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Executive Director’s Response Statement

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March 20, 2020

Fellow Members of our Local Catholic Community,

 On behalf of the Board of Trustees and staff of the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego, I want to reassure our donors, fundholders, parishes, schools and partners that the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego is here for you during this unprecedented time of dealing with the unwanted COVID-19 virus.

Foundation Operations.  We have taken steps to assure the continuity of our operations and the safety of the Foundation team by implementing a work-from-home model.  We are “open for business” and will continue to award grants from funds, accept contributions, respond to requests, manage our invested assets and serve the wide variety of needs of our Catholic community in San Diego and Imperial counties.

 Stewardship of Resources.  We rely on the strength of our board-approved investment policy, the oversight of our investment committee and the expertise of our professional investment advisor, Mercer Inc., to help us navigate these volatile times.  The Foundation’s three investment pools—Growth, Balanced and Conservative–are modeled for the long-term and are widely diversified between capital appreciation assets (domestic & international stocks), income-producing and deflation hedging assets (including fixed income) and non-traditional assets (including infrastructure, commodities, and real estate). Our investment team will continue to monitor the market environment and make necessary adjustments as needed. We feel confident in our long-term investment strategy.  We will continue to be diligent in shepherding our investments as this is certainly a top priority and one of the most important services we provide our donors and agencies.  Please remain aware of our current economic situation but do not become overly alarmed as experiencing market pullbacks is part of long-term investing.

 Foundation Events.  We have postponed our Catholic Estate and Legacy Planning Seminars this spring.   These seminars will be rescheduled when the coast is clear on dealing with the Coronavirus. 

 The Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego remains steadfast in our commitment to our mission of sustaining our local church, including our 98 parishes, 48 Catholic schools, vocations, disabled and retired religious and our numerous Catholic social ministries, for the benefit of future generations of Catholics through planned giving education and endowment building efforts.

 We hold you and all who serve Christ in prayer.  And we continue to pray for the health and safety of the people living throughout the world and our local community in these challenging times. Please be safe, stay healthy and take care of one another.

 Thank you for your continued trust and support of the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego.   

 May God continue to bless you and your families for all you do in His name.

Gary Rectenwald

Executive Director

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