Love That Lasts Forever

When people ask me why our family believes so deeply in endowments, my answer is simple. Because endowments turn love into legacy and the Catholic Foundation has helped me accomplish that goal. 

My name is René David and I serve on the Board of Directors at the Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana. For the past 9 years, I have had the pleasure of being deeply involved with the Foundation, and today I now serve as Vice Chairman.

After my father’s passing, we learned he had quietly started an endowment for Catholic Charities in my mother’s name to support CCHT’s mission. My parents were big supporters of Catholic Charities because Catholic Charities gave them one of their greatest gifts: my brother and I. We were both adopted through Catholic Charities, and as their children, we felt called to carry that passion forward to honor our parents and to help ensure the stability of an organization that brings hope to so many families.

In 2018, we created an endowment that was for seminarian education—the Mary and Al Danos Foundation Seminarian Endowment. A few years before my father passed away, he discussed wanting to help pay for the education of a seminarian every year. Sadly, he died before he could fulfill that wish himself. So, as a family, we decided to establish this endowment with one clear goal: Help not just one seminarian once—but ensure that one seminarian will always be supported. Forever.

That is the power of an endowment with the Catholic Foundation: What begins as generosity becomes a permanent ministry.

Additionally, we started a second fund that supports Catholic Charities—the Mary and Al Danos Foundation Catholic Charities Endowment.

The third fund we established is especially close to our hearts: the Sister Claire Rodrigue Endowment for tuition assistance at Holy Rosary Catholic School. When my parents adopted my brother and I through St. Vincent’s in New Orleans, one of the Sisters asked them to please consider sending their children to a Catholic school. The very next week, my father visited the only Catholic school in our area. Sister Claire was the principal at the time. My parents loved her heart, her leadership, and her devotion to her students.

My parents, Mary and Al Danos, along with John and Clara Brady and Brian and Emilie Cheramie, had helped start Friends of the Rosary, which would eventually become the Sister Claire Rodrigue Endowment. It started as a nonprofit dedicated to making sure any family who desired a Catholic education for their child could have one. Within those early years, John Brady had the foresight to set aside a portion of funds raised each year and invest them for the future. At the end of 2022, our family foundation contributed one hundred thousand dollars to formally establish the Sister Claire Rodrigue Endowment. Then, in the beginning 2023, over five hundred thousand dollars for that long-term investment that was set aside yearly, adding further to the endowment. And in just two years, this fund stands just under one million dollars, and it continues to grow. Ensuring tuition assistance not just for today — but for generations to come.

That brings me to why I share this story. Today, all three of these funds with the Catholic Foundation have grown to the point where they now work on their own—quietly and faithfully. And they all operate with the trust, transparency, and ease of working with the Catholic Foundation and its amazing staff. Our love supporting seminarians, families, and children continue year after year.
This is what I hope others will see. Endowments are not about large gifts. They are about lasting impact. They allow your faith, your values, and your love for the Church to keep giving, long after the original gift is made. They turn generosity from a moment into a ministry.

If there is one thing I encourage others to consider, it is this: Don’t just ask how you can help today. Ask how your generosity can still be helping fifty years from now. Because when we give in a way that endures, we don’t just meet needs. We build legacies of faith, hope, and love.

Our parents’ faith was deep and their desire to help others was strong. That love will not end with us. Through these endowments, our love continues to serve. Our values continue to guide. And our legacy continues to bless others in ways we may never see.

--

René Danos David is the Vice Chairman of the Catholic Foundation. Born and raised in Cut Off, she currently resides in Houma with her husband, Travis David, where she attends Maria Immacolata Catholic Church.