Featuring Merrill Lynch Bank of America
The Catholic Foundation was honored to have a dynamic lineup of speakers to provide a faith-filled market forecast for the current year on February 11th, 2021. Fund holders and friends gathered for the hour-long information session hosted with our friends at Merrill Lynch and other leaders across the country. Panelist dialogued and presented on the state of the market and the impact on values-based Catholic investing.
Our Catholic community is grateful for our fundholders who commit to faith-based investing. When we prioritize Catholic values as a community, we set an example and pave the way for a more just and hopeful world.
Get involved: the Foundation team can share what has worked for others in similar situations — or help you formulate a unique strategy just for you.
See below for some additional documents to help:
The “Connectivity Value” of a Catholic Foundation Fund
When Craig and Ann Stinson were beginning their journey with philanthropy, they sought out others who inspired them and could help guide them in their efforts. Over the years, they have refined their giving priorities after years of exploration and discernment. As they have matured, they have learned to lean on the value of community in their giving.
“Everything is a gift from God, to be shared with others. Our faith guides us in where and how we give financially. As we get older, we prefer to give money in our local community where we can see the impact it is having,” shares Ann.
The Stinsons, who live in Rochester, Mich., have a Donor Advised Fund with the Catholic Foundation of Michigan. Now retired, Craig was a CEO of Breeze Industrial Products and adviser to Chicago private equity firm Wind Point Partners. They have felt very fortunate to have earned more than they need and have given generously as a result. They were introduced to the Catholic Foundation through Frank Migliazzo, a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch and chair of the Foundation’s investment committee.
The Stinsons were looking for guidance in order to more closely align their philanthropy with their values, and at times, found it a struggle. “I was trying to research and do due diligence to ensure our giving matched our morals, and sometimes we missed things. Holding a fund at the Catholic Foundation gives us more comfort that we are doing what is our intent,” Ann reflects. The Stinsons previously held a Donor Advised Fund through Bank of America, but chose to move their fund because they saw the benefits in having more guidance and a local personal connection. 
“The personal attention that we get from the Foundation is very meaningful. Angela is very responsive and informed, and she is an inspirational person,” Craig shares. “We recognize that having a fund at the Catholic Foundation helps support local charities where funds are most needed, including some ministries that we know personally. We feel good about that,” he continues.
While fund fees at a bank may be less expensive than those at a community foundation, the services provided by the Catholic Foundation are much more comprehensive.
“The intrinsic value that we get by working through the Foundation brings a return that is hard to describe,” says Craig. “I don’t see it as a cost-benefit analysis. ‘Connectivity value’ is the metric we would use to describe it.” This “connectivity value” is what the Catholic Foundation is known for.
“The goal of the Foundation is to serve as a bridge between generous individuals/families and impactful ministries. We love when we help make new value-aligned connections,” says Angela Moloney, President and CEO of the Catholic Foundation.
The Catholic Foundation encourages you to set up an appointment to discuss your particular charitable intentions with a member of our professional staff. Together with your legal and financial advisors, we will work with you and your family to develop a successful and satisfying program for your faithful philanthropy, with more “connectivity value” than you’ll find with a fund at a bank. Contact us.
To those who are just getting started with charitable giving, the Stinsons offer the following advice. “Giving brings joy to the giver as well as those on the receiving end. Just starting the process is important, and reflecting on the joy that comes with being a part of the solution. Even if someone does not have a lot to give, just getting started helps to develop a mindset about giving, which can grow over time,” Craig shares.
The Donor Advised Fund Guide and Application are available to review here.
New and Improved for Fundholders in 2021
Here are some of the ways we are working to improve your experience as a fundholder with the Catholic Foundation:
Monthly Fund Statements
Fund holders can now retrieve monthly fund statements through their portal, beginning in February with their January statement. If you have not utilized your login and need instructions on how to
retrieve your statements, please contact Meg Doyle at meg@catholicfoundationmichigan.org or 248- 204-0332, option 1.
