Hearts of Philanthropy 

St. Faustina Catholic Church 

WPGC Member 

DAF Fundholder 

Hearts of Philanthropy Q & A with WPGC Member and DAF Fundholder: 

Q: How has the Foundation supported your philanthropic goals? 

A: I am a member of the Woman’s Philanthropic Giving Circle; and my husband and I have a donor advised fund at The Catholic Foundation. Both of these are perfect answers to the Catholic Church’s teachings to be charitable and to be active in giving to those in need.  

Q: Who influenced your views on legacy and stewardship?  

A: My late mother influenced my desire to be charitable to others. She always taught her children to think of others first; her favorite saying was “charity begins at home.” 

My parents were of humble means, and while they always gave faithfully to the church even during building funds and to Maryknoll missions, she gave closer to home in many other ways every day, 

We would bake cookies and give them to a new neighbor, grow vegetables in our garden and gave them to people in need and visited the sick and lonely folks near our house. She always reminded us that we were giving to Jesus, and she told us the story of Saint Martin de Tours who gave half of his cloak to a cold, shivering naked man and that night Jesus appeared to Martin with the cloak on. That story had a profound influence on my heart. My mother also pointed out her favorite scripture often, which was Matthew 25–40: “whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers you have done to me.” 

Q: What motivated you to join the Women’s Philanthropic Giving Circle?? 

A: As I learned how God was pleased with my charity, he also poured into my heart the graces necessary to desire to give throughout my life. It has been second nature for me to want to seek out and give to those in need. Give All the glory to God! This is why when I was given the opportunity to join the women’s giving circle at its onset, I said yes right away.  I loved the idea.   

Q: What has been the most meaningful part of the WPGC so far?  

A: We learn about all these wonderful charities in the local Orlando Diocese who are in need of extra funds to accomplish the things they want to do for the needy. When they apply for a grant from the women’s giving circle, the people in charge explain their mission and how the extra funds would help them. Everyone is unique and inspiring from building more showers to help the homeless so they can have the dignity of being clean, to after school programs for needy children, to a diaper bank for parents who struggle to pay for diapers and other baby needs (my personal favorite). 

Each and every one of these charities has a cause to help people where they are most vulnerable and a person or group figures out a way to make it happen.  

Of course, there is never enough money to do everything they want to do that’s why they fill out the application and share how they could scale their impact if extra funds are awarded. 

Q: How is giving together as part of the WPGC different than giving alone?? 

A: Each woman gives a small amount of money to join (or as much as they want) then when you add that up, there is a great amount to give for the grant awards. We all have the opportunity to read the missions of of these charities and to vote on different criteria. As a whole, the votes are tallied, and the ones that are chosen send a delegate from their charity to explain to us what they do and even give us an opportunity to visit the site.  

Besides giving the grants, I love the fact that we get to know all these different charities in the area, and we can give to them on our own throughout the year from our DAF. 

Q: Why did you choose to open a Catholic Donor Advised Fund? 

A: At our accountant’s advice, we opened a donor advised fund (DAF) with the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida. From the funds that we put into the account (which are tax-deductible), we can be sure that any grants we choose to give are approved for their Catholic authenticity.  We can give once or on a monthly basis to a variety of charities. The DAF is so easy to set up and gives us the ability to see where we have given on a monthly basis and has statements for the end of the year. It is also an interest bearing account.  We chose to open our fund with the Catholic Foundation over opening a secular DAF because on the whole, it is benefiting the Catholic Church and its mission. 

We feel this was a perfect way to live out our Catholic Faith and is pleasing to Jesus! 

Click here to learn more about how you can establish your own Catholic Donor Advised Fund now or through an estate gift.  

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