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“Baylor has been my ministry.” —Cynthia Krause
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After 23 years serving Baylor Scott & White Dallas Foundation, Cynthia Krause, attorney and vice president of strategic philanthropy, announced she will retire from the Foundation at the end of 2023. Cynthia’s contributions are extensive, driven by both a professional commitment to the Foundation as well as a deep personal connection with Baylor Scott & White Health.
Cynthia has been instrumental in developing and growing the charitable gift planning program at the Foundation, including overseeing the planned and estate gift programs; structuring complex gifts of outright assets; principal gifts; fostering partnerships with donors’ professional advisors; and creating a unique program of collaboration with these advisors.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a program or service on the Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) campus that has not benefited from philanthropic support that Cynthia has helped inspire,” said Ben Renberg, Foundation president. “Her extensive expertise in gift planning, coupled with her ability to build deep and meaningful relationships, inspired transformational gifts from generous donors that have created lasting legacies of impact across our campus.”
Cynthia’s ability to form meaningful relationships with donors stems in part from the connections she makes when sharing her personal experiences at Baylor Scott & White. When she first worked for the Foundation, Cynthia became pregnant with triplets in 1992 and was hospitalized at BUMC. Bedridden and unable to make even the smallest movements on her own, Cynthia had to rely on her caregivers for everything.
“They weren’t just people doing their jobs,” Cynthia recalled. “It was obviously a calling for each of them, and they became my extended family.”
To save Cynthia’s life, doctors delivered her triplets at 28 weeks’ gestation. Sadly, Benjamin and Kathryn died five days after their births. Abigail survived and is now thriving with her husband in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
It’s been such a privilege to learn from her, not only about gift planning techniques, but, more importantly, to observe how warmly and graciously she treats everyone.
—Craig Foster
After leaving Baylor, Cynthia chose to consult part-time to spend more time with her family. She returned to the Foundation in 2007, recalling, “When you have a life-changing experience like I did, you have to give back. I would have given Baylor Scott & White anything for what they did for me and my babies. We put the NICU at BUMC in our wills and it remains there today.”
This was not the only instance Cynthia spent time at Baylor Scott & White as a patient. In 2021, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I knew I was in the
right place,” said Cynthia, who is now cancer free.
These firsthand experiences allowed Cynthia to form close relationships with other grateful patient families and help connect them with opportunities to make significant impacts in areas such as oncology, nursing, arts in medicine, supportive and palliative care, and community care clinics.
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to work with so many donors who each had their unique reasons for giving to Baylor Scott & White,” Cynthia said. “They have been my constant inspiration on this journey as I have been able to see the results of their gifts over the years.”
Cynthia’s expertise has also enabled her to serve as a trusted mentor to Craig Foster, who is now director of gift planning for the Foundation.
“Any success I experience for the rest of my career will be due in large part to Cynthia taking the time and care to share her expertise with me,” Craig said of Cynthia, who is a member of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Hall of Fame. “It’s been such a privilege to learn from her, not only about gift planning techniques, but, more importantly, to observe how warmly and graciously she treats everyone. It’s impossible to replace her, but I’m honored to build on the incredible foundation of gift planning she has created at Baylor Scott & White.”
Asked what she’ll do in the new year, Cynthia said, “My husband David and I are heading to Australia where I plan to hold koala bears and lie on the beach! In the future—as my life has revolved around philanthropy—I’m sure you’ll see me engaged in some aspect of that continuing work.”
