Faces of Philanthropy: Lynda Dennis

Lynda Dennis

Annunciation Catholic Church 

WPGC Member 

Ex-Officio CFOCF Board Member 

St. Katharine Drexel Society Member

As a CPA, I audited, and then worked for, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. This provided me with valuable insights into how these organizations operate and the struggles they face working with limited funds. These insights are one of the major factors in my approach to charitable Catholic giving. Serving as the Chair of the Diocesan Finance Council, I am a non-voting member of the Foundation. Being a mother, grandmother, and practicing Catholic I am passionate about providing for the needs of children, families, and our active and retired priests. In my spare time I love to cook and entertain, travel with my husband, and read whenever I have down time.

Faces of Philanthropy Q & A with Lynda Dennis: 

Q: Who inspired your approach to giving?

A: My parents provided the bedrock for my approach to giving. My parents taught me and my sisters from a very young age to take some of our allowance each week (which wasn’t much) and give it to the church. This was usually a nickel or dime and then a quarter as I got older. As a young adult my Daddy told me when he was a very junior seaman in the Navy, and making very little while supporting a family, he and Mother always put something in the collection plate each week even if it was only a nickel. This had a powerful effect on my approach to giving.

Q: How does your Catholic faith guide your philanthropy?

A: The teaching that giving can be of your time, talent, and treasure. As a young married couple with two under three, it was more of giving our time and talent and less of our treasure. Our commitment to increase our treasure giving grew each year even though the increases were not that great in the early years.

Q: Is there a Scripture, prayer, or saint that speaks to your giving journey?

A: Mark 12:17 Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

Q: What inspired you to join the Women’s Philanthropic Giving Circle (WPGC)?

A: The focus of the circle and the ability of like-minded women to come together to focus on various issues negatively affecting the quality of life for those in our community.

Q: What’s been your most meaningful moment as a WPGC Executive Committee member so far?

A: The ability to read the grant applications and see what the organizations need to better affect their mission. However, the site visits have had the most impact on me.

Q: How is collaborative giving different than giving individually?

A: Collaborative giving allows me to address needs in our community I might not be aware of, and it increases the dollar impact of our gifts.

Q: What message would you share with women considering joining?

A: The WPGC allows you to see the needs of our community at the grass roots level and your gift of time, talent, and treasure can be as little or as much as your life situation allows. We welcome all women looking to make a positive difference in the lives of those most in need in our community.

Q: What kind of impact do you hope the Circle makes in our community?

A: I would like to see the Circle have the financial capacity to increase the amount of our grant awards and to focus our grant awards on the smaller organizations having limited funds to execute their missions.

Q: What advice would you give to the next generation of women givers?

A: Giving is multi-faceted, and God asks all of us to give of our time, talent, and treasure. Giving of your time and talent is as important as giving of your treasure.

Q: Why is giving through the Catholic Foundation meaningful to you?

A: I know our contributions will align with the mission of the Church and help the most with the needs of our Diocese.

Click here to learn more about our Women’s Philanthropic Giving Circle. 

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