Philanthropy News

The Boston-based Flatley Foundation has made a multi-million dollar gift and matching grant to NPH USA, which supports the children of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for “Our Little Brothers and Sisters.”)  NPH creates ‘families for life’ for abandoned and disadvantaged children in Latin America and the Caribbean by supporting homes, providing healthcare and educational programs.  18,000 children have grown up in the NPH family, founded by Fr. William Wasson.  For more information visit: www.nphusa.org.

“High Stakes Donor Collaborations” by Willa Seldon, Thomas J. Tierney, and Gihani Fernando in The Stanford Social Innovation Review features inspiring news about major foundations coming together and collaborating to address otherwise unsolvable problems. The article has implications for Catholic philanthropy.  Read more here: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/high_stakes_donor_collaborations

Charleston, SC – The Catholic Church Extension Society and members of FADICA will gather here May 10-11, to discuss a new church-led national program to put in place one hundred new leaders to serve growing Latino Catholic populations in the more rural areas of the country. The program entitled: A Vibrant Future: Developing Hispanic Leadership in the Home Missions, will feature lay pastoral leaders from three home mission dioceses, the President of the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC) in San Antonio, as well as Extension and FADICA  leadership. Existing research shows that despite the surge in Hispanic populations in Catholic dioceses across the country, resources for pastoral outreach and leadership remain scarce, acutely so, in the nation’s 86 home mission dioceses. These church territories historically have lacked sufficient numbers of priests and religious and, in many cases, even the means to build churches. In an address to Catholic philanthropic leaders one year ago, Father Jack Wall, President of Extension, said, “The growth in the Latino population in the home mission dioceses requires a corresponding welcoming presence on the part of the church.” Father Wall told foundation leaders that to bring this about, there must be enlistment and preparation of more lay leaders in these home mission dioceses that presently have few personnel resources. Extension, he said, was launching an ambitious, $15 million program, to train and link together 100 new pastoral leaders across the country solely focused on providing a warm and welcoming presence for faith communities in home mission territories with growing Hispanic presence. A central and

Bonita Springs, FL – In his final address, retiring FADICA President Francis J. Butler told philanthropists gathered here for a national symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, February 2-3, “Writing checks is important, but it can sometimes be the path of least resistance that avoids the real work—especially in service of a church that is hard-pressed to admit that it truly needs much more leadership and involvement from its laypeople.” Dr. Butler spoke before some seventy foundation representatives and invited speakers gathered to take part in an exchange assessing the impact of the Council, especially on the giving programs of private foundations with interests in supporting church-related causes and institutions. The theme of the assembly was: The Spirit of Renewal: Vatican II and the Future of Catholic Philanthropy. The speakers included Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, who spoke about new efforts launched by Pope Benedict to revitalize the Catholic faith, especially in the more developed countries of the world where Catholicism is showing signs of weakening religious knowledge and commitment among its younger members. FADICA’s role in starting the national campaign to assist retired religious; its involvement with the Holy See in strengthening its internal financial auditing capacity; and its behind-the-scenes work to enable a national dialogue between the U.S. hierarchy and Catholic college and university presidents in the implementation of a Vatican-sponsored framework to reinforce the religious identity of Catholic institutions of higher learning, were among FADICA’s accomplishments which Dr. Butler lifted up as successful examples philanthropic collaboration with the church. The

Washington, DC – Francis J. Butler, FADICA’s president for over three decades, will retire February 4th following the organization’s thirty-sixth annual meeting. Mr. Butler, who joined FADICA four years after it started in 1976, worked previously for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, where he was Domestic Policy Director. Under Mr. Butler’s leadership FADICA grew from about a dozen member foundations to over forty grantmakers today, with combined annual giving near half billion dollars. FADICA functions as a network for private philanthropy and features conferences, facilitates joint ventures, and is often a vehicle for foundation interaction with Catholic agencies. Its accomplishments include the establishment of charities for assistance to retired American religious; a program of aid to church rebuilding in Eastern and Central Europe; and the strengthening of auditing and financial reporting capacities of the Holy See. FADICA played a major role in starting and sustaining a national dialogue among Catholic university and college presidents regarding the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Higher Education. “It was my good fortune and privilege to have been given the unique opportunity to work with lay people who were steering the world of Catholic philanthropy in a brand new direction,” said Mr. Butler. “Our philanthropists and their families profoundly grasped and were deeply committed to Vatican II’s call for the laity to reflect on their responsibilities as baptized members of their church,” he continued. “We liked working together and we felt certain that a communal, institutional collaboration is essential to good philanthropy,” he added. “The

Philadelphia, PA – Cardinal John P. Foley, an American priest who served as President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications at the Vatican for a quarter of century, and was a warm and influential force in Catholic media worldwide, died December 11. The Cardinal, who was honored by the Catholic philanthropic community in 2009 for his distinguished leadership and vision, was a dear friend and frequent presence at FADICA gatherings, especially when FADICA’s members gathered in Rome over the past three decades. “The Catholic grantmaking community often depended on Cardinal Foley’s informed and fair-minded perspective on a wide range of church needs, and his warm and humorous approach to life made him a joy to know,” said Francis J. Butler, FADICA’s president. “We will miss his wisdom,” he said. “It was a special grace to have his counsel and encouragement,” he added. In 1984, Cardinal Foley was appointed to lead the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the principal agency then overseeing the Holy See’s relations with the press and Catholic media worldwide.  This appointment followed fourteen years as editor-in-chief of the Catholic Standard and Times, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. For more than twenty years Cardinal Foley was the voice for the papal Christmas Midnight Mass television broadcasts from St. Peter’s in Rome. In 2007 Cardinal Foley was appointed the grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a charity with interests in serving the poor of all faiths, especially in the area of Jerusalem.