Now Accepting Donations via ACH
Our team is focused on helping you maximize your faithful charitable goals. The Foundation now accepts Electronic Checks (ACH) up to $125,000 and these can be established as reoccurring. Click here
to give or call us at 248-204-0332.
New Mission Support Fee Structure
The Catholic Foundation of Michigan has made our Mission Support Fees even more fund holder friendly. The larger the endowment, the lower the fee. Any endowments that reach greater than $5 million will have the administrative fee reduced by 25 bps.
We’ve also added a fee structure for scholarship funds. Please consider investing in our Catholic schools’ future and helping young Catholics continue their education by opening or donating to a scholarship fund; they change lives forever.
Email us if you have any additional suggestions on how we can serve and support you better at info@catholicfoundationmichigan.org.
CONTACT US
St. Moses the Black Food Pantry is a lifeline for hundreds of families
The excerpt below is part of an article titled, “A Heart of Service” written by Kate Lochner and originally published by Unleash the Gospel, a publication of the Archdiocese of Detroit. (2020)
In recent years, the soup kitchen at St. Moses the Black has typically helped feed 40-50 families a week. But in the spring of 2020, when COVID-19 shook the globe and left no community untouched, that number is increased by 400 percent.
“That first week, cars were lined up from the front of the church and all the way down the street. In the first 10 cars, we had at least six people get out of their cars and come to help us,” Camille {the Christian Service coordinator at St. Moses the Black parish} says. Suddenly Camille and her volunteers, mostly people who live near the church, became frontline workers themselves and were feeding 250 families weekly.
Camille Graces, the Christian Service Coordinator at St. Moses the Black parish in Detroit, Michigan. (Unleash the Gospel, 2020)With aid from the federal government and local Catholic charities, most notably the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, their soup kitchen was able to meet the needs of the community, allowing them to feed 400 families through most of the summer. Each family received meet, fresh produce, canned goods, cereal, and other groceries. “They drive away from the front of our church with around 50 pounds of groceries,” Camille explains.
When asked about what has struck her the most during this time when the soup kitchen has become a lifeline for so many in the Detroit community, she notes, “We’re still feeding 250 families a week, the line just isn’t going away.” She adds, “It hurts because we get our regulars, our walk-ups, but we also get the recently unemployed, we get people pullin’ up in brand new 2020 vehicles that are now a part of the food insecure. It’s just that combination of people we’re serving and that’s not changing.” Yet a song of hope and gratitude remains, “we get so many thank ‘thank yous’ …people are so appreciative of what we do.”
“We’re still feeding 250 families a week, the line just isn’t going away,” shares Camille Graves, the Christian service coordinator at St. Moses the Black.
For Camille, being a Catholic means giving; it means service. Actively serving her community is integral to her faith and how she carries out her own beliefs. In talking about Jesus’ call for all Christians, Camille says, “He definitely straight up told us to take care of each other,” and for her, it’s as simple as answering that call. Aside from working as Christian service coordinator at St. Moses the Black, she holds the same role at the Most Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit.
Camille Graves (right) with two volunteers from the St. Moses the Black soup kitchen. (Unleash the Gospel, 2020)“It’s where my heart is, in service,” Camille says. And pulling from the strength from her surrounding communities, she’s humbled by the people, not necessarily all Catholics or parishioners, who come together to make the running of the soup kitchen possible.
“We’re all his children,” she goes on, “Every man-made boundary you’re going to come up with, we’re just going to go right past it and do the Lord’s will. He told us to take care of each other, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Prior to the pandemic, St. Moses the Black received donations from established relationships throughout Metro Detroit, from St. Anastasia’s in Troy to St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores and stores like Forgotten Harvest. But since these programs are almost entirely run by seniors, and the donations came to a screeching halt at the height of the pandemic.
In recent weeks, parish programs have started to slowly come back. Still, it’s soup kitchens like the one at St. Moses the Black that need our help to continue to help feed the growing number of the food insecure in the wake of COVID-19.
