Richard J. (“Dick”) Dowling is NCCF’s newest trustee, having been elected to the Foundation’s board at the board’s quarterly meeting in January. He is the recently retired executive director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, a position he held for 24 years. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, the Conference represents the mutual public-policy and pastoral interests of the Archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington, and the Diocese of Wilmington.“I couldn’t be more pleased,” Dick said of his election. “What the Foundation does in marrying Catholic philanthropy with vital Church ministries puts it at the cutting edge of innovational philanthropy. Its special appeal to me is its focus on enabling Catholic individuals and families and organizations to support the particular ministries they most care about. In Catholic philanthropic circles, this targeting concept is very new and very exciting.”
Dick Dowling is a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Scranton Preparatory School and the University of Scranton. His master’s degree was earned at Boston University’s School of Public Communication, his Jurist Doctorate at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a recipient of The Saint Thomas More Society’s Man for All Seasons Award, presented annually to a Maryland attorney who exemplifies the spirit and ethics of the 16th Century lawyer, writer and statesman, and the Frank O’Hara Award, the highest honor bestowed jointly by the University of Scranton and its Alumni Society. Dick is a member of the boards of Maryland Citizens against State Executions (MD-CASE) and Bridges to Peace, which supports cross-community peace-building projects in Northern Ireland. He is a past president of the National Association of State Catholic-Conference Directors.
Prior to joining the Maryland Catholic Conference, Dick was a National Leadership Fellow of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the first nonacademic to have been granted the prestigious fellowship. The fellowship enabled study at M.I.T., the University of Southern California, Louisiana State University, and in Brazil.
Following his undergraduate work, he was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. During and following his law-school years, he served on the staff of former U.S. Congressman and Senator William D. Hathaway of Maine and, thereafter, as director of governmental affairs for the American Speech, Language & Hearing Association, and as executive director of the American Society of Allied Health Professions.
Dick and his wife Marian, retired after 28 years on the Lower School faculty of the Sidwell Friends School, reside in Bethesda, Maryland. They are the parents of three daughters and the grandparents of three boys.
You guys don’t know me. I help nonprofit organizations grow their annual fund. You are to be congratulated. you are one of the very, very few organizations whose mission statement isn’t about what they do.
you’ve made it about the donor and what he/she can accomplish through NCCF as the vehicle that makes sure the gifts are used properly.
Congratulations! Great job!!
i came across your website from a share by Joe Langenderfer, Executive Director of the Foundation for Education, Joliet, Illinois Diocese.