CFU thanks benefactors

Intermountain Catholic

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Jenifer Gibbons (right), vice president and trustee of the Catholic Foundation of Utah, joins Gratitude Donor Event attendees at the bishop's residence. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — The Catholic Foundation of Utah is celebrating its 29th year with $29 million in endowments to fund its beneficiaries throughout the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the foundation’s president told donors during the celebratory events in mid-November.

The number of endowments has doubled over the last eight years to 297. The CFU endowments benefit a wide range of interests in the diocese, from parishes to Catholic schools to seminarian education. The most recent endowment, the Joseph M. Mayo Endowment for the Cathedral of the Madeleine, was created Sept. 26 to provide for the cathedral’s ongoing maintenance needs (see story, left).

In the past calendar year, 15 new endowments were established.

Benefactors of long-standing were greeted and new donors welcomed at three receptions Nov. 19-20 at the bishop’s residence in the Federal Heights area.

In thanking the CFU benefactors, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, said, "I can’t top you for what you do to help us get the good word out that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. That’s what the Church is all about: To proclaim the Gospel that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. You and your generosity and your support make it possible for us to get the word out, to get the message out."

The diocese’s programs, such as religious education, the priests, the missions and work with the youth, "the list goes on and on of all the activities you make possible for us to proclaim this Good News," Bishop Wester said. "It has to be done in a variety of ways … with each person using his or her talent in order to do that. Your contributions, your gifts, make that possible, and I can’t tell you how very grateful we are for that."

Armando Lujan, CFU president, echoed Bishop Wester’s sentiment.

"The main thing this evening is to say ‘thank you’ to our benefactors for all that you do for the Catholic Foundation of Utah and all you continue to do," Lujan said, then added, "there is more work to be done, so I ask, if you can contribute to an existing endowment, please do so. … Or, if the need strikes you, create a new endowment for something that is near and dear to your heart. This is our call to stewardship."

The endowments, either permanent or temporary, are overseen by a board of directors that guides the investments. Anyone can establish an endowment for any amount, but the minimum amount for a named endowment is $10,000.

"Anybody can put any amount into an already established endowment," said Jennifer Carroll, CFU director.

Many parishes in the diocese have an already existing endowment, and contributing to that allows continued growth for the principal amount, which can lead to more interest being dispersed each year, Carroll added.