Last April, as part of the Catholic Faithful Response Fund for COVID-19, the Catholic Foundation of Michigan helped raise over $14,000 to support the St. Moses the Black food pantry. See below for images that were taken during an on-site visit to the location on May 8th, 2020.
Recognizing the need for continuous funding and support to meet the great need in the community, Yvonne and Camille Graves Hill reached out to their friends at the Catholic Foundation in October 2020 to open the St. Vincent de Paul Conference Food Pantry of Catholic Church of St. Moses the Black Fund.
How does your faith call you to give? If you feel called to donate and support the food pantry, please consider giving below.
Will you experience the joy of philanthropy with us?
Provide hope for families and children in need with a gift of any size.
Join with us in giving today.
SUPPORT THE ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CONFERENCE FOOD PANTRY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH OF ST. MOSES THE BLACK
Camaraderie in the Catholic Community
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly everyone on the globe. People who were already vulnerable, however, have been disproportionately affected by the virus itself and its economic impacts. Among the most vulnerable globally are people who live in garbage dump communities.
International Samaritan is an Ann Arbor-based nonprofit organization that empowers residents of garbage dump communities to break out of the cycle of poverty. Through academic scholarships for children, and responsive community development, International Samaritan serves in six nations.
On November 12, 2020, International Samaritan shared its ministry at a virtual event hosted by the Catholic Foundation on behalf of the Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network.
“These garbage dumps are unregulated and there’s little control over what gets put in the dump and who gets to be in the dump,” shared Mike Tenbusch, president of International Samaritan, during the event. “As a result, they are very dangerous places from a humanitarian and an environmental perspective.”
During the event, Tenbusch and International Samaritan’s Country Director of Ethiopia, Selam Terefe shared about the obstacles communities have faced during the pandemic, and the work International Samaritan is doing to overcome them.
Angela Moloney, President and CEO of the Catholic Foundation, reflected on the effect the event had on her team. “The entire Catholic Foundation team grew from our time with International Samaritan during the JFAN event,” said Moloney. “Their mission is so critical, but especially right now.”
As Tenbusch reflected on the event, he noted the camaraderie he felt in sharing an event with the Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network, a group whose spirituality aligns closely with that of International Samaritan. “It was a neat event for us because we were founded and led by a Jesuit priest for 24 years, and when we grow into various countries, one of the first things we do is link up with the Jesuits who are there,” Tenbusch said. “It was really rewarding for us to be able to speak to people who also support and love Jesuit ministries.”
Finding support among and camaraderie within the Catholic community is not a new experience for International Samaritan. In fact, it’s one of the great benefits Tenbusch has noticed since partnering with the Catholic Foundation in December 2019, when International Samaritan opened an endowment fund with the Foundation.
“I sleep well at night knowing that the money we have in our fund with the Catholic Foundation is not in businesses whose operations don’t align with our values,” shares Tenbusch.
“Angela and the Foundation team do a great job supporting and bringing together like-minded Catholic organizations,” Tenbusch notes. “It’s always exciting to be in partnership with people who are motivated by the same values and vision.”
Grounded in the seven principles of Catholic social teaching, it’s also important for International Samaritan that its money be used in ways that uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church. Speaking to those who may be interested in opening an endowment fund with the Catholic Foundation, Tenbusch reflects on a couple of benefits:
“If I were in that position, I would want to make sure of two things: That my investment is stewarded well from a financial perspective – that my dollars wouldn’t be invested in businesses that I disagree with from a Catholic point of view – but also that I was getting a good rate of return. The Catholic Foundation of Michigan has stewarded our investment really well and I sleep well at night knowing that the money we have in our fund is not in businesses whose operations don’t align with our values.”
Learn more about opening an endowment fund with the Catholic Foundation of Michigan.
