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“We’re all about philanthropy,” Patricia Gerling, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Brazos Valley, reinforces as we chat about her presence in the magazine. She reminds me for the thousandth time that this article is not to be about her — instead, she wants the focus to be the work of the nonprofit. “I don’t want it to be the best-kept secret in town,” she says. I insist that the Community Foundation would benefit by highlighting the woman who has been the heartbeat for the organization since she accepted the position in 2014.
“When I took the job, the foundation was $3.4 million in assets, and today, it's $12.8 million,” Patricia tells me, with pride. “I'm tremendously honored that people can see the vision of what philanthropy is all about. We serve as that partner in philanthropy, to work alongside nonprofits, because this is our mission.” —Ellen Ritscher Sackett
IN: Anyone who knows you, Patricia, knows you have a servant’s heart. Where was that seed planted?
PG: Girl Scouts is probably what made me who I am — and seeing my dad and his level of commitment to his daughters as well as my mom too. My mother was a hardworking professional and worked 8 to 5. [She] did everything at the house and was very supportive of her two daughters. Daddy was very involved in our church and helped with the food pantry, and he helped with Knights of Columbus and was very service driven.
I was my father's son. Anything that my dad wanted to do, I was right there with him. My sister and I were in Girl Scouts together. He was the “Cookie Dad” and took us down to the University of Texas, and we walked the apartments and sold mega-thousands of cookies!
IN: Girl Scouts played a part in your getting your first job.
PG: Our family [has] always been very outdoorsy. … We went on family vacations during the summer, and we had a tent camper. So Girl Scouts then begat into that camping mode. I was a camper at Camp Texlake, which is out on Lake Travis out in the Hill Country — a great experience, and I just loved everything about it. I was a camper for, like, seven years, and then I decided I wanted to be a counselor.
Several years after I became a counselor, [I went] to college [for business] — that's what I did during the summer to raise money for myself and to put me through college. [Camp Texlake] had an opening for a business manager, so I applied and got the position. It was an 8 to 5, Monday to Friday.
IN: And that’s where you met your husband David?
PG: He was the assistant camp ranger, and he had a Monday to Friday, 8-to-5 job too. We spent lots of time out on the back porch, looking out over Lake Travis. We got to know each other in our finest moments, and we'd go sailing and swimming. It was probably [as] best friends that we got to know each other under. And then he came on to A&M, and then I followed him once I graduated from St. Edwards [in Austin]. We both ended up in Bryan College Station. This is where we decided we wanted to raise our family and put down roots. That was back in ’79.
IN: How did you come to work at Texas A&M?
PG: If you had a business degree and you were in this community, you either worked at Texas A&M University or you worked for a bank, and I didn't want to work for a bank. I loved everything about an academic community … I went to work in the chancellor's office in an administrative secretarial position because being a woman at Texas A&M University, that's what you did. There weren't a lot of options open for administrative or professional opportunities unless you had a PhD. At that point in time, I didn't have a master's or a PhD.
IN: Did you enjoy it?
PG: I loved it. I have great memories. I worked for three different chancellors, alongside them. It’s phenomenal to see the university system grow in the way that it has since 1979.
After I had one of my children, I went to work in the vice chancellor for the budgets and human resources office. I was responsible for the unemployment compensation program as well as the system administrative budget. I enjoyed that for about two years.
IN: And then?
PG: There was a new hire of a new deputy chancellor for agriculture, and this individual [Charlie Arntzen] appeared at my door and said, “I want you to go to work for me.” It just so happened that my boss [Cliff Lancaster] had sent him my way. He said, “You need to help build an agriculture program,” [one] like the university has today.
They wanted to centralize everything in agriculture just as the super dean of engineering had done. And so that was our role; that was our cause. That was around 1988.
IN: How long did you work in the agriculture department?
PG: I was in agriculture up until probably about 2000 and rose to the role of assistant vice chancellor for agriculture. People would ask me if I had an agriculture degree and I said, no, I don't, but I think outside the box. I was the one who would challenge thinking, and I was more process[-oriented] and driven by administration. That's what I loved — celebrating people and awards and honors. … When you think of agriculture, you think of farming and ranching, and we wanted people to think broader than that. That's where we [rebranded the department] Texas A&M AgriLife. Then I had an opportunity to join the vet school, working for the dean, Eleanor Green, as chief of staff in the Dean's Office and the College of Veterinary Medicine for about 2.5 to 3 years.
IN: When did you become the president of The Community Foundation?
PG: In December of 2013, Janie and Fain McDougal called me on the 19th of December. Now, I'm a working mom, and many times everything for my family would come at the last minute. So here I am, making peanut brittle and wrapping presents, getting everything ready, and Janie — a very good friend of mine — called and said, “Patricia, Fain and I want to take you for coffee. Would you be available tomorrow?” and I said, “Sure!” … and so we met for coffee. Both of them are very philanthropic and have served on the board of directors for the Community Foundation. They shared that the Community Foundation, due to a recent change in administrators, was looking for a new president to serve its future. Janie and I are kindred spirits because we are both breast cancer survivors and serve on the Pink Alliance board. She said, “This is a perfect place for you to put your skill sets to work for the community.” Fain was a past board chair of the foundation, and he said, “Patricia, think about it.”
On a wing and a prayer, I felt like God had opened this door, and that I was being called. I really felt like I could make a difference. I accepted the position, and I started in June 2014. So that's how I came to be where I am today.
IN: Why was this the right time for you to make a career change?
PG: I was a firstborn, and so I'm that Type-A personality. I've never felt like I needed to— I'm not trying to prove anything. I just wanted to make a difference.
