The events of 2020 have brought enormous challenges for many Catholic ministries and families and have also inspired creative giving to meet the needs and challenges of this year.

For some families financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, one challenge has been the uncertainty of continuing their children’s education in a Catholic school. In response to this reality, the Archdiocese of Detroit and private donors approached the Catholic Foundation to open two new funds: the St. Anne Scholars and the St. Martin de Porres scholarship funds.

“We knew we needed to help and make it easy for students to get the support they needed. Our mission is to bring generous people together to make a positive impact in our community,” shared Angela Moloney, President and CEO of the Catholic Foundation.

Through these new funds, the Foundation awarded 63 scholarships in September, totaling $150,500 to benefit 23 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Hundreds of lives have been touched through the generosity of our community. The impact of these scholarships forever impacts the students and their families, and the impact extends to the school communities, contributing donors, and the entire community in southeast Michigan.

“Your help gives working class families a real chance at ensuring our kid’s faith grows strong so that there will continue to be a strong community of believers to face the challenges of our times. I cannot thank you enough!” – Bob, parent.

“Your help gives working class families a real chance at ensuring our kid’s faith grows strong so that there will continue to be a strong community of believers present and active in the future to face the challenges of our times. For that I cannot thank you enough!” shares Bob, a parent of a scholarship recipient.

The students, too, offered resounding enthusiasm for growing in their faith and the opportunity to attend or continue attending a Catholic school.

“I would like to stay at my school is so I can continue to learn more about my faith. I like the freedom to talk about my religion and that my teachers are able to make connections between our religion, our classes, and how life is today. This is very important to me,  because I feel I may be called to the vocation of religious life.” Andrew, a 7th grader, shared in his application.

In creating such a unique scholarship fund, donors lives are also transformed. Both scholarships were the result of donor initiative and donors had the ability to shape the criteria for beneficiaries.

“Participating in the scholarship program for Catholic schools was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I was so moved by families who are committed to providing a Catholic education for their children.” shared Helen Vlasic, whose family contributed to the St. Martin de Porres Scholarship fund.

Supporting Catholic education has never been easier. Like Helen, supporters can create a scholarship fund that is both unique and personal, based on specific goals. Examples could be tuition assistance for students at a particular school, students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) or even the arts. Scholarship funds can be opened with a gift of $25,000 or more.

“We had a family create something special with the St. Martin de Porres scholarship, which was unique to the family’s desires and intentions,” Moloney said. “That’s a unique gift that the Foundation offers to the community.” Learn more about how easy it is to create your unique scholarship fund.

The Catholic Foundation is proud to celebrate those who were impacted this year through this unique opportunity, both the students whose lives are transformed through access to Catholic education and the donors who were empowered to give generously to sustain Catholic Education in southeast Michigan. This year, we received over $400,000 in scholarship fund requests, well over twice the amount we were able to grant over the past year.

Now that these scholarship funds are created, individuals can make a gift in any amount and make a difference. You can give a gift online by clicking below or you can contact the Foundation staff at 248-548-3020. Next year, the Foundation hopes to open the scholarship programs to a wider pool of applicants with more time to apply. Your gift will help us grant more to students in the spring of 2021.

Give now to the St. Anne Scholars Scholarship Fund

Give Now to the St. Martin de Porres Scholarship Fund

Create your own unique scholarship endowment with the Catholic Foundation.