“Thank you for supporting Dress for Success Houston’s future with this new Legacy Giving program. Meeting the other veterans and women at DFSH profoundly changed me. I actually cried the first time I was here. I finally did not feel alone and isolated. Knowing that there are always more battles to come, I am grateful that the Legacy Giving program secures the future of all the women who have come to rely on DFSH’s services and support.”
Katherine
Client Ambassador and U.S. Air Force Veteran
Employed at Boeing/NASA as Payload Integration Engineer
A guide to planned Giving
Leaving Your Legacy
Nancy Levicki
Co-founder of DFS Houston
President Emeritus
Founding Director of Legacy Giving
Thanks in large part to your support, more than 45,000 women have been impacted by our programs since our founding in 1998. As you know, Dress for Success Houston empowers women by giving them tools to make a positive first impression on potential employers and maintain a lasting impression once they land the job.
The women who participate in our programs quit public assistance, are more equipped to handle the unexpected, regularly afford meals and, most importantly, feel that life is worthwhile. They share stories of accomplishment, financial success, and enjoy a life that is meaningful to them and their families. Their success transforms the lives and legacy not only of their children but also their entire community by sharing the lessons learned here.
As a tribute to these women’s legacy and a vision for the women who will come after, I felt it imperative that I establish the Legacy Giving Program as my final contribution to DFS Houston. I’d like to invite you to join me as a founding member of the Legacy Society to ensure future generations of women continue to receive the benefit of Dress for Success Houston’s life-changing and legacy-building programs. Thank you for the impact you have and continue to make to DFS Houston and the women we serve.
Legacy Giving Society Founding Members
Shannon and Jeff Abel
Joan and Stanford Alexander
Marla and Rick Barnard
Pamela H. and Hayne S. Blakely
Kearston Block
Tali and Eric Blumrosen
Genora and Dwight Boykins
Kristy and Chris Bradshaw
Jennifer Briscoe
Maria Bryant
Libby Cagle and Lauren Taft
Katherine Chomout
Laura and Ralph Clinard
Monisa Cline
Mary Ellen Coombe
Lauren Levicki Courville and Kyle Courville
Flo Crady
Susie Cunningham
Kasey and Mark Dunn
Sukey Fenoglio
Diedra Fontaine
Kate Dearing Fowler
Mia Gradney
Arline Guefen
Kim and Ted Hartz
Courtney Hopson
Clare and Steve Jackson
Janis and Paul Jarosz
Donna and Dub Jett
Myrtle Jones
Marie and Louise Kinder
Caroline and Jeff Lafond
Nancy Levicki
Ellen M. Levin
Kristi McCarthy
Kimberly McCormick
Melkeya McDuffie
Trini Mendenhall
Niloufar and Amir Molavi
Jerri and Jim Moore
Trish and Rock Morille
Linda Padon
Mary and Ben Patton
Amanda and Jeff Polich
Rebekah and Gary Reaves
Bonnie Reitz
Becky and Dick Roberts
Nikki Rosenberg
Jane and Dick Schmitt
Sydney and Jeff Shellebarger
Art Smith
Cynthia Speyrer
Connie and Kylyn Taylor
Staci Voll and Erick Wegmann
Linda Webb
Debra Witges
French Anne Young
Investing in Houston’s Future
“I’m happy to endorse the Legacy Giving program for Dress for Success Houston. This outreach will allow DFS Houston to continue and expand its successful programs. For more than 20 years, the organization has been helping underserved women who are seeking to enter the Houston workforce and to build a sustainable career for themselves and their children. We know the need for these services, great as it is today, will grow even more urgent in the years ahead, as the knowledge-based high-tech economy becomes increasingly competitive and as the demographic shifts bring more minority women into the Houston workforce.
DFS Houston has grown into one of the most successful non-profits in the Houston area. The program, as its name implies, offers workplace-appropriate apparel and accessories to women in need, but that’s just the beginning of its outreach. It also surrounds clients with the ‘social capital’ which makes lasting success possible. It provides, through its Professional Women’s Group, a network of support systems and training sessions to help its clients develop the tools (in financial literacy, in support for their educational endeavors, in expanding access to health and wellness programs) that greatly strengthen them in their journey to stable employment and self-sufficiency.
Many of the women served by DFS Houston are single parents with low incomes and few job prospects, struggling to provide for their families and hoping to be a model for their children. Its programs are changing lives by enhancing the ability of marginalized women to succeed in the workforce, to become solid contributors to the well-being of their families, and to give back to their communities. A successful Legacy Giving program will ensure that DFS Houston can build on its proven success and continue to strengthen the Houston community in its efforts to thrive in the new, more problematic economy of the twenty-first century.”
Dr. Stephen Klineberg
Rice University, Founding Director
Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Three Ways to Give
A donation of any size makes a significant impact
The majority of estate gifts are modest in size and consist of resources many of us already have. Your estate planner can help you decide which of the three main types of planned giving is best for you.
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Residuary Legacy
Simply put, you donate a percentage of your estate.
Pecuniary Legacy
You donate a fixed amount of money to Dress for Success Houston.
Specific Legacy
Donate items such as shares, IRA investments or Life Insurance Policies with DFS Houston designated as the beneficiary.
Your legacy makes an impact
“I have been involved with Dress for Success Houston for the past 12 years. As a previous Chairman of the Board and a current board member, I know firsthand that DFS Houston’s programs are incredible and demonstrate the long-term impact they have on the community. The 2019 outcomes (page 3) showed in three years of involvement in DFS Houston’s programs, the number of women on public assistance is cut in half, 46% of the women have already received their first promotion and 86% can now regularly afford meals for their families. Those results are a testament to the lasting impact of DFS Houston’s mission.
DFS Houston has had strong, loyal donors since they opened their doors almost 22 years ago. They have been a part of the DFS Houston journey and seen the impact it has had on women and their children in the Houston community. Legacy Giving provides the means for DFS Houston supporters to ensure their support continues.
My husband, Amir, and I are deeply invested in DFS Houston and a legacy gift was our way of making a lasting mark. We invite DFS Houston supporters to join us by becoming founding members of the Legacy Giving Society.”
— Niloufar Molavi, PwC Global Oil & Gas leader
“As a past Chairman of the Board of Dress for Success Houston and current board member, I have witnessed our clients making conscious efforts to utilize the many services and resources provided by the organization in a desire to better themselves and in seeking financial independence.
Over the last 22 years, DFS Houston has proven that the services offered are not only greatly needed, but that they are highly effective. In my humble (and somewhat biased) opinion, not only is DFS Houston worthy of receiving annual charitable donations, but it is worthy of legacy gifts - due in large part to the successful and sustainable non-profit that has emerged from its founding.
My wife, Tali, and I are excited to be able to provide a legacy gift to DFS Houston to allow the organization help plan for the future and weather the fluctuations in charitable giving that non-profits are confronted with, particularly at this time. If you are interested in ensuring DFS Houston’s continued success, I encourage you to visit with Nancy Levicki about how your legacy gift can help fortify the organization.”
— Eric Blumrosen, Foley & Gardner L.L.P.
More
Information
For more information or to schedule an appointment with Nancy, please email nancy@dfshouston.org.
If you would like information sent to you in the mail, please fill out the form to the right.