During its first year of offering distributions in 2016, the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania declared a little more than $28,000 in distribution for one endowment fund. Fast forward to today and the Catholic Foundation declared more than $900,000 in distributions to the beneficiaries of 54 eligible endowment and donor designated funds. This record amount in 2023 brings the total declared distributions during the past eight years to more than $3.1M.
Creating Impact for Catholic Causes
“As endowment funds grow, so do the declared distributions to parishes, schools and ministries that are the beneficiaries,” says Pete Waldron, President of the Catholic Foundation. “The more the Catholic Foundation helps our partners market and grow their funds, the more dollars will be available, if needed, to support their faith-based missions.”
Distributions this year supported a variety of needs, including:
- Scholarships for Catholic school elementary and high school students.
- Social service programs at Catholic Charities.
- Seminarian education and formation.
- Interior church renovations.
- Graduation awards for 8th grade and 12th grade students.
- College scholarships for parish students.
- Teacher Excellence program annual stipends.
During the past six years, Waldron has witnessed a remarkable story of generosity and community unfolding.
“Donors are seeing the impact endowment funds are having on their favorite Catholic causes and they are helping build them up with new gifts,” Waldron says. “The endowments are doing what they were set up to do: provide financial support when needed.
“People like knowing that their gift to an endowment—either now or later as a planned gift—essentially lives forever and will be there when their parish, school or ministry needs it.”
Endowment Funds With the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania
