When Edward M. Fjordbak was 13, the Dallas native decided that he wanted to be a research engineer, specifically in the area of microwave communications. Working summers during college in the industry, however, convinced him of the benefits of a managerial track and he switched his major to business at Southern Methodist University. Upon graduation, he combined his engineering and business interests at Dallas-based Collins Radio Company. And after a couple of years, he was pleased with his career progress.

One day, Fred Lange, a family friend and founder of the Communities Foundation of Texas, called Fjordbak and asked for his help with an "engineering problem" in the construction of a new headquarters building for the Foundation in east Dallas. Fjordbak discovered the problem was a personality conflict between the somewhat gruff demeanor of the elderly Lange and the project’s architects. Before Fjordbak left the meeting, he not only had smoothed out the construction difficulties but also had donated $1,000 and some work to install the public address system in the auditorium of the new building. Lange continued to call upon Fjordbak’s talents and goodwill.

Then came a fateful meeting. Lange pointedly challenged Fjordbak about what he was going to do about what Lange called his "civic duty." But what Lange really wanted was Fjordbak to take some time off from his career, join the Foundation staff, and help with some real estate holdings. Fjordbak agreed to take a year off to monitor the investment portfolio and to get the real estate under control. He fully intended to return to Collins Radio. At the end of the year, Fjordbak remembers, the real estate situation was improving — so he stayed. At the end of the second year, he had a realization: "I was working with the nicest people in the community. They were the people who had wherewithal, and they wanted to share it with others to build a better community. I thought that this was an opportunity that doesn’t come to many people."

So he stayed … 32 years and counting.

In his tenure as president of the Communities Foundation of Texas, Fjordbak has guided the construction of another new headquarters building in north Dallas and the celebration of the Foundation’s 50th anniversary in 2003. He also is currently serving as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Tower Club in Dallas. Fjordbak recently shared with Private Clubs some thoughts about his career, the work of the Communities Foundation of Texas (which distributed more than $600 million in grants during its first five decades), and the role of philanthropy in making a difference in local communities. Here are excerpts from that conversation.

What is your "elevator speech" to tell someone about the Communities Foundation of Texas?
We carry out the charitable intentions of philanthropists.

That sounds simple, but those intentions can be complicated. What is one of the more unusual charitable gifts that the Foundation has handled?
I think the most interesting one that we ever had involved an attorney here in Dallas named Donald Fitch. He was with Jackson Walker. Donald was a hemophiliac. He had lost one of his legs, but he still traveled the world with his wife. They had to carry dried blood with them just in case he had a problem. Baylor Hospital discovered, during one of his monthly blood checks, that there was a rare component in his blood that could be used to detect hepatitis in other people. A drug company offered him about $15,000 a pint for his blood. He said, "Well, I could spare some because obviously I get new blood every month from you guys. But don’t send the checks to me. Send them to the Communities Foundation of Texas. And that built a series of funds … for medicine … for education … for the elderly … for youth … all because he sold his blood.

You must have many stories. Is there another one that stands out?
The most unusual request to handle something, I think, came from Elena Kenedy from Kenedy County in south Texas. She told her CPA that she would like to do something to benefit the ranch hands who had worked in the county so faithfully for many years. She lived in the town of Sarita, named for her sister. She said, "You know, there’s never really been a sewer system in the town — there are only septic systems. That’s not good in a hurricane-prone area. I’d like to provide them with a free water and sewage system." Her CPA wasn’t sure what to do because the little township was not incorporated and you couldn’t take a tax deduction for giving to the town.

So what happened?
Her CPA contacted an attorney in Dallas who referred them to the Communities Foundation of Texas. And sure enough, we created the Sarita Sewer Service and Water Supply Corporation — endowed from a fund here at the Communities Foundation of Texas. And 20-some odd years later, the people still enjoy free water and sewer.

