Stew Laird and Marilou Eldred

“When there are so many ways for donors to give, why should we choose the Catholic Community Foundation?”

That’s a question we are often asked, and it is always a welcome opportunity to share what makes the Foundation so unique among the many philanthropic options available today.

Like all community foundations, we help donors take advantage of the tax and income benefits of planned giving through charitable gift annuities and other vehicles. These and other options such as donor advised funds and endowments help donors simplify their giving, while enabling them to leave a legacy for future generations.

But what makes the Catholic Community Foundation truly stand apart is how we apply Catholic faith values to our business practices. We do three things no one else does:

                * We screen our investments. Donors can rest assured that the Foundation does not invest in companies whose business activities conflict with Church teaching.

                * We screen our grant recipient organizations. That means we do not make grants to charities whose activities are contrary to Church teaching – and we verify that each and every recipient is a legitimate charity.

                * We ensure that endowed funds will permanently support the mission of the Catholic Church, in solidarity with the Archbishop.

This strong commitment to Catholic identity has helped the Foundation grow steadily in size and scope. This past year, for example, total assets grew to $192 million – well beyond our Strategic Plan goal of $177 million for the upcoming

	Archbishop Flynn presents the first "Legacy of Faith Award" to Mary Frey accompanied by her husband Gene.

2008 fiscal year.  Grants totaling $6 million were made to hundreds of Archdiocesan schools, parishes, social ministries and other charitable organizations.  These grants represent the philanthropic interests of the Foundation’s more than 2,300 donors.

Among other highlights of the year was the presentation of the inaugural Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Legacy of Faith Award.  This award will now be given annually by the Foundation to recognize individuals who — like Archbishop Flynn — have made outstanding contributions to our Catholic community in the form of leadership, philanthropy and service. Mary Frey, so instrumental in helping launch the Foundation, was the overwhelming choice for the first award. We truly owe Mary a debt of gratitude for her many years of service, leadership and generosity to the Foundation and so many other organizations in our community.

Another exciting initiative launched this year is our ecumenical marketing collaboration with the community foundations serving the Lutheran and Jewish communities. Watch for an upcoming media campaign centered on the theme, Give With Faith.  The ads you will see are aimed at building awareness of how each foundation can help its donors pass on their faith to future generations through charitable giving.  This is the first-of-its-kind joint effort among faith-based community foundations in the country.

In closing, we hope you enjoy the inspiring stories of faith, gratitude and service in this report. We extend our sincere appreciation to each of you for your continuing support of the Foundation. Together, our Catholic faith will shine brightly now and forever.

Marilou Eldred, PhD
President

Stewart Laird
Vice Chair
Board of Directors