About
The Catholic Foundation is a charitable organization established to serve the Catholic community by promoting Christian philanthropy.
As a community foundation serving West Michigan Catholics, the Foundation offers donors highly effective investment vehicles for their charitable resources, the finest professional stewardship of those funds, optimal tax benefits, and a program of generous and responsible giving to the community that creates meaningful and lasting legacies.
Fast Facts About the Catholic Foundation
It’s an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
It’s fully endorsed by the Diocese of Grand Rapids and the Bishop.
It’s governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of religious and lay leaders.
History
The Catholic Foundation of West Michigan was established in 1995 under the leadership of the ninth bishop of Grand Rapids, Most Reverend Robert Rose. While the Foundation was initially established to support Catholic education, its reach now extends to a variety of ministries throughout West Michigan.
With hundreds of funds supporting the religious, charitable, and educational works of the diocese, gifts to the Foundation sow the seeds of a thriving Catholic community today and for generations to come.
Since its founding, the Catholic Foundation has:
- Built, renovated, and repaired the infrastructure of our parishes, including churches, rectories, parish halls, parking lots, and classrooms
- Helped feed, clothe, house, and train the marginalized and ready them for employment
- Provided access and opportunity for immigrant families and Catholic school children
- Nurtured and given hope to the young and the old, the spirited and the disheartened.
Mission, Vision, and Purpose
Our Mission
We inspire and enable generous support for parishes and ministries rooted in the teachings of the Catholic Church to make a lasting impact in our communities and the lives of others.
Our Vision
We are the heart of Catholic generosity for West Michigan, passionately supporting and sustaining our Christ-centered communities — now and for generations to come.
Our Purpose
The Catholic Foundation of West Michigan is a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to serving both our donors and our Catholic community by facilitating charitable giving to impact and sustain a more caring community reflective of Christ’s love.
Our Logo
Designed to be inclusive, inspiring, and elevated, our logo represents the universal Catholic Church enveloping the Foundation’s five funding priorities, bringing us closer to Christ through generous hearts.
Catholic Foundation Leadership & Staff Trustees
Most Reverend David J. Walkowiak
Bishop of Grand Rapids
Rev. Msgr. William H. Duncan
Michael Lown
Chancellor / CFO
Diocese of Grand Rapids
Donald Duba
Attorney
Duba & Duba, PLLC
Mary Lehman-Panek
Council Members
Amanda Barbour
Michael Berkemeier
Jim Brady
Tom Czerney
Duane Kluting
Casey Lowery
Paul Snow
Tom Wesholski
Michael Wolfston
Our Team
Greg Deja
Who We Are
The Catholic Foundation is a charitable foundation established to serve the Catholic community by promoting Christian philanthropy. As a community foundation, the Catholic Foundation offers donors highly effective investment vehicles for their charitable resources, the finest professional stewardship of those funds, optimal tax benefits, and a program of generous and responsible giving to the community that creates meaningful and lasting legacies.
The Catholic Foundation is an independent entity, with its own 501(c)(3) designation, by-laws, trustees, and staff professionals. It functions, however, as an integral part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, indeed of the entire Catholic community, having been established by a small group of Catholic leaders in 1995 to create an endowment fund upon which the Diocese of Grand Rapids could depend to generate the additional resources needed to serve its people, parishes, schools, and social service agencies. The Bishop is a member of the Board of Trustees.
The Catholic Foundation collects, grows, and distributes funds on behalf of our donors.
Catholic Charities West Michigan is a nonprofit, community-based agency providing support services to help families and individuals succeed.
Through the generosity of Foundation donors, our funds help to sustain the programs provided by Catholic Charities and many other nonprofit organizations.
The Catholic Foundation supports the spiritual, educational, and social needs of our community by serving donors and partnering with Catholic parishes, schools, and non-profit organizations.
We help donors with a giving strategy, combine and invest gifts with other like-minded Catholic donors, and distribute grants to many causes.
Learn more about our funding priorities and community impact.
