We are so glad we had a chance to honor the Founding Fellows of the Texas Prosecutors Society at the cocktail reception on December 5. For those of you who could not join us this year, we will send your sterling silver, custom-designed lapel pendant in the mail. Thank you for your leadership and support of the Foundation. As you know, proceeds will go toward establishing a permanent endowment for the Foundation. Fifty new members will be invited into the Texas Prosecutors Society in 2013, so stay tuned for who will join in the new year.
How did the Foundation help this year?
2012 was a very busy and exciting year for the Foundation. With your help and the generosity of our fellow Texans, the Foundation has accomplished the following in 2012:
• we raised more than $145,000 in support of the Foundation;
• we raised $225,000 in pledges and $80,000 was paid on pledges in support of the endowment through the generous donations from our Founding Fellows of the Texas Prosecutors Society. This investment account will ensure long-term financial support for the Foundation and TDCAA;
• in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., and TDCAA, the Foundation assisted in funding the 2012 DWI Summit entitled Guarding America’s Roadways. Thanks to Smart Start Inc., a $10,000 sponsor, and LifeSafer, a $1,000 sponsor;
• with the support of the Foundation, TDCAA hosted a three-day seminar in San Antonio targeting the unique role of prosecutors’ office personnel in combating domestic violence. TDCAF provided $12,500 in funding for this project;
• IBC Bank and TDCAF donated $6,000 for renowned collision reconstructionist John Kwasnoski to speak at TDCAA’s Advanced Trial Advocacy Course in Waco, as well as for copies of his Little Red Book to be distributed to attendees;
• we assisted with underwriting the cost of handing out helpful books at two Prosecutor Trial Skills Courses; and
• we defrayed expenses for the Train the Trainer seminar and the Advanced Trial Advocacy Course, thus freeing up grant funds to increase reimbursement to prosecutors and staff for travel and hotel expenses at our seminars.
And the winner is …
It was another close race this year between Investigator, Key Personnel, and Victim Assistance Coordinator membership groups in the Annual Campaign Membership Challenge. Our Investigators gave close to $1,000 in donations to this year’s campaign, thus sealing the victory! Congratulations on a job well done; they will receive a happy hour at Investigator School in February as a thank-you.
Thank you, Dan!
The TDCAF Board of Directors and TDCAA staff would like to thank our 2011–12 Board Chairman, Dan Boulware, for his outstanding leadership to the Foundation during his two-year term as board chairman. Dan will of course stay on the Foundation board, and we hope to have him back on the executive committee in the near future.
We had so much success in such a short period of time under Dan’s leadership: Just to name a few, we formed a separate board for the Foundation and established a hugely successful endowment that will support the TDCAF and TDCAA well into our future. Now we welcome Bert Graham as our 2013–14 TDCAF Board Chairman and look forward to much success in the upcoming years.
Support your Foundation in 2013
As we look toward next year, there are many more opportunities for the Foundation to enrich the training and educational resources for TDCAA members through publications, seminars, and more.
The Foundation is seeking funds in support of a new publication, the Elder Abuse Investigation and Prosecution Manual.The publication will be marketed to prosecutors and law enforcement. It’s aimed at the people who work on criminal cases with elderly victims, rather than elder-care advocacy groups. If you can think of anyone (a private donor, foundation, or corporation) that might have an interest in supporting this publication, please let me know. The total funding needed is $36,685.
We ask that you please think about organizations and people in your community who might have an interest in partnering with the Foundation. Or visit our website at www.tdcaf.org and make your donation to the 2013 Annual Campaign before we kick off this year’s campaign in April.