanding Foundation The Moody Foundation, nominated by Texas Health Resources Foundation, has created a 70+ year legacy of transformational change in Texas, including early grants such as disaster relief for the 1947 Texas City chemical explosion. The Foundation is one of the lead donors to Texas Health Resources’ Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program, nationally recognized as the best resource for comprehensive sexual assault examinations. Thanks to The Moody Foundation, this intensive training program will expand across Texas Health Resources and will set the standard for collaboration leading to higher prosecution rates. Known for making gifts across Texas that inspire others or close out campaigns, recent gifts include challenge grants to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and funding for critical resources in stem cell and cancer research at the Children’s Research Institute. Other projects include sponsorship of the Winspear’s Starlight Chandelier; assistance with construction and maintenance of Klyde Warren Park and Moody Plaza within the park; construction of the Letot Girl’s Residential Treatment Center; the Moody Family YMCA at the Park Cities; a wellness park at the new Parkland Hospital; The Moody Oasis rooftop garden at the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden; and renovation of SMU’s Moody Coliseum. With a primary emphasis on projects in Galveston, the foundation is known for Moody Gardens, conceived in the ‘80s and generating annual revenues in excess of $50 million as well as revenues to area businesses; The Transitional Learning Center, offering rehabilitation services to survivors of traumatic brain injury and research opportunities; and Moody Scholars, begun in 1969, and providing over $1 million in scholarship assistance to 18 Texas schools per year. From arts and education, to social services, to environmental causes and health, the Moody Foundation has stayed true to the founder’s intent “to benefit in perpetuity present and future generations of Texans.”
Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Nancy Strauss Halbreich, nominated by Parkland Foundation and sponsored by Dini Spheris, is known throughout the community for her tenacity, passion and work ethic for fundraising. Her contributions include co-chairing the $150 million capital campaign to build the new Parkland hospital. Her personal solicitations resulted in over $25 million, and her leadership enabled the public/private partnership to reach its goal six months prior to the campaign’s conclusion. Her efforts have ensured the community will have a world-class healthcare facility, serving millions of patients for generations to come. A founding chair of Family Gateway’s Advisory Board, she has worked tirelessly on behalf of homeless children and families and has chaired the Family Gateway Annette Strauss Humanitarian Award Luncheon. She also chaired the SMU Medal of Freedom Award Dinner three times and worked with Mayor Rawlings to plan the 50th anniversary commemoration of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy – an event praised nationally for its respectful tone. She serves on the boards of Parkland Foundation, The Hamon Charitable Foundation, the AT&T Center for the Performing Arts, Charter 100, Southwestern Medical Foundation, Junior League of Dallas, Barbara Bush Foundation-A Celebration of Reading, the Sweetheart Ball, and the Dallas Museum of Art. She has previously served on boards at the University of North Texas, Hockaday School and Southern Methodist University. Known for taking on big projects and tackling them with energy, enthusiasm, and humor, Nancy Strauss Halbreich makes every organization she serves a better place for the next generation of volunteers.
Outstanding Fundraising Executive James N. Falk, nominated by Rebecca Rhule, has 24 years of fundraising experience. Since 2001, he has served as president and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, growing its membership from 350 to over 4,000 and its annual budget from $375,000 to $2.3 million. He began the Council’s International Education Program, equipping over 1 million students and 8,000 teachers to better understand and relate global issues to their lives. The Council’s H. Neil Mallon Award Dinner now attracts over 1,000 attendees with revenues of $1 million. Born in Paris, France, Falk is a graduate of Washington and Lee and earned his master’s in foreign affairs and international law and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Virginia. He worked as a commercial banker in Houston and was an active volunteer with the Houston World Affairs Council, UNICEF, the United Way and the MS Society. In 2013 he was appointed honorary consul for the Kingdom of Morocco for Texas and is now starting an annual fundraising dinner to purchase portable toilets for girls’ elementary schools in rural Morocco as girls over the age of 8 are prohibited from attending school due the lack of toilets. He first became a member of the AFP Houston Chapter and then the Greater Dallas Chapter in 1999, when he relocated to work for the National Center for Policy Analysis, raising in excess of $12 million annually. He earned his CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive) certification in 2001 and has held numerous leadership positions with the AFP Dallas Chapter, served as a mentor to many, initiating the AFP Now Campaign, contributing to the financial strength of the chapter. He has held board positions with the Dallas International School and World Affairs Councils of America, was recently reelected to the National Board of the World Affairs Councils of America and is director of the North Texas Commission. Falk believes in giving to the organizations he serves and is a respected leader who has impacted the fundraising success of many organizations in North Texas and beyond.
Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Kendall Deitch, 18, nominated by the North Texas Food Bank, created “Big Sister’s Closet,” a program in which she and other Highland Park High School students donate their gently used clothing to fifth grade girls at LL Hotchkiss Elementary School. One day each spring, about 25 fifth graders come to their library after school and are greeted by racks of clothes and 25 of Deitch’s peers, who pair up with the younger students and act as their personal stylists as they “shop” through the clothes. Deitch transforms Hotchkiss’s library into a clothing “boutique,” complete with snacks, decorations, and music. And though the shopping is fun, the real excitement for the young girls, many of whom are direct immigrants from Africa and Central America, comes from hanging out with older girls for a stereotypical American teenager afternoon— shopping, laughing, snacking, and dancing. Big Sister's Closet turns a potentially stressful and embarrassing problem into a fun afternoon and allows girls to enjoy themselves while meeting their need for clothes. Deitch successfully handled every detail of the event, from concept to implementation. In addition, she is the meeting chair for the Highland Park ASTRA Club, a girls’ service leadership organization, and is active in the Mockingbird Chapter of National Charity League. Big Sister’s Closet has been an annual event for the past three years, and Deitch has a freshman ready to take on leadership of the event after she graduates to ensure that Big Sister’s Closet continues.
Since 2001, Special Recognition Award Recipient Scott Murray has been an enthusiastic and invaluable National Philanthropy Day partner, readily volunteering to emcee and promote the luncheon while using his talent and network to celebrate philanthropy in our community. Murray demonstrates warmth and keen personal interest in each of the National Philanthropy Day award recipients. His natural, off-the-cuff interview of the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy recipient is a highlight of the occasion. Murray spent over three decades with NBC television as a multi Emmy Award-winning television sports anchor and broadcast journalist. He is an inspirational keynote speaker; author; TV/radio host; emcee/moderator for events; and serves as principal with Edgington/Murray, philanthropic advisors and fundraising consultants; and Chairman/CEO of Murray Media. He is known for his long-term involvement in the nonprofit sector in the Dallas area, participating in thousands of events over the last 35 years. Serving as a working or honorary chair, master of ceremonies or celebrity auctioneer, Murray has helped to raised millions of dollars for charitable causes. He has served on more than 50 boards and advisory boards and has worked with more than 200 non-profits. Each year he presents the annual Scott Murray Community Service Scholarship Award in conjunction with the National Football Foundation Gridiron Club of Dallas to a graduating high school student scholar athlete. He has been involved with numerous charity golf tournaments including The Scott Murray Charity Classic, raising close to $3 million for Ronald McDonald House Charities; and The Bob Lilly/Scott Murray Classic, raising millions for area organizations. In 1995 he created The Scott Murray Foundation, focusing on education, medical issues, and challenging needs of young people. Murray is devoted to philanthropy and North Texas. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors and is most deserving of the Special Recognition Award for his dedication and service to AFP, National Philanthropy Day and the community.
"We are very proud to present and pay tribute to these outstanding individuals and organizations that make a real difference in our community through their leadership, vision and generosity,” emphasized this year's Dallas National Philanthropy Day Chair, Sarah Elliott. “Join us for our 30th anniversary event and be inspired by an amazing group of recipients doing exceptional work serving and supporting a wide range of charitable causes.”
The Greater Dallas Chapter of AFP was among the first to begin celebrating National Philanthropy Day in 1981. Today, over 500 attend the luncheon which includes AFP members and community leaders. National Philanthropy Day celebrates the great contributions philanthropy, and those who work in the philanthropic process, make to our community. AFP Chapters involve more than 28,000 individuals in celebrating philanthropy each year.
“This event is always very unique in that in one room you not only have the major Dallas players in the philanthropy and volunteer world – whether individuals, corporations, or foundations – but you also have the many diverse nonprofits they serve as well as others who support their efforts,” added Honorary Chair Nancy Dedman. “Prior to the start of the luncheon and immediately following, the ballroom is truly transformed into a wonderful gathering of dear friends, catching up, networking and sharing of ideas. Please join us for this very special day as we honor some of Dallas’ finest.”
In honor of the 30th Anniversary, South Texas Money Management is the Diamond level sponsor. Luncheon tickets are $85, $850 for a table of 10, and $1,250 for a premium table of 10. For further information on tickets and sponsorships, visit afpdallas.org or contact Madeleine Crouch at 972-233-9107, ext. 204, afpchapteroffice@afpdallas.org.