Explain some more about your services.
We actually perform services in about four general areas. We have advised funds for which living donors can make suggestions as to where the proceeds should go. Then we have people who have designated a gift for a specific charity or charitable endeavor. We also have some unrestricted funds. The donor is gone and did not leave us with any specific designation, so that leaves us some discretion. We use these funds to answer the needs of many organizations that have applied for grants. And then we provide many services to charitable entities, like private foundations, to help them with their grant-making research or to carry out projects. So you might see us creating a charitable organization like the Earning by Learning project here in Dallas. It started with 90 kids and, nine years later, about 8,500 kids are enrolled. They get paid $2 to read a book. We tested it for a year, then incorporated it, and then spun it off.

I see on your resume that your father has the title of Reverend. Did you get your sense of giving at home?
My father and mother taught me to give back from early days. I recall, when I was about 5 years old — this is one of my earliest memories — we were headed off to a vacation to visit my Dad’s parents in Iowa. We had exactly $300 and it was to be a 10-day vacation. Dad’s estimate to handle it was $30 a day.

We stopped at a little grocery store to pick up some ice for our cooler and as we drove away from the grocery store, we passed a little frail wisp of an elderly woman carrying a meager bag of groceries. It was apparent that she wasn’t very well off. As we passed her in the car, Dad turned to Mom and me and said, "Well, we just saw someone who looks like she’s needier than we are. How would you feel about us giving her one day of our vacation?" And we agreed. We drove around the block. Dad took an envelope out of the glove box, took $30, stopped, and gave it to this surprised little lady. And we cut our vacation to nine days.

I have never forgotten that act. I think that it’s a good thing when a parent will demonstrate that type of sharing in front of a child, especially when the sharing is a sacrifice.

What does your father think about your tenure with the Foundation?
Dad’s proud that I have been here this long, and he’s very proud of the work that has been done here. In his view, it’s a whole lot more useful than my career as an engineer.

You’ve gone back to school twice, once to get your Master in Liberal Arts and then again to receive a Juris Doctor degree. Why?
That’s a very good question. When you study engineering and management, you get a lot of the fundamentals of business and a lot of the technical background. But I was working at a foundation that had concerns with the arts, social services issues, and demographics issues. So the liberal arts master’s was to fill a gap in my education. I needed to know about the world around me.

Later, going to law school was a much more pragmatic decision because in the foundation world we deal with so many unusual assets, tax laws, and planning techniques. And I deal with so many attorneys, I felt the need to know more about the technical side of the law.

And you went on to pass the bar — that’s a tough load.
It was and I didn’t sleep for almost three years. My understanding wife would shove a meal under my nose every night as I’d rush home from the office to study because I continued to work full time.

Did it help that your wife, Sharon, had gone back to law school later in life also?
It did help. Having a spouse who can support you and who has been through the experience is important. Another factor is that my stepdaughter had been admitted to the same law school one year earlier and we had one class together.

Your resume also has a lengthy list of community involvements. How do you pick and choose? And how do you advise someone else as to where to put such energy?
Actually, I would not recommend anyone else to do what I did. Because I work with a foundation that works with a broad number of donors with broad interests, I have chosen to serve in a number of different fields. So you’ll find some of my interests in the arts, some with environmental issues, some with children’s issues — I have run the whole gamut. I think most individuals are better served with their focus on one or two areas of specific interest. And I think it’s critical for a philanthropist to enjoy their philanthropy. They need to do what they want to see done rather than respond to their friends’ requests or appeals for money. That is something that I try to teach our clients.

Why did you join the Tower Club?
I joined the Tower Club, in part, because the club is a handy thing to have. Since I deal with a lot of older clients, a noisy restaurant is not suitable.

The sad thing about a lot of places is that people will pretend to hear you and they don’t and that results in misunderstandings.

And, in your business, you cannot afford that to happen.
No. So it’s important to me that the club has paid attention to sound control for a business environment.

