Ladies Who Lunch

“It might have been a little ambitious as I look back,” recalls the Foundation’s first Executive Director, Pat Sabin. “But we were an ambitious group of women.”

She’s speaking of the Foundation’s very first fundraising event—held in May 1986, just nine months after its official launch. It wasn’t a modest gathering, but a full-scale luncheon in the grand Chantilly Ballroom at the Hilton Anatole.

At the time, Becky Russell Sykes was serving as the Foundation’s Board Chair. She remembers the urgency and determination behind filling that ballroom.

“We invited everyone we knew and a few people we didn’t. We were just so determined to show the community that this would work and that we could fulfill the urgent needs of women and girls in the community.”

But not everyone was convinced. There were whispers of concern—would this new Foundation take away resources from existing nonprofits?

Becky explains,
“There was some concern about the Foundation taking away from others. Based on the needs assessment survey we conducted prior to getting started, we knew this would not be the case, so we persevered with the goal of making grants with the proceeds from that very first event.”

A Luncheon That Changed Everything

Months of planning, procurement, phone calls, sponsorship requests—and just a little bit of worry—culminated in an unforgettable moment. The Foundation hosted 1,500 women for lunch and welcomed Elizabeth Dole—then U.S. Secretary of Transportation and a nationally recognized public servant—as its featured speaker. And when the final numbers were tallied, the Foundation had netted $50,000.

“We were over the moon,” says Becky. “And so grateful to the community for the support they’d shown. It was so gratifying to be in that ballroom and to see so many women – and men – coming out to support women and girls. It inspired us to continue and to build on the momentum created in that moment.”

For Pat and the Board, success wasn’t just about celebration—it was about action.

Pat explains,
“It was very important for us to make grants in that first year and to show that the Foundation was there to serve the Dallas community and women and girls in a way that was additive and would have a positive impact on their lives.”

Grants, Growth, and a Vision for the Future

With $50,000 in hand, the Board made a strategic—and visionary—decision.

“It was also important for us to begin planning for the future of the Foundation,” Becky adds. “So, the Board took a dual approach as we carefully considered how to allocate the proceeds from the Luncheon. Half would be used for grants and half would be used to begin building an endowment.”

That decision would set the Dallas Women’s Foundation apart. The endowment—now more than $18 million—became the foundation of its annual Community Grants Cycle, and a defining feature within the national Women’s Funding Network.

To learn more about the Foundation’s role in the women’s funding movement, see: Creating a Movement: The Foundation’s Role in the Women’s Funding Movement.

The First Gifts to the Community

True to their promise, the Foundation wasted no time.

Pat remembers,
“Immediately following the Luncheon, we put our Grants Committee to work to discern and decide which organizations would receive funding from the Foundation. It was a thorough and thoughtful process led by well-known community volunteer and Grants Committee Chair Sharon King. The group had worked for months to determine grant criteria and funding guidelines, and they were ready to get to work. We made seven grants that first year, totaling nearly $25,000!”

Those inaugural grants went to Incest Recovery, The Family Place, Concerned Citizens for Calvary Arms, Dallas Tenants Association, Parkland Memorial Hospital Breast Screening Clinic, the SP-PAN Project, and Dallas Pilot Home—organizations that reflected the Foundation’s commitment to addressing urgent and diverse needs of women and girls across Dallas.

“We were so proud,” Becky says. “And here we are today, the Women’s Foundation is granting out millions of dollars each year. It’s just incredible!”