Called to serve ... and give

When Will Cravens joined the St. Luke’s Foundation board in 2021, he joined a board in flux. Several original board members were ending their terms, and the health system was recovering from the challenges created by the pandemic. At the same time, discussions were underway about a possible capital campaign.

Cravens, a successful businessman, had undergone his own transformation a few years earlier. Raised an Episcopalian, he had converted to Catholicism after a health scare. He retired from his role as the head of a construction company and joined the Scanlan Foundation as its executive vice president.

Now he felt an even stronger call to serve, a pull to a more mission-centered life. 

As a cardiac patient at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Will had appreciated the outstanding care he received, and he had been impressed by the role he saw chaplains playing at the hospital.

“I really loved the fact that when I was at St. Luke's, every now and then a chaplain would come by and say hi. And then every now and then a Catholic priest would come by and bring the Eucharist,” he says. “I really wanted to become involved with that. There’s a group called the Catholic Chaplain's Corps and so I joined them. My giving back at that point was more about my time.”

When the St. Luke’s Foundation approached Will about joining the board, he saw the tremendous opportunity he would have to make a real difference for his Houston community, noting that CommonSpirit's mission “is right in tune with Catholic social teachings as well as so many other religions’ social teachings.” 

One of the things that I'm really interested in is seeing how CommonSpirit and St. Luke's can embrace their Catholic identity more,” he says. “How can we really foster and promote the Catholic identity?"

Will made a major gift in the fall of 2023 – the first board member to support the new capital campaign for Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. He also facilitated the Scanlan Foundation’s most recent investment in the health system’s mission formation program. 

Beyond his own generous partnership, Will is playing an instrumental role in the growth of St. Luke’s Foundation by regularly introducing prospective philanthropic partners and board members to the mission of the health system. Donna Budak, vice president of philanthropy, calls Will her “gold-star” board member for his ability to cultivate new relationships.

Will does everything you want a board member to do, she says, inviting her to important events, hosting lunches with potential donors, and serving as a vocal and enthusiastic ambassador for St. Luke’s Health.

“He is always thinking about how he can help us advance our mission,” Budak says.