Planned Gift Provides Security for Cabrini Clinic’s Future
St. Frances Cabrini Clinic is America’s oldest free health clinic and has been at the service of disadvantaged Detroit residents since 1950. Located in the Corktown neighborhood, a wide variety of nearly 80 volunteer health professionals and students provide primary care, mental health care, and prescription assistance.
The clinic provides a holistic approach toward meeting the health care needs of economically disadvantaged residents of southwest Detroit and beyond who do not have health insurance. The clinic offers education, prevention, and treatment without charge, and with deep compassion and respect for clients and their needs.
Cabrini Clinic is a ministry of Most Holy Trinity Church where Msgr. Charles Kosanke serves as pastor.
Last summer, Cabrini Clinic received a bequest from a doctor in Ann Arbor who had no heirs. Prior to his death, the doctor gave a modest annual donation to the clinic.
Msgr. Kosanke recognized that with the donor’s estate, the clinic had the opportunity to create an endowment. He talked to parish finance counsel about establishing an fund with the Catholic Foundation of Michigan.
The donor’s gift would grow when invested, and the interest from the endowment would be a source of regular support the clinic could count on.
“Having an endowment will help Cabrini Clinic to become strong and vibrant in perpetuity,” Msgr. Kosanke asserted.
If the Catholic Foundation of Michigan didn’t exist, Msgr. Kosanke shared, the clinic would’ve had to go through the burdensome legal process of forming its own foundation, or to open a fund with a local secular foundation.
“We chose to open the Clinic’s endowment fund with the Catholic Foundation of Michigan because of their Catholic identity, mission, and their dedication to Detroit.” Msgr. Kosanke also appreciates the Catholic Foundation’s commitment to offering small grants to support local Catholic ministries.
Most Holy Trinity has opened another endowment fund with the Catholic Foundation of Michigan to support its outreach program, which offers other social services to the community. This fund was also opened with the support of a donor.
“A parish should have enough general savings to cover capital expenses or an unexpected leaky roof. In the same way that many people keep money in a savings account for unexpected expenses but also invest in a retirement fund, the Catholic Foundation allows major donors to help secure a parish’s future through opening an endowment fund,” Msgr. Kosanke shared.
Want to learn more about the long-term impact of planned giving? Read Don’t Stop Giving Just Because You Die! by board member Tom Scholler.