Winter 2025 Newsletter
Leaving a Legacy: Free Will and Estate Planning with MyCatholicWill.com
Remembering the Central Washington Catholic Foundation in your estate plans is an incredible way to show gratitude to God, express your Catholic identity, support the Catholic community and inspire change for future generations. A bequest to the Foundation may be the most tangible way to impact Catholic education, especially in our Diocese. This can be done by documenting gift intentions in a will or trust and by doing so, this may effectively lessen the tax burden on heirs while supporting an organization that is meaningful. The CWCF accepts a variety of gifts including securities, IRAs, life insurance, real estate, and other marketable assets. Individuals and institutions can establish or add to an existing endowment fund through a gift of any amount.
What drew you to St. Joseph School, Kennewick?
“As a parishioner of St. Joseph Catholic Church, I was praying the novena at the end of mass each week with our parish family. I felt compelled each time we did the novena to St. Joseph to do something to help find the new principal. For nearly a year, the feeling of being called to step up to help became spiritually unbearable. I tried to ignore it, but the compulsion becamenstronger and stronger such that I began to feel physically ill. I stepped forward after mass one day and talked with Deacon Bill about the “crazy feeling” that I had been moved by to respond in some way to help the school. What I did not realize at first was that God was calling me to action to become the new Principal. I decided to apply for the position, and after the fact I felt an unusual feeling of peace wash over me. The rest is history.”
Parental Engagement Is Key To Catholic School Student Success
The seven Yakima Diocese Catholic schools (as well as our partner, Tri City Prep in Pasco) have long understood the importance of the parent as the primary educator of the child in their formation of Mind, Body, and Spirit. The quality of education a child receives was supported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) study released in 2023. It measured how schools in each state who volunteered to be tested fared in 4th & 8th Grade Reading and Math scores. It was highly anticipated since it was the first post-Covid report to be released, and the Nation was curious to see how schools were doing after this unexpected break from instruction.
NAEP also broke out how Catholic Schools would have done if they were considered their own “State”. In all four categories, Catholic Education was ranked #1 – and, by a considerable margin over the National Average Score. Critics of the results were of the opinion that Catholic Schools were only for the wealthy who could afford to pay the tuition needed to help operate the school.
So, NAEP decided to review the data of the students in Public/Charter Schools, and Catholic Schools who qualify for Free & Reduced Lunch. The results came back the same with Catholic Education exceeding the National Average in all four categories.
We know that our teachers are in our buildings as a part of their Ministry. But, without active and engaged Parents encouraging and supporting their child regardless of the Family’s economic situation, I firmly believe these results don’t happen. It’s this mutual investment in our children that promotes the future of our Church and develops socially-conscious servant leaders in our communities. This also speaks to the importance of all our Catholic Schools working together to insure the long-term future of K-12 Catholic Education in Central Washington.
We are also actively working with St. Martin’s University to provide a Catholic continuum through a college degree. As Bishop Tyson has often stated, every child desirous of a Catholic education should be able to have one. It is up to all of us to see that come to fruition – both now, and well into the future, through our generous gifts of time, talent, and treasure. We know and appreciate all that the Central Washington Catholic Foundation does in support of this goal.
Blessings on your day,
Doug Rich, Director of Schools & Parish Services
Diocese of Yakima
A Year Of Giving: CWCF Distributions For Fiscal Year 2023-2024
The Tuition Assistance Program provides financial aid to families and students at St. Rose School (Ephrata), St. Joseph School (Wenatchee), St. Joseph School (Kennewick), Tri-Cities Prep High School (Pasco), St. Joseph Marquette (Yakima), Christ the Teacher Catholic School (Yakima), and La Salle High School (Yakima).
The Parish Religious Education Program provides financial support for Religious Education Director Stipend Program, Program Grants, and Catechist Training Grants. This program is open to all parishes in the Diocese of Yakima.
The CWCF offers a number of college scholarships including the Celebration of Faith Scholarship, the Mary Ellen Chott-Mahre Scholarship, and the John Rodriquez-Kranz Scholarship.
In 2022, the Foundation began to offer Donor Advised Funds (DAF). To date, we oversee three DAF accounts with an overall balance of $500,000. These funds are distributed based on the donor’s requests over time.
Currently, the CWCF manages and administers, in collaboration with Highland Capital Advisors, forty-four endowment funds that support more than fifty Catholic ministries, parishes, and schools.
