AGENCY FUNDS
Simple. Targeted. High-Impact.
Agency funds are faith-consistent investment funds for the beneficiary of your choosing such as a parish, Catholic school, or ministry. With an agency fund, you can set aside your gift now to support future capital needs or multi-year projects, reassuring the beneficiary that they have committed support for the work ahead.
Once you open the fund, the Catholic Foundation handles the rest — investing the fund for growth through socially responsible investments and ensuring grant distributions honor your intentions.
Why Establish an Agency Fund?
Impact for Tomorrow
Your gift is set aside, ready for the beneficiary parish, school, or ministry to use when needed.
Hassle-Free Stewardship
The Catholic Foundation stewards your gift and ensures that grants distributed from the fund align with your defined purpose.
Faith-Aligned Investments
Our investment strategies align with Catholic teachings and are approved by the USCCB and the Michigan Catholic Conference.
Diverse Gift Options
You can gift cash, securities, mutual funds, real estate, business interests, IRA-qualified charitable distributions, and more.
How it Works?
Select a beneficiary and define a purpose to set up an agency fund through the Catholic Foundation with a minimum gift of $50,000 and receive an immediate tax benefit.
Choose from four investment pools to grow your charitable gift tax free through socially responsible investments. Once the balance is below $10,000, funds will be held in a cash account.
When the beneficiary has need of the funds for the defined purpose, they request a grant distribution with the Catholic Foundation. The entirety of the fund can be granted.
With the fund, your generosity provides timely support to the beneficiary you care about, helping them meet immediate needs and carry out their mission in the near term with confidence and stability.
Agency Funds in Action
“We believe deeply in the mission of Catholic education and in the role St. Mary School plays in forming young hearts and minds. This agency fund allows us to respond to current needs with intention, trusting the Catholic Foundation to steward our gift so it can be used where and when it is most needed.”
– Dr. Ralph and Kay Crew
“This agency fund gives our school the ability to plan with confidence. Having this committed support helps us address capital needs and multi-year projects without delay, allowing us to stay focused on providing a strong Catholic education for our students.”
– Colliene Willison, Principal, St. Mary School Big Rapids
Current Agency Funds
- Cathedral of Saint Andrew Capital Needs Fund
- To support the preservation, maintenance, and capital improvements of the Cathedral of Saint Andrew (Grand Rapids).
- Catholic Promise Fund
- To provide tuition assistance for Catholic families attending Catholic Central High School. This fund will supplement the Catholic Promise program and reduce tuition costs for families who meet the program’s established criteria.
- Habitat
- To support capital improvements and beautification of the nave and sanctuary of St. Paul the Apostle Parish (Grand Rapids).
- St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Education Mission Fund
- To support the general operations and address the greatest needs of San Juan Diego Academy (Wyoming).
- St. Mary Catholic School Facilities Enhancement Fund
- To support capital improvements, construction, and facility enhancements that advance the mission of St. Mary Catholic School (Big Rapids) — providing safe, welcoming, and faith-centered learning environments that foster academic excellence and Catholic formation.
Ready to Make Your Giving Simple, Targeted, and Impactful?
Click below to email Teresa Reid, Executive Director, to receive a personalized illustration of how an agency fund could work for you, or call (616) 333-1641.
Agency Fund FAQs
An agency fund allows your gift to be set aside for capital needs or multi-year projects in the near future. You receive an immediate tax benefit when you give to the fund, your gift is invested for growth through socially responsible investments, and the benefiting organization can request grant distributions in line with the fund’s designated purpose when they need.
Endowment funds provide a source of annual income to a Catholic organization or cause of your choice. Endowments are designed to live on forever, granting out only a portion of the fund’s balance each year. Agency funds are meant to be spent down over a period of time with the entirety of fund’s balance available to be granted.
Donor advised funds allow you to remain in control, selecting multiple charities you wish to support on your timeline. Agency funds offer a hands-off approach. Up front you select the beneficiary and purpose of the agency fund. The Catholic Foundation handles the rest — ensuring the beneficiary organization’s requests for grant distributions honor your intentions.
Yes, any person can make additional contributions direct to the Catholic Foundation for an existing agency fund.