CCF has met the ‘needs of larger Church’ for 30 years

By Natalie Hoefer

In 1987, as President Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbchev to “tear down that wall,” then-Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara was laying the foundation to build a fortification for the fiscal future of the Church in central and southern Indiana.

He envisioned a means for Catholics to contribute money for the long-term needs of archdiocesan parishes, schools and ministries through endowments.

That entity was called the archdiocesan Catholic Community Foundation (CCF), and this year marks the 30th anniversary of its founding.

“I think Archbishop O’Meara had a lot of foresight. It was a leap of faith” says Elisa Smith, CCF director, noting that it was the first Catholic foundation in Indiana started under the auspices of a Catholic diocese.

Msgr. Joseph Schaedel, pastor of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, served as CCF treasurer from 1994 to 2011 while he also ministered as archdiocesan vicar general.

“Archbishop O’Meara felt a great need to organize the archdiocesan finances, period,” he recalls. “When he first came, the chancery/Catholic Center really did not even make a yearly budget. They always assumed the money would be there for the needs of the larger Church.

“Archbishop O’Meara had the foresight to see that the ministries of the larger Church would need to increase, and we had to plan for the future with a vehicle like endowments.”

While Archbishop O’Meara is noted for starting the CCF, Archbishop Emeritus Daniel M. Buechlein is responsible for growing it.

Msgr. Schaedel notes that Archbishop Buechlein taught him that “that the Church could not provide adequate ministry without money. We could not be good stewards of our facilities without money.”

According to a 2015 survey of Catholic foundations by the Wilmington Trust, the average starting year of the 143 Catholic foundations in the United States in existence was 1996. With a start date in 1987, the archdiocesan CCF is among the first 15 to be created in the nation.

“I’m impressed at the vision people have had to do something like this, even before people in larger [dioceses],” says CCF board president Christine Vujovich. The member of

St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus says she is struck by the local Church leaders of the time of its founding “to have a vision of the future, to think about, ‘When we’re not here, what will be here for the Church?’ ”

Perhaps more impressive than the longevity of the CCF is that, as of the 2015 survey, it was the third largest Catholic foundation in the U.S., with $169 million in an archdiocese of less than 224,000 Catholics.

Putting the magnitude and generosity of that amount in perspective, in second place at $180 million—just $11 million more—was the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 20 times larger with a population of 4.3 million Catholics.

“It goes to show the heart of the donors here in central and southern Indiana, and their love for their parishes and Church ministries, and the philanthropic heart they have for wanting to improve on others’ lives,” says Smith.

During the last 30 years, endowment funds have been started by nearly 1,200 lay people and religious alike.

Take for instance the Brooke Nicole Lahr Memorial Fund for International Mission Work. The fund was created by Colleen and Mark Lahr, members of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Indianapolis, in memory of their daughter, Brooke, who was struck by a car and killed in Mexico while doing what she loved—international mission work.

Or consider retired Msgr. Lawrence

J. Moran, age 90. He has created 34 charitable gift annuities for various ministries.

Even companies have created funds to further Catholic causes, such as the BMW Constructors, Inc. Philanthropic Fund for “religious, charitable, educational and scientific purposes.”

The foundation started with just 10 endowment funds. Now, with 466 funds to contribute to, “there’s something for everyone,” says Vujovich.

As a sampling, anyone interested could donate to one of:

• 12 Catholic Charities funds;
• 152 parish endowment funds for ministry enhancement, maintenance and operational expenses;
• 181 parish school funds for scholarships, tuition assistance, faith formation, special programs and maintenance needs;
• 51 cemetery endowments for the care and maintenance of the grounds;
• 11 funds to assist with seminarian formation;
• 3 funds to help care for retired priests.

“The Catholic Community Foundation is so important to the archdiocese because it enables us to sustain ministries for the long haul, assuring that ministries can occur even if there were budget deficits or shortfalls in revenue,” says Msgr. William F. Stumpf, archdiocesan administrator. “It enables us to support ministries that maybe wouldn’t be able to support itself outside of a regular operating budget.”

Endowments can—and have been—established to benefit numerous organizations and ministries, such as the Catholic Youth Organization’s Camp Rancho Framasa, the spread of devotion to the Blessed Mother and of the Divine Mercy message, college campus ministry, the Serra Club to religious life, the diaconate and the priesthood, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and The Criterion.

The success of the archdiocese’s CCF is due greatly to those who oversee and manage it, says Smith.

“The CCF board of trustees and its committee members are lay people who have expertise in the areas of business, finance, law, accounting and nonprofits,” she explains. “Many serve on their parish finance council and/or stewardship council. They have played a crucial role in the growth of the endowments, both in the number of endowments and the value of the investments.”

Msgr. Schaedel says he now “cannot imagine not having the CCF. We must have endowment income to serve our needs into the future.”

When asked where the archdiocese would be if Archbishop O’Meara had not started the CCF 30 years ago, Msgr. Stumpf proposes to instead “just look at where we are because of the Catholic Community Foundation.

“We have the resources to provide ministries for many, many years that without his foresight would not be possible. He created an opportunity for individuals within the archdiocese to provide a legacy for the future.”
 

(For more information on the Catholic Community Foundation, its funds and how to establish a fund, visit www.archindy.org/ccf or call 317-236-1482 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1482.) †