Winter 2023 Newsletter

SAVE THE DATE: Celebration of Faith 2023

The Celebration of Faith is excited to announce we will be gathering together again on Saturday, October 14th, 2023 from 5PM-9PM. A location for the event is still in the planning phase. The Foundation is excited to announce, that our keynote speaker will be the Most Reverend Joseph Espaillat from the Archdiocese of New York. Not only was he the youngest Catholic bishop in the U.S when he was ordained in March of 2022, but he has become popular for his unconventional ways of teaching. He is known for rapping to young people in his community to help them connect with God. He also hosts a podcast called “Sainthood in the City.” The CWCF is blessed to host Bishop Espaillat at the Celebration of Faith to
share his incredible message. More information coming soon!

Make an Impact: Donor Advised Funds

The Foundation has now made it easier for donors to support multiple non-profits with one phone call! A Donor Advised Fund, or DAF, is a flexible, tax efficient, and simple investment account that allows a donor to support a variety of charitable organizations that they care about. The tax-deductible donation can be in various forms; cash, cryptocurrency, stocks, or other non-publicly traded assets.

Once established, a DAF can experience tax-free growth that can give you more giving power to support your favorite charities over time. The Central Washington Catholic Foundation is able to manage your account and, as the donor, you are able to advise what organizations you want to receive your donations.

There are many potential benefits of a DAF including, immediate tax deduction, lower Capital Gains and estate taxes, anonymity and streamlined giving with a lot less paperwork at the year end!

DAF’s are ideal for donors who contribute at least $10,000 annually to charitable organizations. For more information visit our website at: https://cwcatholicfoundation.org or contact the office at (509) 972-3732.

The mission of the Central Washington Catholic Foundation is to support Catholic education.

The CWCF strives to facilitate Catholic philanthropy and to pass our faith heritage to future generations. To learn more about our Foundation, visit https://cwcatholicfoundation.org

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From the Diocese of Yakima

Dear Foundation Friends:

I am so deeply grateful to our team of staff and volunteers at the Central Washington Catholic Foundation. We had our first Covid-19 event. I am grateful to our six schools as well as our partnership with La Salle for this event. And I’m deeply grateful for the strategic partnership we are developing between our network of Catholic schools here in the Diocese of Yakima and St Martin University in Lacey.

As you know I have two unbending intents as bishop. First, every child gets a Catholic education regardless of ability to pay. Second every child learns about Jesus regardless of the location, size or language of their parish.

You, the donors and benefactors of the Catholic Foundation of Central Washington are key to these two key intents. We have a long journey ahead. But thanks to you we are providing scholarships for students in our Catholic schools and we are providing grants for religious education programs in our parishes.

Right before our Celebration of Faith dinner last October 15, I spent the day with around 400 parish leaders looking at the six priority areas we identified from about 1500 respondents in our Diocese of Yakima synod process. We sent our results on as part of the global initiative of Pope Francis as he strives towards a more synodal and consultative Church.

But we are also using the same information for our own planning and future growth. The key priority that emerged was outreach to youth. The word “synod” comes from the Greek word “to walk together”. How can we better walk with youth?

This is a question we will be focusing on in the coming years. But I am convinced that that our shared ministry through the Catholic Foundation of Central Washington will be one of the keys in placing youth more at the center of efforts so that they better assimilate friendship with Jesus Christ and see all us as friends and disciples.

With every best wish and blessing!

Yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Joseph J. Tyson
Bishop of Yakima

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Leadership in Action: Board of Trustee Members

1) Why did you join the CWCF Board of Trustees?

My first job after college was to serve as a Trust Investment Officer for a newly formed trust department of a bank. Our first relationship was a trust created after the death of a single individual with no family to inherit his wealth. The beneficiaries were three foundations: one for a private college, one for an orphanage, and one for a hospital. For the next eight years, I delivered quarterly checks to these foundations, representing their share of the trust income. These visits provided an opportunity to talk frequently with the executive directors about their mission and discuss estate planning and gifting that included the foundation as a beneficiary.

At the same time, our local Diocese was forming its own foundation, and I was elected president. Although it was a short-lived experience, the importance of supporting Catholic education, promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, and providing a comfortable retirement for priests and religious are three areas that are of concern. I hope my experience and background will help the Yakima Diocese meet its fiduciary obligations to the communities and agencies we serve.

2) What are your favorite projects/things the Foundation supports?

