C. Leonard Dolce, Chairman

 

 

The Capital Area Dental Foundation was established to advance dental services for the economically disadvantaged in the five counties around Austin (Travis, Williamson, Burnet, Bastrop, and Hayes Counties) and to train providers in the art of leadership.  To operate a foundation, the members must be aware of its organizational needs.  In the future, the providers of dental services and those members of the board will be responsible for the administration of the foundation.  The success of its future will depend upon good leadership.  The foundation will also give financial assistance to dental, dental hygiene, and dental laboratory schools. 

 

In deciding where the needs are, a study is being conducted to research the market that will benefit from the foundation’s assistance.  The research will include interviews from many groups in need to determine who the organization is, what it does, who it serves, and what proof the organization can give to show where our assistance is needed.  It is also important to know why the target group in need does not take advantage of the existing dental services in place.  The organizations on which we will focus will be those such as Manos de Cristo, Austin Community College Dental Hygiene School, St. David’s Foundation, Jack Sansing Dental Clinic, Lonestar Circle of Care, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, Christian Medical Missions, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, New Dentist Missions, TDA Smiles Foundation, and the Mobile Dental Group.  In the past five years, The Capital Area Dental Society has donated $135,000 to the above charities.  The reason for the study is to determine who is in need and how much of their budget depends on contributions from outside foundations.

 

Other foundations that donate to charitable foundations such as ours will be researched to determine if they would donate to our foundation.  Several of these have been contacted.  In writing grants and successfully getting funds from other foundations, it is extremely important that our Board of Trustees connect with the other foundations’ Board.  If any of you know Trustees from other foundations, please let our foundation know so we can have an entrée to them.

 

Your Board of Trustees is in the process of developing marketing materials to give to prospective donors.  There will be opportunity to pick up information at the up and coming fund raiser February 8^th, the “Texas Tooth-Step”  formerly “The Gala”.  These materials will allow each of us to give to any prospective donor.

 

The success of these efforts will depend upon each one of us accepting responsibility to help and take action.  We urge all of you to get involved.