Serving the Heart and Soul of
The Catholic Foundation
The Catholic Foundation was established in 1991 as a
non-profit, public charity. The Foundation was incorporated in April of 1991 in
the State of
The Catholic Foundation serves
community interests in the area of educational, human services and spiritual
formation programs and projects in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. This public foundation invites and encourages
donors to build endowment funds for specific charitable organizations that
serve community needs. Donors are able to designate which organization or
affiliated organization in the Archdiocese (parish, school, society, hospital,
nursing home or project) will benefit from their gift or they may make an
unrestricted gift in support of the overall mission
of the Foundation.
Each year The Catholic Foundation makes grants to organizations that provide vital services to
our communities. These grants make it
possible for organizations, parishes and other services to fulfill their
missions. The Foundation has provided faith-based support for myriad worthwhile
programs that benefit the entire community. In supporting a variety of
initiatives, the Catholic Foundation has been able to provide financial support
for food, housing and clothing for the poor, regardless of religious affiliation.
The Foundation has assisted a shelter for homeless single women, provided
financial support for eye care and dental care for the poor, awarded a grant to
train graduate counseling interns to work with at-risk youths and many other
programs and projects that have served the entire community. scholarships are awarded annually to students
for Catholic elementary and high school education.
History
The Archdiocese of Santa Fe inaugurated a Development Task
Force in August of 1988. The mission of the Task Force was to research,
support, and develop stewardship programs on Archdiocesan and parish levels to
provide the human and financial resources necessary to implement goals in a
spirit of shared responsibility.
The Task Force submitted its recommendations on April19,
1989. One of the recommendations was to explore the different types of
foundation options. Establishing a foundation in conformity with Canon and
civil law was recommended by the Task Force. June of 1990 was established as
the target date for the new foundation.
Church officials determined that the best structure for the
foundation was to create it as a separate entity from the Archdiocese of Santa
Fe. Its mission would remain the one
described by the original Task Force; to support charitable, educational and
spiritual programs and projects.
Ray Zimmer served as the founding president of the
Foundation.
In 1997 the Foundation established offices at 2201 San Pedro
NE in
The Foundation began with donations of $42,000 for operating
expenses. Since 1991 the Foundation has grown annually. In 2007 the Foundation manages nearly
$41,000,000 in endowments, trusts, agency funds and annuities.