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St. Odilia endowment raises $1 million for future needs |
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By Julie Carroll
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Tuesday, 09 March 2010 |
More than 200 benefactors help finance parish, school projects
It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Father Nels Gjengdahl celebrates Mass at St. Odilia in Shoreview. A new computerized projection screen, paid for with funds from the parish’s endowment, displays the words of a hymn. - Photo by Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
In 1987, St. Odilia in Shoreview established an endowment fund to provide for the parish’s future. Now valued at approximately $1 million, the endowment has generated more than $200,000 since its inception.
St. Odilia has used the money to fund dozens of parish and school
projects, including a church projection system, air conditioning,
emergency medical equipment, carpeting, computers, desks and
scholarships.
St. Odilia’s endowment fund provides a way for parishioners to give a
perpetual gift to the parish because distributions are made only from
the interest, never the principal.
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Tips for starting a parish endowment fund
» Seek the understanding and support of the pastor and parish
administrator.
»
Select seven parishioners who are willing to be active stewards in
helping to create and sustain an effective endowment-fund program.
» Get advice on how to establish a legally solid
parish-endowment fund.
»
Ask for information from parishes that already have successful
endowment funds and planned giving programs. Also consult with the
Catholic Community Foundation about its many services.
»
Identify 20 potential benefactors. They should be parishioners who
have
a “heart connection” to the parish. Ask if a member of the parish’s
endowment fund committee can meet with them in their homes to discuss
planned giving.
Provided by Roger Toogood, chair of St. Odilia’s Endowment
Committee
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“After [benefactors] are deceased, their money will still be there
carrying out the mission of Christ,” said Roger Toogood, chair of St.
Odilia’s Endowment Committee.
The endowment is funded through tax-deductible charitable donations,
which may include gifts of cash, stock, real estate, life insurance and
other appreciated assets.
Endowment gifts also are made through wills and bequests, charitable
gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts and other planned giving
options.
More than 200 benefactors have contributed to St. Odilia’s endowment fund, according to Toogood.
Every year, a percentage of the earnings is distributed for non-budget
items. Last year, the endowment generated close to $50,000.
Donors can designate their charitable giving for worship activities,
youth and young adult programs, the school, parish outreach efforts,
building and grounds, or scholarship assistance. Or, they can allow the
parish to choose the best use for their gift.
Providing for the future
Many parishes that do not have endowment funds could benefit from
establishing them, according to Jim Seidel of the Catholic Community
Foundation.
“There are so many parishes that are concerned about their future,” he
said. “Making that commitment now and generating some support for an
endowment might allow them to prosper and to avoid financial
difficulties [in the future]. . . . A gift to an endowment is a
permanent gift to that parish or that school that will have a benefit
that really lasts forever.”
The Catholic Community Foundation, based in St. Paul, has been helping
parishes, including St. Odilia, and schools manage endowment funds
since 1992. “We were created as a repository for endowed funds,” Seidel
said. “It was a vision Archbishop [John] Roach had.”
“Because we’re a Catholic institution, we screen our investment pool,”
Seidel said. “So the money managers that we hire receive instructions
that there are companies that they are not permitted to invest in, and
we follow the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ guidelines for
morally responsible investing.”
CCF provides other services in addition to managing endowment funds.
“One of the big things that we do that’s kind of unique in the world of
endowment management is partner with the parishes and schools to help
them promote planned giving,” Seidel said.
CCF works with clients to develop a communication plan that leads to “a culture of planned giving.”
The organization also provides services to parishioners interested in
setting up charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts.
St. Odilia serves as a model for other parishes interested in establishing an endowment fund, Seidel said.
“If other parishes would follow their lead and their methods, many
parishes could have endowments like St. Odilia does,” he said.
He gives much of the credit to the parish’s Endowment Fund Committee.
“It’s been a really integrated effort on their part over many years to
build it to what it is,” Seidel said.
The parish also does an excellent job of communicating the impact the
endowment fund has had on the parish, Seidel said. Once a year, a
committee member speaks about the endowment at weekend Masses, the
pastor sends letters to parishioners encouraging them to consider
giving to the endowment, committee members visit parishioners in their
homes if they express an interest, and informational brochures are
placed in the back of the church.
Recognizing donors is another key to St. Odilia’s success, Seidel said.
Every year, the parish holds a reception in their honor, and their
names are engraved on a gold plaque prominently displayed in the
church. Seidel recommends other parishes follow St. Odilia’s lead by
creating a heritage or legacy society to honor donors.
“Whoever has remembered the parish in their will or their estate plan
has essentially elevated the parish to the status of a family member,”
he said.
For more information, contact the Catholic Community Foundation at
(651) 389-0300 or
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
, or visit its Web site,
www.catholiccommunityfoundation.org.
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