But most important is the fact that the Tower Club was the first of the local, exclusive clubs that would allow women and people of color in the main dining room with no questions asked. A couple of years prior to joining the Tower Club, I pulled a great faux pas. I was handed an invitation to something at another club in honor of one of the city’s great business leaders. It happened that the daughter of the fellow who ran a large accounting firm was an employee of mine and I happened to know that she knew this gentleman. So I asked her if she would like to go with me to this event. When I got there and I realized there was some chatter around, it dawned on me that I had brought the only woman.

If members of clubs are interested in becoming involved in some kind of giving, does the Foundation undertake any community education?
Our staff often gives speeches about philanthropy. And, there are 600 community foundations in the United States — where there are ClubCorp clubs, you are going to find local community foundations and very qualified people who can talk to the members.

What really makes someone a philanthropist? Is there a certain number of zeros or is it a feeling in the heart or what?
The number of dollars doesn’t make a philanthropist. What makes a philanthropist is what is in the heart — not just sharing, but sacrifice. It’s when you give up something that you could have used for yourself and you are going to miss it.

Can anyone become involved with the Communities Foundation of Texas?
There is a minimum of $10,000 to open a fund or $30,000 if it’s a scholarship fund, but beyond that, there are really no criteria on the number of zeros required to become a philanthropist or to manifest your philanthropy by using the Communities Foundation as a tool. Communities Foundation is not an end recipient; it is only a tool or a vehicle for the philanthropist to make their giving more efficient and more fun — and to protect the philanthropist.

Does just the existence of a community foundation allow philanthropy to become more democratized?
Yes. While people at all levels have always demonstrated philanthropy — that is how we built America, when neighbors used to come over and help you build your barn — you didn’t get a tax deduction for it. And I still don’t think that tax deductions create philanthropists. They may help guide the timing of philanthropy, but they don’t create philanthropy. But an advised fund or a gift in a will allows anybody at any level to take advantage of even complex charitable ideas without the expense of having to create a private foundation.

Your bio says that you believe the best way to build a great community is to make it easy and effective for philanthropists to give whatever they have to share. Comment on that philosophy.
Tax law is complex. You know it’s easy for someone to write a check to a charity when they know where the funds are going. But when you start dealing with larger dollars or complex ideas or complex assets, you need an intermediary who understands the needs of the philanthropist. That intermediary — contrasted with the private foundation route — puts the fun back into philanthropy.

Despite 32 years, it looks like you still have much that you want to get done.
None of us know what happens tomorrow. But there is plenty to do in this world and one thing extremely gratifying to me, as I get this deep into this career, is that I think our younger generation has not become a crowd of hedonists like had been predicted. The generations coming along now actually care a great deal about this world and about their own communities. We are passing the baton on to some very capable people who have the same passions we do, who realize that relationships are more important than things and that people are more important than things.

EDWARD M. FJORDBAK
Club membership: Chairman, Board of Governors, Tower Club, Dallas. Joined club in 1982.
Occupation: President, Communities Foundation of Texas.
Residences: Dallas and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Date and place of birth: July 19, 1946, Dallas.
Family: Wife, Sharon, attorney and CEO, Active Organics Labs. Stepdaughter, Felicia Moncrief, attorney.
Education: Juris Doctor, Southern Methodist University School of Law. Master of Liberal Arts and Bachelor in
Business Administration, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
Career highlights: Joined Communities Foundation of Texas in 1972 and was named president in 1987. Serves as an officer for various other foundations and corporations. Past employment includes Collins Radio Company.
Motto: "People are more important than material things."
Civic and community activities: Member of the Texas Bar and the Dallas Bar and serves as honorary Consul for Norway in North Texas. Active participation and leadership roles on numerous boards and in many organizations.
Honors: Among his recognitions and awards, Fund Raising Executive of the Year, 1986 (awarded by the Dallas chapter of the National Society of Fund Raising Executives).
Web site: www.cftexas.org