2025 Annual Letter
2025 ANNUAL LETTER
We hope you enjoyed this holiday season and that your new year is off to a strong start. The Episcopal Church Foundation team ended 2025 with gratitude. I am pleased to share my 2025 Reflections and Year in Review with you as we begin the year with great anticipation.
2025 Reflections and Year in Review
Throughout 2025, we participated in discussions shaping the future of philanthropy and church leadership — from endowment and foundation investor panels and family office gatherings to Episcopal nationwide meetings. These discussions reaffirm our role in supporting congregations, clergy, lay leaders, and dioceses.
In 2026, we will build on the lessons learned, deepen investments in people and culture, and expand our programs and services. We will continue strengthening our core pillars, Endowment Management and Philanthropy, and develop the framework for our third core pillar, Shared Services.
We experienced a year of resilience. Early in 2025, we faced a cybersecurity incident requiring our full attention and care. Working alongside expert partners and legal counsel, we completed the data review and notifications by September, prioritizing transparency and trust.
In 2025, our board experienced changes, with Annette Buchanan named as Board Chair, Charlie Schilling as Vice Chair, and Harry Grand as Treasurer. We welcomed three new directors: Charles Atkins, Fred Reinhardt, and Amy Sykes, along with two Special Advisors to the CEO, James Blue and Anne Vickers. Their talents, experience, and dedication are already shaping our next chapter.
In November, we hosted the Foundation’s first fireside chat at my home, bringing together Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson of Trinity Church, board members, advisors, staff, and partners for prayerful discussions about lay leadership, diocesan vitality, and the future of The Episcopal Church — rooted in our founding mission given to us in 1949 by Presiding Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill, Founder, Episcopal Church Foundation.
As the year drew to a close, we mourned the loss of Brad Roberts in November after a brief illness. Brad’s wisdom, warmth, and steadfast service enriched Endowment Management and the Foundation for many years. His legacy continues to inspire our community and guide how we serve and support one another. We are grateful for his life and hold his family in our prayers.
Pictured L-R: Annette Buchanan, ECF Board Chair, the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, and Dail St. Claire, ECF President and CEO
2025 Year in Review
Investing in People and Culture
We focused on culture, communication, and talent. I committed to meeting with every staff member three times annually to strengthen collaboration and clarify shared goals. An all-staff week and subsequent survey showed strong engagement, especially in building relationships within our largely remote team.
New roles and promotions prepared us for growth, including Yvonne Lembo as Senior Director of Stewardship, Foundation & Institutional Giving; Susan McDowell as Managing Director of Endowment Management-Client Service and Marketing, and Anne Richardson as Managing Director of Endowment Management-Risk Management and Operations. The Fellowship Partners Program expanded, adding Richard Marks as Head of Fellows Community and establishing a Fellows Advisory Committee.
Strengthening Programs and Partnerships
Throughout 2025, our mission programs grew. The Fellowship Partners Program welcomed four new Fellows and launched a pilot Lay Leader Development track, broadening leadership opportunities in addition to the academic and ministry tracks.
Through strong performance and ongoing education, our Endowment Management team supported congregations, dioceses, and other Episcopal faith communities in planning with greater confidence and sustaining long-term ministry.
ECF’s Diocesan Vitality Initiative (DVI) continued supporting diocesan leaders in adaptive change and revitalization. In 2025, DVI increased outreach to donors and foundations and moved closer to its fundraising goals by adopting a new model in which outside partners fund 75% of the costs for diocesan cohorts. These shifts will help us scale DVI, partnering with bishops, diocesan, and parish teams.
Our Development team completed a Review & Planning process designed to strengthen our mission support and stakeholder relationships. With implementation underway, we are well-positioned to achieve our long-term vision and capital goals.
Modernizing Systems and Governance
We upgraded our infrastructure by migrating to Microsoft SharePoint and enhancing security and access controls. We cleaned up over 35,000 contacts in our database, improving data accuracy.
Governance initiatives include creating a standalone Code of Conduct for consultants and vendors, along with a board management portal to enhance decision-making and transparency.
2025 Reflections
My first 180 days as President and CEO did not go as planned. I set an ambitious timeline, and God’s plan prevailed. By Day 85, in February 2025, we faced a cybersecurity incident; shortly thereafter, we learned of an attempted cyberattack on January 25, 2025, which was unsuccessful.
Other challenges and milestones achieved in 2025 marked the year — we experienced both loss and joy, strengthened our culture, improved systems, and expanded programs in Endowment Management, Philanthropy, and Shared Services — a new business targeted for launch this year.
I closed last year feeling optimistic and hopeful. To all stakeholders—clients, donors, Fellows, diocesan partners, board members, staff, and friends—thank you for your trust and support. Your partnership enables us to serve with courage and hope.
Prayer
Gracious and loving God, source of all wisdom, courage, and hope, we thank you for the blessings and challenges of this year, for the faithfulness of your people, and for the ways your Spirit has led the Episcopal Church Foundation through change, loss, and renewal.
Grant us imagination for what is possible, perseverance in the work before us, and hearts rooted in your justice, mercy, and love.
All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our hope, our companion, and our joy.
Amen.
With gratitude,
Dail St. Claire