In 2002, I was diagnosed with breast cancer — this is my 20th anniversary survivorship. It was a shock for me, as my mother is a breast cancer survivor. I went through chemo and lost my hair, and all at the same time, I was working on my master's degree at A&M, so persevering and seeing something to the end— I just felt like it was important. When I was diagnosed, it was like, what's God want me to do? There's got to be something good to come out of this. That’s where I took up the staff of being an advocate for breast cancer survivors.
IN: You saw a silver lining by helping others.
PG: There are so many people that are diagnosed that there's a fear factor in it, and the anxiety gets very, very high. But if you can talk to people that have traveled that route, it makes it a little more palatable. Even though all of our experiences are different, you have a little more reassurance of the unknown to think what might happen, and it makes it a little easier.
I'm a relationship person, and relationships are very, very important. I think that's why this job is— I'm so grounded here because I think relationships are all about life.
IN: So you made quite a transition from academia to helping nonprofits.
PG: It was a challenge, and it was a calling. Remember, I got here in 1979. The Community Foundation was established in 2003. … I've loved this community, and that's why I live and breathe it. It started when my kids were in school. … You get involved with what you love and want to do good. David and I were both on the PTO board; we did fundraisers. In high school, both the kids were in the marching band, and I was the band booster president.
I went through Leadership Brazos with the Bryan College Station Chamber of Commerce — loved that program. I wanted to get involved after Leadership Brazos. I served on the symphony board. I served on the Friends of the Symphony, served on the Prenatal board, United Way. I've done things with Girl Scouts — just a lot of different nonprofit boards. It all came together.
IN: In what ways does the Community Foundation help nonprofits?
PG: Nonprofits across the community have specific missions, many of them programmatic: to feed the poor or to help ensure that children have all the comforts of life or … whatever the case may be. The foundation can help partner with each one of those nonprofits, as well as their countless donors who love what they do and support their mission.
But these nonprofits sometimes don't have the experience, space, and resources to be able to assist in ensuring sustainable funds for their future, and so we focus on endowment-raising. Because it's all about a legacy. We enjoy a phenomenal quality of life here in our community. We’ve got to ensure that we’re taking care of our community.
IN: From the Community Foundation’s perspective, why is this important?
PG: It takes the Community Foundation to bring donors and nonprofits together so that the quality of life we enjoy today is here for generations to come. We have to protect that. It's something that’s treasured. Many of those elements that are important to a quality of life within our community — the arts, for example — are provided by nonprofit organizations. That is the key to quality of life, and we can't take that for granted.
IN: What is Brazos Valley Gives?
PG: The Community Foundation, three years ago, launched Brazos Valley Gives, an annual giving day for the seven-county region that we embrace here. As a result, we are increasing the awareness of nonprofits that are here and assist them in identifying donors that support their cause.
I brought the Giving Day here when I joined the foundation. … One hundred percent of each person's donation through Brazos Valley Gives goes to the nonprofit of their choice.
We lift it up; we benefit in no way. We just bring philanthropy together on one day so that everyone can give to their favorite nonprofit. We help facilitate a centralized approach to marketing and one unified platform so that everyone can participate. … This allows one opportunity for everyone to have a place in giving and to be able to rally their donors around giving to their mission and their purpose, plus, perhaps create a greater visibility — you may find something new about a nonprofit that you knew nothing about, and it piques your interest! It's all about engendering support.
IN: Do donations through Brazos Valley Gives come directly to the Community Foundation?
PG: [For Brazos Valley Gives,] we’re a passthrough. So last year, over $926,000 we processed through here, and all of those grants passed through to the donors to their nonprofit of choice.
IN: How does that differ from the Community Foundation’s efforts?
PG: As the Community Foundation, we work alongside donors who want to make a forever gift to their favorite charity. We offer donor advised funds and also endowments to benefit community needs. We're all about legacy. We talk about the fact that we want to leave something, as we only go through this life once. And many of us have the opportunity — either through their profession or through their business, or in whatever way — to leave a mark.
Many donors within our community have already established an endowment fund. … A lot of people will give to their favorite cause. They create a forever fund, and they are remembered for those charitable interests every year when we distribute a grant to a particular nonprofit. So that's what it's all about: it's that charitable giving spirit to be able to leave a legacy forever.
IN: Why would a donor give through the Community Foundation rather than directly to the nonprofit of their choice?
PG: There are many times when an individual may want to do something more than just an annual gift. Perhaps they have stock that they want to give to a nonprofit, and we can take the stock and create a fund that will benefit a particular purpose or passion. … We want to drive the passion of a donor. What floats your boat? What makes you happy when you wake up in the morning, and you think about giving and being so blessed to live in Bryan College Station? How can you give back to create that forever impact of what you've done as a result of your life's worth?
IN: What about endowments?
PG: I am a strong advocate for endowments. An endowment is a forever fund that will benefit a nonprofit forever. As individuals and working professionals, we work hard … and we put aside funds and a retirement fund so that at some point in time, we don't have to work as hard. So too should a nonprofit be intentional and saving! We talk about the fact that every nonprofit should be thinking about sustainability and their long-term success.
IN: What is the Community Foundation’s relationship with Texas A&M?
PG: This community is better and great because of the phenomenal graduates and university faculty that live here. They are central to this community. We are very honored to work alongside many faculty and staff who lead the community but also want to ensure that the quality of life here in our community is here to stay for future generations. … That's the power of people coming together, to make an impact in the community where they live, and we're all in this together.