Create an Endowment Fund for an Organization You Are Passionate About
Support the International Samaritan Fund
St. Louis Center Celebrates 60th Anniversary
Since its opening in 1960, hundreds of women, men and children with intellectual and developmental differences have benefitted from the homes and services provided by the St. Louis Center (SLC) in Chelsea, Mich. This year has been challenging for both staff and residents at SLC, due to the pandemic. The year has been memorable for another reason – 2020 is the Center’s 60th anniversary.
Coach John Beilein visited the St. Louis Center to celebrate their 60th anniversary and put on a demonstration of basketball drills for the residents and staff with their teammates.Like other organizations, the Center’s events went virtual this year. Former University of Michigan Men’s Basketball Coach John Beilein was the celebrity host of their 60th anniversary event on October 22, 2020. The event began with mass followed by an hour with Coach Beilein and players from his 2012 team along with other local celebrities. An auction was held for the opportunity to have dinner with Coach and his wife, Kathleen, once the pandemic is over. The event raised about $25,000.
SLC provides year-round care people ages 5 to 70+, which includes building a support system that addresses all aspects of each person’s well-being and spiritual development. In 2018 SLC opened Guanella Village, a one-of-a-kind “intentional community” of mixed housing that further enhances fellowship, socialization, and support.
The St. Louis Center also opened an endowment with the Catholic Foundation in 2018, a partnership which has extended beyond just the stewardship of SLC’s fund.
“The Catholic Foundation of Michigan helped us get grants, which we have used most recently for equipment for playgrounds and mobility support for elderly members of the community,” shared Development Director, Ms. Christina Ferris
St. Louis Center is facing many unanticipated costs due to the pandemic, including a big increase in staffing costs, as well as cuts in government reimbursements, and a significant drop in fundraising revenue–all leading to a $600,000 shortfall.
Alongside the increased financial need, SLC also has long-term goals for expanding their kitchen space, transferring residents to newer buildings, updating the administration building, and developing duplex and single-family dwellings.
The SLC would like to continue operating at the same level of care and dignity for its residents, but they cannot do it without your contributions. Please consider giving to St. Louis Center’s endowment as it celebrates its anniversary and cares for a population who has been deeply impacted by the pandemic.
SUPPORT THE ST. LOUIS CENTER ENDOWMENT FUND
Create a Donor Designated Fund for a Cause You Are Passionate About
Important Dates for Holiday Season and Year-End
Dear Catholic Foundation Friends and Fund Holders,
With the holiday season upon us and the year-end, our team is prepared to meet your philanthropic needs and goals.
Please note the following important upcoming dates:
Unleashing the Giving: 33 Projects Granted in 2020
On Dec. 1, 2020, known as #GivingTuesday, the Catholic Foundation of Michigan awarded $120,750 in community grants to southeastern Michigan parishes, schools and nonprofit organizations during the Foundation’s third annual grant award celebration. The challenges of COVID provided the opportunity for over 100 community leaders to gather virtually and join in this remarkable, joyful celebration of giving.
Unity in Diversity 2020 Spirit of Innovation Grant
In 2019, as a direct response to the Archbishop of Detroit’s message in Unleash the Gospel, the Catholic Foundation was called upon to create the Spirit of Innovation granting fund.
The Spirit of Innovation Grant called for Catholic parishes, schools and organizations in the archdiocese to develop, launch and grow new initiatives, ministries and approaches that share the Good News with all, forming joyful missionary disciples.
This year’s Spirit of Innovation Grant was awarded to St. Clare of Montefalco Parish School community for their Unity in Diversity project. The focus of the project is to bring various communities that exist within the school and parish together to unite them around acknowledging and celebrating their differences through diversity and inclusion training and intervention.
Learn more about this inspired project by watching the video below. You can also click here to listen to a podcast interview with St. Clare Montefalco Pastor Fr. Andrew and Principal Ann Crowley and Richard Lane, a member of the Foundation Grant and Impact committee, as they talk about the Unity in Diversity grant.
