The mission of The Catholic Community Foundation is about making philanthropy easy and effective for all.

“We are an organization that can help our donors continue to make charitable contributions when they are no longer here,” said Mary Ellen Markowski, who has been president of The Catholic Community Foundation since it was founded in July 2001.

The mission of The Catholic Community Foundation is two pronged: it works to enable Catholic organizations to grow, and it strives to empower donors to financially support the causes they care about, even far into the future.

With more than $18 million in grants awarded since its inception, those goals are being met and exceeded every year.

By working with The Catholic Community Foundation, individuals can establish a separate fund, either during their lifetime or through their estate plan. From that fund, grants will be awarded to their favorite causes. The foundation works with donors to determine the right kind of fund for their charitable endeavors, and donors can be as involved as they wish to be in deciding where their money goes, depending on the type of fund they select.

When donors gift The Catholic Community Foundation with cash, securities, retirement plan assets, life income arrangements, other assets or bequests, those gifts are pooled with other funds in a diversified, socially responsible investment portfolio to minimize costs and maximize return potential. Investment returns add to the donor’s fund and support grants to their causes, with grants awarded annually. The donor is able to name the fund and define its purposes.

The minimum amount for establishing a donor fund with The Catholic Community Foundation is $25,000. The foundation receives professional investment consulting advice from Marquette Associates, a Chicago firm specializing in nonprofits.

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, $2.1 million in grants were awarded to more than 100 organizations for programs and projects that support four priorities.

  • Education: For students in Catholic schools and religious programs from kindergarten to grade 12.
  • Community building: Strengthening families, parishes and people suffering from poverty, discrimination and violence.
  • Leadership development: Forming leaders for parishes, schools and agencies that advance the Church.
  • Health care: For underserved Milwaukee residents.

Just a few examples of how grants from The Catholic Community Fund have benefitted local parishes and organizations over the years include:

  • The installation of a camera security system at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Ripon to prevent vandalism.
  • Replacing a condemned playground at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Milwaukee, enabling the parish to foster community and attract young families.
  • Tuition assistance for students at Catholic Central High School in Burlington.
  • Restarting the Central City Youth Fund at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Milwaukee.
  • Supporting the expansion of ministry and service within La Sagrada Familia, the archdiocesan sister parish in the Dominican Republic.
  • Supporting expenses associated with the health care costs of retired School Sisters of Notre Dame in the Milwaukee area.

Individuals who are not able to set up a separate donor fund but still want to help support Catholic education and people in need can make a gift to the foundation’s Building the Faith Fund, an unrestricted general fund for charitable purposes.

The foundation also provides investment management services for Catholic parishes and schools endowment fund assets, in accordance with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines. The Catholic Community Foundation handles asset management for dozens of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s parishes. To view a full listing of agency clients, visit thecatholiccommunityfoundation.org/parishes-agencies/agency-clients/.

The foundation is recognized in both civil and canon law. Under civil law, it has corporate status as a charitable foundation separate from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Under canon law, it is known as a public juridic person, the canonical equivalent of a civil corporation.

To learn more about The Catholic Community Foundation, visit legaciesoffaith.org or contact Mary Ellen Markowski at 414-431-6402 or mmarkowski@legaciesoffaith.org.