You can now easily navigate a summary of membership benefits with our new member benefits brochure. The brochure is also a great resource for FADICA members and Catholic philanthropists who want to learn all that FADICA has to offer. Hard copies are available. Contact Alicia Bondanella Simon for more information!
Catholic Relief Services made its first impact investment, and FADICA member Michael Rauenhorst of the MGR Foundation was a key participant in the landmark investment. MGR participated in the blended capital investment of $500,000. The investment will be in Lafaza, a U.S.-based agriculture company that sells vanilla sourced directly from smallholder farmers in Madagascar.
Joseph V. Topper, Jr. ’77 will serve as Villanova University’s new Chair of its Board of Trustees. Mr. Topper is President and Trustee of The Topper Foundation, a FADICA member which focuses on education, human services and religious and community organizations in Allentown and surrounding areas in Pennsylvania.
The philanthropy of FADICA members has touched the lives of people on the margins in nearly every corner of the globe and in communities all across this country. How better to convey the collective impact and beautiful spirit of the members of FADICA, than through their own words and the words of those who have inspired them throughout the years? In honor of this special 40th Anniversary Year, FADICA has illuminated wisdom and reflections on its mission from members and friends of FADICA along the way. These “mission moments” have been shared at FADICA meetings, appeared on Facebook, and convey what it has meant to so many to work together to support the Church and promote the common good. They will remain an inspiration for many years to come!
FADICA Emeritus Board Chair Denny Hattler of the Loyola Foundation will received the Saint Katharine Drexel Award on November 4 from SOAR! (Support Our Aging Religious). Denny was the founding Chair of SOAR!, which celebrates 30 years this year. FADICA Board Member Patrick McGrory of the Raskob Foundation received the Ignatius Award November 10 from the Saint Joseph’s University Alumni Association. The award recognizes a graduate from within the past 20 years who has devoted efforts in the service and promotion of Saint Joseph’s University and/or has lived a life of “service to others” consistent with the principles of Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order.
In 2015, FADICA published the report A Call to Impact and Solidarity in the Wake of Ebola. Commissioned by FADICA’s International Affinity Group and a resource for FADICA members, philanthropists, and leaders interested in accompanying the Catholic Church in West Africa as it continues to recover and rebuild its health networks in the devastating wake of the Ebola crisis. Following the report, FADICA members and others joined in a solidarity project with the Vatican to strengthen Catholic health systems in West Africa post-Ebola.
FADICA member The Erica P. John Fund’s commitment to social and racial justice in Milwaukee demonstrates solidarity in one of the cities shaken last year by a fatal police shooting and subsequent unrest and protests. In the 1980s, Erica and Harry John and a group of parents spearheaded the re-opening of Messmer Catholic High School, located right on the dividing line between historically segregated North and South Milwaukee. Today, Messmer is an oasis for students from under-resourced urban communities. The high school boasts a culture of experimental and effective approaches, linked with strong spirituality and a vibrant campus ministry that integrates Catholic social teaching. The school is also graced with a beautiful chapel and accompanying spiritual art donated by the Fund, and houses a theater and a robust dramatic arts program. The Johns were involved and supportive of the civil rights movement in Milwaukee, long before civil rights laws were passed under President Lyndon Johnson.
In preparation for the 2017 Annual Membership Meeting in Santa Monica, we will feature FADICA’s Southern California members serving on the Host Committee. “As a professor of medicine at UCLA for many years my Dad and my Mom, a homemaker, worked hard and sacrificed to keep their 7 children enrolled in Catholic grammar schools, high schools and universities. This gave them a commitment to and understanding of the tremendous sacrifices parents in the inner city make to provide their children with these same opportunities.” – Deborah A. Estes, current Chair and President Specialty Family Foundation was established by Dr. James B. and Joan C. Peter in 2006. Their Catholic faith, passion and values combined with Dr. Peter’s driven, evidence based, innovative approach in laboratory medicine is imbued in the Foundation’s philanthropy and work to help alleviate the conditions that lead to persistent poverty. Deeply committed to urban Catholic education in the Los Angeles area, in 2014, the Foundation started the Catholic Schools Collaborative, a capacity building initiative to support collaboration and partnerships that foster and strengthen the sharing of innovative strategies and systemic change in urban Catholic schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The Foundation is also a strong believer in and supporter of effective prevention and treatment of substance abuse, particularly inter-generational abuse, through programming which empowers families with the education and skills to travel the recovery road and break the cycle of poverty. Ensuring basic human rights and the dignity of all persons is supported by the Foundation through investments in poverty and community
Medicines for Humanity (MFH) presented Sr. Joyce Meyer, PBVM with the 2015 Humanitarian of the Year Award last month in Boston. Sr. Joyce is a Board member of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and past director of the Hilton Fund for Sisters – both FADICA members – and a longtime participant in FADICA. The award honored her legacy of support and leadership of women religious in their mission to improve maternal and childcare in underserved communities around the world. It also recognized “the talent, service capacity, commitment, and authentic selflessness of women religious… and their critical role as ‘agents of change’”, said MFH’s Chris Bilodeau. Sr. Joyce “was proud to accept the award on behalf of sisters world-wide who, through their dedication and passion,” help vulnerable children and mothers “to not just survive, but thrive.” FADICA was represented by Board Member Betty Anne Donnelly who conveyed FADICA’s congratulations!
In August 2014, the World Health Organization categorized the Ebola epidemic as a public health emergency of international and grave concern. Today, although media attention and the immediate crisis have subsided, urgent recovery continues in the wake of Ebola for all of society and for the Catholic Church in West Africa as it rebuilds its health networks. Catholic health networks—a significant part of the health systems in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea—are uniquely equipped to contribute to the ongoing response and rebuilding effort, and are critical to community resilience. Under the direction of FADICA’s (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities) International Philanthropy Member Working Group, a research project was born to accompany the Catholic Church in a constructive way in this rebuilding process. Through the leadership of the Working Group, FADICA published a report, A Call to Impact and Solidarity in the Wake of Ebola: Accompanying Catholic Health Networks and Supporting Resiliency in West Africa, and a related plan for impact. FADICA produced the report after several months of research which included expert input from global health scholars, government representatives, Catholic health and relief organizations, and FADICA members. The report highlighted the significant gaps, future needs, and impact opportunities in these three countries following the Ebola crisis. This research underscored that health system strengthening in West Africa is essential and that Catholic health networks need strong partnerships and support to strengthen their unique position and value in Ebola-affected communities to address gaps, opportunities and needs. These findings led FADICA to develop an impact plan outlining
FADICA is the leading philanthropic peer network serving as a catalyst for a vital Catholic Church, Catholic ministries, and the common good. We promote the growth and effectiveness of Catholic philanthropy inspired by the joy of the Gospel and the Catholic social tradition. FADICA supports its members through education, exchange, fellowship and faith, research, joint funding opportunities, and interaction with Catholic leadership.
