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The Episcopal Foundation of the Diocese of Dallas was established by the Diocesan Convention of l950 at the request of Bishop Avery Mason. Before its creation, all valuables bequeathed to the church were managed by the bishops in succession-Bishops Garrett, Moore, and Mason. As the funds grew in value and numbers, the responsibility became too great for one person. At that time, Bishop Mason asked for a Foundation to be established.
As stated in the Articles of Incorporation of the new Foundation, its purpose was to serve the Diocese of Dallas, its Bishop, cathedral, churches, parishes, missions, trusts, committees and all benevolent, charitable, educational and missionary activities in the State of Texas, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and to serve other institutions which are of a religious, charitable, philanthropic or social service character.
The Foundation, a Texas non-profit corporation, was classified as a 501(9)(a), a public support foundation which derived its tax exempt status from the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. It functioned as a management corporation, managing the permanent trusts belonging to the diocese and acting as its fiscal agent and custodian. The Foundation's Board of Trustees provided oversight of the investment and disbursement of the trusts.
The Foundation's Trustees were originally nominated by the Bishop and elected for a three-year term by the Diocesan Convention, with early Board members including well-known civic leaders such as Leo Corrigan, Jr., W.W. Lynch, Rodney Hargrave, Charles Aberg, Jr., John Stemmons, Cecil Green, J. Irion Worsham, W.R.Newsom, Jr., Henry Beck, Jr., John G. Penson, John Rauscher, Robert B. Payne, Jon L.Mosle, Jr., Don M. Houseman, and Louis A. Beecherl, Jr.
By the mid-l960s, seven major trusts and two common trusts (composed of several funds) were managed by a Board of Trustees with investment experience, guided by investment counsel, a fiduciary custodian and a certified auditor.
In addition to the Foundation, "Episcopal Funds" was authorized by the l960 Diocesan Convention and chartered immediately under Texas non-profit corporation laws. Within two years, the nine-member Board, under the leadership of President E.V. McCright, developed the assets of Episcopal Funds to a balance in excess of $1,250,000 consisting primarily of the land and building of Gaston Episcopal Hospital. It was Mr. McCright's vision to offer philanthropic Episcopalians an investment vehicle that was governed by a Board composed solely of lay businessmen with financial expertise. All property was owned by Episcopal Funds and all income produced was unrestricted. The income of Episcopal Funds paid for its operation; any additional income was used to pay the Chaplain at Gaston Episcopal Hospital, and to aid the institutions and agencies of the Diocese of Dallas upon the recommendation of the Bishop.
When the hospital facility became outdated, a successful fundraising campaign, led by Louis A. Beecherl, Jr., provided funds for a new facility to be constructed. After its completion, it was operated by the Gaston Episcopal Hospital board, with C. DeWitt (Dee) Brown, Jr. serving as chairman of the board. Some years later, after a change in Medicare laws, it became unprofitable to operate a small hospital, so Gaston Episcopal Hospital was sold to Baylor Hospital for use as a rehabilitation facility. The income from that sale established $3.5 million for the Gaston Episcopal Hospital Foundation, of which Don Houseman was the first president, and $1.5 million for an unrestricted fund, called the Episcopal Fund, owned by the Episcopal Foundation of the Diocese of Dallas.
The Foundation continued to manage money in specific funds under the leadership of John G. Penson until the early l980's, when it changed its name to Episcopal Asset Management Corporation and elected Jon Mosle as its president. In l990, Episcopal Funds was re-named Episcopal Foundation of Dallas. In contrast to the Asset Management Corporation, the Foundation's mission was fundraising and, in order to encourage gifts, the Foundation offered planned giving services to the diocese.
These two corporations, the Episcopal Asset Management Corporation and The Episcopal Foundation of Dallas, were merged in l996 to become the Episcopal Foundation of Dallas. The Investment Committee of the Episcopal Asset Management Corporation, chaired by Jon Mosle, continued to manage the assets of the now-combined Management Corporation and Episcopal Foundation.
From these various financial organizations, each of which existed to serve a specific function in support of the diocese, the Board of Trustees in 1998 consolidated into one foundation, Episcopal Foundation of the Diocese of Dallas, the functions of managing, investing and disbursing funds for specific parishes, as well as offering philanthropic vehicles for donors who wish to make donations to Episcopal projects.
The trustees established in 1998 a new independent public charity, Episcopal Foundations of Dallas, to assist philanthropists who wished to give monetary gifts to a wide range of educational and charitable organizations using advise-and-consult funds. As of December 31, 2002 after governing the two separate foundations for several years, the Board of Trustees merged the two into one organization and became a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization named the Episcopal Foundation of Dallas. The Foundation's broad mission is to support the mission and ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas by serving as a financial resource center for Episcopal parishes, missions, schools and organizations, as well as for individuals who wish to make philanthropic gifts in support of the Christian mission and of the ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.
Episcopal Foundation of Dallas has been faithfully and competently managed by many financially astute Episcopalians over the past decades. They have supported the diocesan mission in the past; in the future, they will continue to offer financial resources and support to the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Dallas.
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