Washington, DC – Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington and principal facilitator of the 2012 world synod next fall on the “New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Faith” will address FADICA February 2nd.   Cardinal Wuerl, who will be responsible for preparing a thematic report for discussion at the opening of the Synod, has been a leader in catechesis.  He is also a strong advocate for a well-grounded witness to the spiritually transformative power of the Catholic faith. The donor and foundation group is meeting for its 36th annual meeting in Bonita Springs, FL.  The overall theme of the two-day conference is “The Spirit of Renewal: Vatican II and the Future of Catholic Philanthropy.” FADICA is using the occasion to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.  Its conference will explore  the renewal of Catholicism and how religious philanthropy has furthered the Council’s aims. Other speakers and panelists include:  Dr. Edward P. Hahnenberg John Carroll University; Dr. Massimo Faggioli, University of St. Thomas and the University of Turin; Dr. Nicholas P. Cafardi, Duquesne University; Dr. M. Cathleen Kaveny, University of Notre Dame; Sr. Katarina Schuth, OSF, St. Paul Seminary and others. FADICA is composed of private foundations and church-related grantmaking agencies who meet regularly for continuing education and interaction with Catholic leaders.

Washington, DC – As the Horn of Africa is experiencing the worst drought in  60 years  some 13 million people in that region  face the prospect of starvation .  Because of this cataclysmic  turn of  events,  the Catholic Church globally and within the U.S. has been reaching out to its  donors over the past month to help   feed  and provide water  to thousands of desperate refugees arriving at UN camps in Kenya, and  Ethiopia.  In late August, the U.S. bishops  began a  national appeal through Catholic parishes in America  in behalf of the needs of  refugees in  East Africa. The proceeds from this appeal,  now estimated to be about thirty five million dollars, will be used by  Catholic Relief Services to support its present efforts to aid victims of the  East African drought. Presently CRS is working to establish a new refugee camp in Kenya. The camp, Kambioss, is adjacent to the UN’s Dadaab camp which is now supporting a population of over four hundred thousand displaced persons.  One hundred and fifty thousand of these refugees are children.  In Kambioss, CRS will furnish water stations and shower stalls and build shelters among other services. The CRS program emphasis in both Kenya and Ethiopia is to help develop water sources for the refugees and assist them  in meeting  daily hygiene  needs. The threat of cholera outbreaks is always high when access to clean water is limited. In Ethiopia where thousands of Somali have sought refuge  CRS  well drilling, food programs and agricultural assistance. It is also working

Washington, DC – – The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, sent an emergency donation to the people of Somalia who are facing the worst drought since 1960. The United Nations estimates that as many as 10 million people are suffering, and hundreds of thousands of refugees risk dying because of a lack of basic necessities. Somalia and Northern Kenya are the worst struck areas and no rain is expected until October. Caritas, the international network of Catholic humanitarian agencies, which includes the U.S. based Catholic Relief Services, is planning major assistance to refugee camps in east Kenya while ramping up feeding programs in Ethiopia as well. According to UNICEF, among children from Somalia arriving in the refugee camps, acute malnutrition rates are as high as 40%. At the Dadaab camp in Kenya, more than a thousand new refugees are arriving each day, traveling days and even weeks from their homes in Somalia seeking food and medical attention. In Ethiopia, CRS is leading a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development that involves working with nine other humanitarian organizations to distribute food. The reach of that effort is expanding from 400,000 to 1 million beneficiaries. CRS is working with Caritas Ethiopia to identify other critical needs. CRS agency wide Emergency Response Team, based in Nairobi, Kenya, is playing a leading role in planning that agency’s response to the crisis. Cor Unum, the papal foundation which coordinates the Holy Father’s charities, and plays a key role in the work of Caritas Internationalis, noted Pope Benedict’s appeal to

New York – – Members of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities will meet in New York City November 6th with foundation investment experts for a roundtable discussion on the economic recovery and its impact on foundation portfolios. The meeting, part of FADICA’s fall board meeting, will discuss the investment lessons learned during the worldwide economic recession of the past year and a half, in which many foundation portfolios tumbled. The Chronicle of Philanthropy found that assets at the nation’s biggest foundations totaled $163.4 billion at the end of last year, a decline of $50.4 billion in just one year, making 2009 one of the toughest years ever for fund raisers. The Foundation Center, a research base tracking American philanthropy found in its recent national survey that U.S. foundations expect about a 10-13% anticipated reduction in grants for 2009. Two thirds of the surveyed foundations reported reductions in their own operational expenses. The FADICA meeting, which will feature advisors from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Private Bank, and the Roundtable Investment Partners, will look at economic forecasts for 2010, which are increasingly pointing to a another historically difficult year for foundation grant making. “We are seeing serious and persistent effects of this sad economic chapter in the nation’s history as our donors attempt to respond to needs, but simply cannot entertain new grant requests” said Francis J. Butler, FADICA’s President. “In this atmosphere it is more important that ever for grant makers to tap the best investment wisdom, while they work more in partnerships to maximize their philanthropy and