John and Janet Mockovciak

Janet Mockovciak doesn’t remember a time when her parents weren’t giving – her father to our country as a public servant stationed abroad, her mother as a tireless volunteer for community causes. It seemed natural for Ms. Mockovciak and her husband, John, to give when they could. “It’s just something that’s always been a part of my life,” she said. “There wasn’t a day when I had a revelation. The hard question is: why don’t more people give?”

The couple opened their advised fund at The Dallas Foundation in 2001. As a financial advisor, Mr. Mockovciak was comfortable with estate planning and familiar with some of the pitfalls of starting a private foundation.

“The logistics and paperwork that would have gone into establishing a family foundation were way more involved than we needed or desired,” Ms. Mockovciak said. “The Dallas Foundation was the right fit for our needs.”

Soon after they opened their advised fund, the couple also joined Dallas Social Venture Partners (DSVP). The nonprofit uses a venture capital model to invest in local social service agencies. “Partners” must contribute annually to the pool of capital, and be willing to share their business expertise with nonprofits that receive grants. DSVP started as an initiative of The Dallas Foundation.

“We really liked the active engagement that came with DSVP, versus just writing a check,” Ms. Mockovciak said. “With both DSVP and The Dallas Foundation, philanthropy education events were pivotal. It gave you an opportunity to really think about what you’re doing on a very personal level.”

Ms. Mockovciak became the “co-lead partner” to improve one agency’s after school programs for children. As she learned more about the issue, she realized that Dallas suffered a severe shortage of high-quality after school care. Dallas also lacked any sort of umbrella group that could offer ongoing professional development training and resources for providers and referrals for parents.

She teamed up with an experienced after school care provider and together they created the Dallas AfterSchool Network  (DASN) in 2007. DASN started out as an all-volunteer group with its operating fund held by The Dallas Foundation. In early 2010, the organization became an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency. While still serving as board chair of that group, Ms. Mockovciak started organizing a similar network on a statewide level.

Mr. Mockovciak also dedicates significant personal time to volunteer efforts. Foundation leaders asked him to serve on the advisory committee for the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment (TRIAD) Fund, which supports agencies that serve military families. He’s also on the finance board of LaunchAbility (formerly Special Care & Career Services), a group that helps children and adults with developmental disabilities reach their potential, and on the board of the Taos Land Trust.

“We’re very discerning now about how we give money,” Ms. Mockovciak said.  "We set a budget at the beginning of the year. If we hadn’t been exposed to all the different speakers and books and materials through The Foundation and DSVP, I don’t think we’d be as disciplined.”