Philanthropy News

Just before Catholic schools began Easter break, I was honored to participate on behalf of FADICA in St. Augustine Catholic School’s Career Day– a great way to spend St. Patrick’s day in Washington DC! It was a truly inspiring day all around, and especially wonderful to see the St. Augustine teachers and students in action. Founded in 1858, four years before public education became mandatory for African American children in the nation’s capital, today St. Augustine’s is a pre-K through 8th grade Catholic school sponsored by St. Augustine Catholic Church—the mother church of African American Catholics in Washington DC. Pastor Patrick Smith and Principal Sr. Gloria Agumagu are incredible faith-filled leaders, whose dedication and care for the students and the greater community is awe-inspiring. It was both a joy and a welcome challenge to attempt to effectively communicate the role and work of faith-based philanthropy and FADICA to 3-year-olds and then to teenagers! A group of over 20 adults spanning diverse careers spoke to students at all grade levels – all of whom were engaged. St. Augustine 8th graders served as team captains, shepherding the teams of adults around the school and keeping us all on schedule. Congratulations to St. Augustine School for daily fulfillment of your mission to teach and serve, and to help goodness spread. Your students truly manifest the joy of Easter! Alexia Kelley

Medicines for Humanity (MFH) presented Sr. Joyce Meyer, PBVM with the 2015 Humanitarian of the Year Award last month in Boston. Sr. Joyce is a Board member of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and past director of the Hilton Fund for Sisters – both FADICA members – and a longtime participant in FADICA. The award honored her legacy of support and leadership of women religious in their mission to improve maternal and childcare in underserved communities around the world. It also recognized “the talent, service capacity, commitment, and authentic selflessness of women religious… and their critical role as ‘agents of change’”, said MFH’s Chris Bilodeau. Sr. Joyce “was proud to accept the award on behalf of sisters world-wide who, through their dedication and passion,” help vulnerable children and mothers “to not just survive, but thrive.” FADICA was represented by Board Member Betty Anne Donnelly who conveyed FADICA’s congratulations!

Not much is known about the relationship between faith and giving, according to the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In order to shed more light in this field, a group of scholars and experts in faith and philanthropy recently met at the inaugural Lake Institute Network of Emerging Scholars to discuss ways to expand the current knowledge.

The overwhelming majority of nonprofit leaders are expressing a strong desire for support and advice from foundations on evaluations and data collection for performance assessment efforts, according to a report from The Center for Effective Philanthropy. However, the Chronicle of Philanthropy claims that few resources are allocated towards program performance measurement. Of the organizations included in this study, 39% “report having at least a moderate amount of discussion with foundations about assessment,” pointing to new opportunities for philanthropic support.

Digital tools and virtual platforms are facilitating innovative, dynamic fundraising and crowd-funding initiatives by youth in high school or younger. The National Center for Family Philanthropy has some helpful resources and examples on how to support Gen Z philanthropy.

Charitable giving by Americans continues to rise according to Giving USA 2014: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2013.  Unfortunately, charitable contributions to religious organizations have not kept up the pace. Overall contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations totaled $335 billion in 2013, a 3 percent increase over 2012, when adjusted for inflation, according to the report. In the last decade, total giving has increased by over $97 billion or over $34 billion when adjusted for inflation. If the total giving continues to grow at the current, inflated adjusted rates, within 1- 2 years, the total giving could return to $349.50 billion—the peak level realized in 2007, according to the report. Key Findings on Giving in 2013 Include: ·         Giving to religion continues to slow; this is the result of declining religious affiliation and attendance, and increased giving to religious-oriented charitable organizations categorized within the other subsectors. ·         Giving to education grew the most in 2013, at 8.9%.  This growth was driven by increases in giving to higher education and K-12 schools, among other types of education programs and organizations. ·         Giving to public society benefit, arts, and environment, animal and health organizations was strong in 2013, ranging from 6% to 8.5%. ·         Giving to international affairs slowed in 2013 due to fewer disaster-relief contributions compared with prior years, the decline in giving by corporations, and changes in donor giving preferences. Although Giving USA shows that giving to religious organizations continues to slow, 24% of U.S. Catholics say they have increased their giving from last year, according to a recent nationwide survey on Catholic giving patterns, which was

Catholic philanthropists are helping create sustainable models for Catholic schools, explains Christine Healey, FADICA Affinity Group co-chair on Catholic Schools and President of the Healey Education Foundation, in a recent interview with National Catholic Reporter.   In the article, Signs of Hope for Catholic Schools, Christine recounts how in 1997 her father Robert Healey, working closely with the diocese of Camden and other foundations, helped devise a new model to save five failing inner city schools in Camden, NJ.  Thus Catholic Partnership Schools was formed.  All five schools have streamlined human resources operations, a new testing model, and are equipped with wireless internet access.  The foundation also awards a matching grant to each school to hire development staff to raise funds for the school. “The deep history of Catholic school as foundational to the church tugs on the heartstrings,” says Christine. Catholic philanthropists “now have the resources to help, not just the money, but the entrepreneurial experience.”

In Haiti, many citizens suffer from preventable diseases and malnutrition, and poverty is often a barrier to essential medical treatment for women and children suffering from such illnesses as HIV/AIDS.  Catholic Health Partners (CHP) has provided $2 million to Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) to build a 30-bed facility in Cotes-De-Fer, Haiti. The Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan Center for Health will serve 55,000 Haitians who currently lack access to quality health care.  The new Bishop Sullivan Center is one of the sites for a new program that will predominantly focus on saving lives of mothers and children: CHAMPS (CHildren And Mother PartnershipS). CHAMPS will build healthy sustainable communities in areas of need by increasing community engagement and partnerships. Learn more about this challenge grant at CMMB’s website. Stecie Guibert, FADICA’s student worker from Don Bosco Cristo Rey H.S., contributed to this blog.

The people of the Nuba Mountains–a disputed region in Sudan that shares a border and ethnic ties with South Sudan–are starving, reports a recent article by the National Catholic Reporter. A Catholic bishop and Catholic medical missioner visited the United States earlier this year to speak for the Nuba people and seek an international intervention to halt aerial bombings, open roads to allow food relief to be brought in, and to require the parties in conflict to negotiate peace. Bishop Macram Max Gassis, who heads the diocese of El Obeid in Sudan and South Sudan, and Dr. Tom Catena, a volunteer physician, presented a briefing in February on the food crisis in the region, at an event co-sponsored by Caritas International and the Catholic Medical Mission Board and held at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City. To learn more about the crisis in Sudan and Catholic Medical Mission Board’s work, visit the following links: http://ncronline.org/news/global/bishop-doctor-say-sudan-food-crisis-provoked-aerial-bombing http://www.cmmb.org/supporting-mother-mercy-hospital

The 2013 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize has been awarded to ECPAT International, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, a global network of organizations and individuals working together for the elimination of child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children. The $1.5 million prize will focus on efforts in Africa. Visit http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/prize for more information.