Saint Andrew School Employee Uses Legacy to Fund Catholic Education
Rose Hall, director of development for Saint Andrew Catholic School in Fort Worth since 1991, vividly recalls the two events that led her to make a significant and lasting gift to benefit Saint Andrew Catholic School.
With her passion for Catholic school education and effervescent personality, Rose has spent 30 years building long-lasting relationships that have helped fund the operations of the school and provided tuition assistance scholarships for thousands of families.
Rose was the first person in the Diocese of Fort Worth to hold a paid position in fundraising for a Catholic school and she has been doing it for so long that she is a respected mentor for other school development professionals. Because of this, Rose’s attendance at monthly forums for Catholic school development staff has frequently been to present a topic.
But during a forum in December 2019, Rose was eager to listen and learn as the topic was on endowments and how they can provide permanent funding for a Catholic parish, school or ministry.
Rose recalls the presentation by Renée Underwood, CFRE, of the Advancement Foundation, who spoke on how easy endowments were to set up, that a new fund could be opened with as little as $10,000 and that they could be named in honor or memory of someone.
“That really appealed to me,” said Rose.
Just a few weeks later, Rose was contacted by the benefits department of the diocese. She had built up a sizable pension and was past the age when most employees had retired and began to use their benefits. For this reason, they were requesting that she take her retirement income.
Realizing she would have to pay tax on funds she really didn’t need, Rose recalled the presentation on endowments and knew that God was calling her to do something meaningful with her retirement funds.
She contacted the the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Advancement Foundation about her desire to establish the William and Rose Hall Tuition Assistance Fund to benefit Saint Andrew Catholic School.
Rose’s husband, Bill, had passed away in 2012 from Alzheimer’s disease. During his lifetime, Bill had been a successful executive for Lockheed-Martin, and, like Rose, was a product of Catholic school education (elementary, high school and university) in Saint Louis.
Throughout their married life, the Halls were generous with their time, talent and treasure and sent their three sons to Saint Andrew Catholic School and Nolan Catholic High School.
Rose’s sons became successful, largely in part to their Catholic education, and fully supported their mother’s decision to use her retirement funds to establish a permanent endowment in their parents’ names.
“I know that Bill is smiling about this fund because it aligns with his Catholic faith and values,” says Rose.
Because the funds were rolled straight from the pension plan to the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Advancement Foundation, Rose paid no income tax on the distribution. And since the Advancement Foundation invests the funds to achieve high returns in accordance with Catholic values, Rose and Bill’s retirement nest egg will continue to grow.
Just as Rose Hall has devoted a lifetime in service to Catholic school education, the fund she established will provide tuition assistance for generations of Saint Andrew Catholic School students long beyond her lifetime.
To learn more about endowment funds to benefit a parish, school or ministry of the Diocese of Fort Worth, please visit www.advancementfoundation.org/endowment-funds.