Support for our seminarians appeals especially to me as deserving of help from the Foundation. When my wife and I lived in Omaha, NE, we were involved with the Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF). IPF brings together 175 seminarians, priests, and bishops as their educators each summer for an 8-week program at Creighton University. The program is designed to assist the seminarians in growing in holiness so they may draw others to Jesus Christ. We had the opportunity, as spiritual mothers and fathers, to pray for the men and join them for Vespers. Before they finished the program, we joined them for Mass and brunch. To watch and listen as they slowly process into church singing “O God Beyond All Praising,” is a scene that I will always remember. We need more seminarians and priests. These men need all our love, prayers, and financial support.

3) What are your hopes for the future of the CWCF or Catholic education as a whole?

To continue to forge strong partnerships with attorneys, CPAs, insurance, trust, and investment professionals to help communicate “legacy planning” through a thoughtful and structured process that articulates the mission and vision of CWCF; to educate and work with more individuals and families throughout the diocese to help them understand the benefits of Catholic education; and to be generous in supporting the schools and seminarians. To quote Conrad Hilton, “Charity is a supreme virtue and the great channel through which the mercy of God is passed on to mankind.” And, “It is the virtue that unites men and inspires the noblest efforts.”

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Donor’s from July 1st – December 31st, 2022

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Leadership in Action: Board of Trustee Members (Cont.)

1) Why did you join the CWCF Board of Trustees?

I joined the CWCF Board of Trustees because I have interest in growing the endowment to the point of really being able to make an impact on Catholic education in Central Washington.

2) What are your favorite projects/things the Foundation supports?

I believe the most important thing we do as a foundation is our Tuition Assistance Program. There is such a need. The way I look at it is that if we can make a difference in just one child’s life, it’s all worth the effort. Catholic education can offer an offramp to the perpetual poverty they live in. Our commitment is that no child will be denied a Catholic education because of money issues.

3) What are your hopes for the future of the CWCF or Catholic education as a whole?

My dream for Catholic education in Central Washington is that every parish, every priest in the Yakima Diocese embrace the Foundation and our mission. My dream is that our schools are in such demand because of the faith-based quality education we offer that there is a waiting list. My dream is that we are able to pay our teachers and staff salaries equivalent to those in the public sector.

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1) Why did you join the CWCF Board of Trustees?

I believe my service on the CWCF Board of Trustees arose in answer to prayer. You see, after a bit of a hiatus from Parish life in recent years due to work obligations, a recent change in circumstances resulted in my beginning a prayerful search for a way to better serve the Lord and His Church. I have been a direct recipient of the Foundation’s work and can testify to the tremendous blessings made possible through the generosity of the Foundation and its donors, which further convinces me that this opportunity has come to be because of Our Blessed Mother’s intercession. I am certainly committed to helping further the Foundation’s mission in any way I can, and I eagerly look forward to the future.

2) What are your favorite projects/things the Foundation supports?

While all the Foundation’s activities serve its fundamental mission to support Catholic education, I hold a special appreciation for a couple of its programs: the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), and the Parish Religious Education Program (PREP). Both as father of four St. Rose of Lima Catholic School (Ephrata) alumni, and, in my prior role as youth minister for Our Lady of Fatima (Moses Lake), I have directly benefited from these programs. Without the help made available through the Foundation, my children would not have attended St. Rose, and my “church kids” would have missed some profound life changing experiences. To be sure, the Foundation provides much more than mere monetary gifts, its work helps to provide experiences through which one might encounter the Grace of God. And, for this I am forever grateful.

3) What are your hopes for the future of the CWCF or Catholic education as a whole?

I preface my answer by recalling St. Pope John Paul II. He proposed that if at every stage of life man desires to be his own person, then, it is during his youth that he desires it even more strongly. Explaining that this is not a desire for license to do anything whatsoever, without exception, but, rather, a desire for a deeper understanding of the meaning of life and for a more concrete way to go about living, St. JPII suggested that the young are especially blessed with an openness to correction – that they need guides and want guides. It is my firm belief that a proper Catholic education will help to ensure they will have these guides, helping them to perceive Christ in the Church and live up to the great and demanding heritage of our Catholic Faith.

My hope, then, is that a well-rounded, faithfully Catholic education be made available to all, and that the CWCF continue to be blessed in its efforts to help this become a reality.

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Board of Trustees 2022-2023