Brief History
In December, 2015, after a year of planning, the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego was established to assist our faithful in San Diego and Imperial counties to easily accomplish their charitable giving in a personal, purposeful and meaningful way.
The Organizing Committee was composed of sixteen members of our diocese. They researched foundations in other Catholic dioceses and finally established the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego as an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation to assist Catholics who want their gifts to have a lasting impact on their parishes, schools and charitable organizations that are meaningful to each donor.
Since its inception in late 2015, the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego has acquired more than $25 million in assets and has created endowments to support parish ministries, Catholic education, Catholic support services and vocations. Pass-through donor-advised funds have also been established to meet donor intentions for other nonprofit organizations whose mission and values are not inconsistent with Catholic values.
We are very grateful to all members of our Board of Trustees whose dedication and hard work will help the Foundation reach its near-term and long-term objectives of serving our faith-filled Catholic Community in San Diego and Imperial Counties.
What We Do
The Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego serves as a resource for creating Catholic legacies as a special form of stewardship. As a community foundation for Catholics, we assist families and individuals to pass along their Catholic heritage and values to future generations.
We work to encourage Catholic philanthropy and the stewardship of assets to give back to the Lord from the gifts he has provided for us. We make certain that the donor’s intentions are honored, and handle the grants and distributions from the funds.
Estate and Planned Giving seminars are offered to each of our 98 parishes. In these seminars, we teach parishioners how to make a gift from their assets through their wills or estate plans.
The Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego helps build permanent endowment funds for parishes, schools and all other Catholic ministries and organizations. We work with parish and school leaders to grow the endowment funds by encouraging Catholics and others to leave legacies to the endowments. Typically, the original corpus for these funds is not invaded. Earnings from the endowment investments are available to the donor for distribution on a semi-annual basis to Catholic organizations that are near and dear to their hearts.
Once endowments are established, these funds are invested in a manner consistent with Catholic Values Investing (CVI) standards established by the U.S. Conference of Bishops. They are invested in a diversified manner to preserve and grow the endowments. We handle the administrative work for endowment funds and provide grants, upon donor request, to assist our local Catholic community.
In addition to endowment funds, the Foundation also supports the establishment of pass-through donor-advised and designated funds. Both of these fund types facilitate giving and making an impact today, tomorrow and in future generations. Pass-Through Donor-Advise Funds temporary in nature, with funds on deposit from one month to several years. Distributions from pass-through donor-advised funds can be directed by donors to non-Catholic organizations, such as a donor’s alma mater or a non-Catholic charity as long as its mission is not inconsistent with Catholic values. One of the key advantages of establishing pass-through donor-advised funds is that the donor receives an immediate, single tax receipt from the foundation for the gift and then has several months or years to grant distributions to charitable organizations in the future, as desired.
Why Choose Us?
Why choose to work with the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego
Perhaps the most important reason to choose the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego is because we are Catholic. We understand the stewardship and spirituality of our Catholic heritage. We understand and respect your desire to support the Church and to provide a legacy of faith for future generations. The Catholic Community Foundation helps Catholic causes and Catholic needs.
The Foundation provides professional planned giving services for all levels of givers. The Foundation assists any parishioners with planned gifts, even those who do not consider themselves wealthy or philanthropists. We have found that many of our gifts come from people who work hard all of their lives and want their assets to benefit their church and their community. We serve these donors with our gift planning, and we also serve those who have been blessed with greater assets and wealth.
The Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego is managed by an independent top-quality Board of lay leaders and clergy that ensures the professional investment management of the endowments. Gifts given to the Catholic Community Foundation are pooled to provide better buying power in the investment world, thereby allowing us to enjoy lower investment management fees and better investment opportunities.
You can be sure that your intent as a donor is protected forever. We provide the professional administration to ensure timely reporting and compliance with all legal requirements.
Grants and distributions are awarded only to organizations in conformity with Catholic teaching and the majority of the funds are invested in accordance with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines.
When one is thinking of leaving a legacy – a gift in perpetuity – be assured that the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego will handle it in a manner consistent with your values and wishes.
Contacts
Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego
Office: 4747 Morena Blvd., Ste. 300, San Diego, CA 92117
858-397-9700 (Main Line)
Tax ID# 47-4949185
Will F. Peterson, Executive Director
(858) 397-9701 • wpeterson@ccfsd.org