Giving
Giving through the foundation, particularly through a donor advised fund, allows your money to grow in two dimensions:
- It grows tax-free before you make a grant
- That growth is amplified by investing with other Foundation monies. Over the past five-year period, funds invested through the Foundation have realized more than an 11% annual rate of return.
The Catholic Foundation offers many benefits for donors:
- Investing consistent with one’s faith
- Gain an independent partner serving as your advisor and advocate
- The convenience of using a single source to give to numerous charities
- Expert assistance and advice tailored to donor needs and interests
- Tax advantages
- Estate planning
The Foundation helps donors provide more support for those in need than they might have thought possible by increasing the impact of their charitable giving. With the Catholic Foundation, donors know that their gifts will benefit the causes that are most important to them and that their funds will always be invested according to Catholic principles of investing.
Working with the Catholic Foundation, you can direct your giving to the priority areas or institutions you are passionate about, including your parish or school.
We’ll also help you see the ways your gifts can make the biggest impact. For example, today you may support the annual fund at your school and give weekly to the parish. These monies typically support current day-to-day needs.
When giving through the Catholic Foundation, some of that money could establish a charitable fund where your money grows, tax free, to make a bigger impact. Your charitable fund can continue to support annual needs while offering future flexibility for additional generosity.
Yes, donors can direct their giving through a donor advised fund. While causes do not need to be explicitly Catholic, they are required to align with Catholic values. Learn more about our approach to Moral, Responsible Giving.
- Pray for guidance and reflect on your life of stewardship.
- Signup for the Generous Hearts newsletter for regular updates from the Executive Director, impact stories, donor highlights, giving information, and inspirational thoughts.
- Discuss giving priorities with your spouse and family. Think about your timeline for giving. The Foundation is happy to help you plan your next steps, including exploring planned and estate gifts.
No! The Catholic Foundation hopes everyone in the Catholic community will participate in the spirit of charitable giving. Gifts of any size are welcome, and essential, to the Foundation’s mission.
There are three primary ways to give:
- Open your own charitable fund
- Contribute to an existing fund
- Give directly to the Foundation
Not at all. The Catholic Foundation does not provide legal, tax, or financial planning advice. The Catholic Foundation works closely with all professional advisors to create only the charitable giving component of your financial and estate planning. With their knowledge and insight, we can develop a plan that is consistent with your overall personal, financial and spiritual goals, both currently and well into the future.
Private foundations and community foundations like the Catholic Foundation are not mutually exclusive; they may serve similar, although not identical purposes. But community foundations like the Catholic Foundation often afford greater tax advantages and distribution flexibility, and they assume the otherwise costly and time-consuming record-keeping and reporting responsibilities associated with private foundations. In addition, the Catholic Foundation brings a unique philanthropic focus to bear, thus providing donors with a way to build a particularly rich legacy in the Catholic community. The Catholic Foundation welcomes the opportunity to work with you, your family, and your legal and financial advisors, and to provide any of our distribution, reporting, and grant-making services either via a grant from your private foundation that establishes a philanthropic fund at the Catholic Foundation, or via conversion of your private foundation into a fund or support organization of the Catholic Foundation.
Operations
Legal Name: Catholic Foundation of West Michigan
Federal Tax ID Number: 38-3298981
The staff at the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan is ready to help answer any additional questions and work with you on your charitable goals. Contact us to start the conversation.
The Foundation’s annual operation is covered between the support of the Bishop’s Angels and an administrative fee (1% or less) on our various funds, ensuring at least 99% of all contributions go directly to the charities designated by the donor.
It’s hard to say exactly, as some people give directly to the Foundation while others give to a particular entity who then deposits money into their fund(s). For example, a school may appeal and combine support for their endowment and then make a single deposit at the Foundation. Each year, hundreds of donors support one of our many funds or give unrestricted to the Foundation.
In 2021, the Catholic Foundation granted $2.26 million to support a variety of causes, including education for children and young adults, religious vocations, helping the poor and vulnerable, providing care for creation, and sharing our Catholic faith. See our annual report for more information and stories of our impact.