A Lasting Legacy of Life and Love
A Legacy of Two Courageous Mothers
The Catholic Foundation of Michigan is honored to steward the Mary Jo and Marjorie Courageous Mothers Endowment Fund, established by Marco DeCapite in memory of the two women whose courage, sacrifice and love shaped his life.
Mary Jo CrowleyThe fund originally honored Marco’s birth mother, Mary Jo Crowley. Mary Jo discovered she was pregnant at the age of 24 and made the courageous decision to bring Marco into the world despite the challenges she faced. She endured the emotional struggles of being an unwed mother and the discomfort of pregnancy and childbirth.
Only days after his birth, Marco was placed with his adoptive parents, Armando and Marjorie DeCapite, who raised him and his sister in a loving home.
Decades later, Marco came to better understand the sacrifices made on his behalf. When he began searching for information about his biological family as a young adult, Marjorie encouraged and supported him in that journey. At age 23, Marco was able to connect with Mary Jo and begin a meaningful relationship with her.
“In many senses, I got a more complete picture of my identity, but even more so, my identity as a child of God, because He had a hand in all of this.”
— Marco DeCapite
Although their roles in Marco’s life were different, the love and sacrifice of both women became inseparable parts of his story.
After Marco’s adoptive mom, Marjorie passed away in 2025, Marco expanded the fund as a memorial to both of his mothers. The renamed Mary Jo and Marjorie Courageous Mothers Endowment Fund honors Mary Jo for courageously giving him life and Marjorie for lovingly receiving that life and devoting herself to raising him.
Together, the lives of Mary Jo and Marjorie offer a powerful witness to the many forms a mother’s courageous love can take: giving life.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to not only meet my birth mother, but also for the fact that she chose to bring me to life—a life the Holy Spirit has blessed. Setting up this fund is a way for more people to learn about her story and her sacrifice, while also honoring the mother who raised me and formed me in love.”
— Marco DeCapite
Carrying Their Legacy Forward
The Mary Jo and Marjorie Courageous Mothers Endowment Fund carries the legacy of both women forward by supporting ministries that serve mothers, infants and families experiencing difficult or unexpected pregnancies including:
- Heart of Christ Clinic in Detroit, which provides medical care and compassionate support to mothers and infants.
- Christ Medicus Foundation, which helps strengthen the clinic’s Christ-centered Catholic identity and provides Catholic bioethical formation.
Starting in 2026, new tax laws brought about by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) may limit how much of your charitable giving can be deducted on your tax return. Specifically, the first 0.5% of your income will no longer count toward itemized deductions. For example, if your income is $1,000,000, the first $5,000 of charitable donations will not be eligible to use as a deduction. So, if your total donations for the year are $30,000 in 2026, you will only be eligible to include $25,000 as an itemized charitable deduction on your tax return.
Let’s look at an example that combines the two changes above to illustrate the potential impact of this strategy.
One strategy is to “bunch” your donations – that is, make several years’ worth of charitable contributions in one year. With the tax laws coming into play in 2026, high-income donors may want to consider bunching donations for future years into the 2025 tax year before these new laws take effect. The key point to consider is that if you are not proactive with this strategy, future years of giving may have less of a tax savings element with the new laws coming into effect.
During the interview, Angela Moloney, President and CEO of the Foundation, spoke about the growing impact of Catholic education across Michigan and shared powerful stories of students, educators and families whose lives have been transformed through the generosity of donors and partners.
