Giving

Be an Angel and give!

Click here to obtain a copy of our mail-in donation form or click the donate button at the bottom of this page to donate online. All gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Many companies have matching gift programs that allow us to double your donation! Please be sure to check with your employer. THANK YOU

 

Giving for Today

Educating a child in our school system requires more than a qualified and dedicated staff, an excellent curriculum, and tuition payments. It requires the involvement of those who care about our schools: parents, grandparents, alumni and the greater Catholic community. It requires people getting involved in the day to day life of our schools, and it requires financial support beyond tuition payments.

Today we must maintain this partnership of financial support and active involvement, and couple it with a clear mission. Only then can we provide the best services to the students entrusted to us. 

 

A donor writing checks to support the charity he or she believes in has long been the standard method of giving, and this continues to be a very important part of our fundraising. However, today there are many giving tools, some simple and some complex. These tools are designed to assist our donors in finding the most cost effective way to give while meeting their intrinsic needs.

 

Our staff is happy and eager to work with donors to provide turnkey giving options, from the “standard method” of check writing to the more complex instruments of charitable giving. While serving donors we call on the expertise of the many accountants and lawyers from among our nearly 10,000 alumni and friends. Collaboratively working with the donor, our experts and our seasoned staff, we serve the donor while creating a brighter future for the students attending our schools. Below is a partial list of giving opportunities:

 

Volunteering

The gift we appreciate and value the most is your time. Hundreds of volunteers give of their time each year working at various tasks and for various causes. Much of what we accomplish in the Development & Alumni Affairs Office is done with the help of volunteers. We offer several opportunities that match your comfort level and schedule. Those available to you are: data entry, event organizing, annual phone-a-thon, secretarial work, car raffle venues (ticket sales), and special projects. Special projects may include capital campaigns, grant writing, donor cultivation or guest speaker (community liaison). Whatever your interest we're ready to discuss the possibility. Contact our office for more information.

Please know we take the safety of our students very seriously and we may require special training for those volunteers working with or around children. 

  

 Annual Alumni & Friends Appeal

This annual appeal begins in September of each year with a letter sent to alumni and friends and it ends in June. A second reminder is sent out each January. Funds from this drive are typically unrestricted donations used for our most pressing needs. Often donors will move from supporting the Annual Alumni & Friends Appeal to newer ways of giving, such as endowments or sponsoring special projects and capital improvements. 

 

Scholarship Angel Campaign

This annual appeal kicks off in March of each year with letters sent to alumni and friends and requests placed in parish bulletins. Funds from this appeal are designated for tuition assistance for families who could not otherwise afford tuition. Often times this aid is temporary in nature due to an illness or death of a family member or loss of a job.

 

Annual Car Raffle -- Winners Announced December 29 3:00pm.  Go to http://www.catholiccarraffle.com/winners-announced/ for detail

The annual car raffle begins in July of each year and ends in December. This fundraiser extends beyond our alumni, parents, staff and friends to the general public. Historically the proceeds from the car raffle have been used for purposes identified as a priority to our parents. In the past they have included investments in science and art programs, marketing, enrollment improvements and athletics. Other smaller grants have been provided to PTOs, development and others. Support for or car raffle comes in the way of ticket sales and sponsors. Sponsors are those that help defray the cost of the raffle. Expenses include the cost of a vehicle, printing, mailing, vendors fees and licensing. Our sponsors are eligible for marketing opportunities throughout the region by being included on all forms and signage.

 

Father James Hourigan Society (Click here for form)

 

Endowment Funds

Endowed funds are donations where the principal of the fund is preserved in perpetuity and the income from the fund is taken annually to support its purposes. Support from endowed funds may be unrestricted or used for specific purposes. Working with the donor we develop an agreement to meet the donor’s wishes. Currently we have endowed funds that include support for unrestricted purposes (greatest need), special needs students, enrollment initiatives, arts, tuition assistance, and academic scholarships.

 

Naming Opportunities

In order to be considered for a naming opportunity associated with a building or capital improvement project the donor should provide 50% of the cost of the project (minimum $100,000). Example might be a new building, auditorium or athletic field.

 

Charitable Remainder Trust

This trust is an arrangement in which property or money is donated, but the donor continues to use the property and/or receive income from it while living. The beneficiaries receive the income and the charity receives the principal after a specified period of time, usually upon death. The donor avoids any capital gains tax on the donated assets, and also gets an income tax deduction for the fair market value of the remainder interest that the trust earned. In addition, the asset is removed from the estate, reducing subsequent estate taxes.       

 

Retained Life Estate

This ensures that the donor has lifetime security in a home that they gift to us as a charitable contribution.     

 

IRA Mandatory Distributions

Upon reaching 70 ½ years of age the IRS mandates distributions from an IRA. Occasionally these distributions are not needed and create an additional tax burden. In some instance income tax may be avoided while taking the benefits of a charitable contribution. 

 

Do you care about our schools and have ideas about giving? Then we’d like to hear from you. Please telephone 607 348-0337 for more information.

 

As always we suggest you consult your tax advisor when considering a donation.