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St. Conrad's Capuchin-Franciscan Province of Mid-America |
Our Office of
Development
and Missionary Activities, cont.
QUESTING, a Franciscan Heritage.
WE NEED HELP with Formation Expenses | Retirement Needs | Missions Abroad | Ministry to the Poor | Major Building Renovations |
OUR BENEFACTORS HELP through Written Appeals | Parish Mission Appeals | Endowments | Capuchin Mission Association | Capital Campaigns | Capuchin Friars' Benefit Gala | Wills & Estate Planning | Publications |
Our SECURE CONNECTION (for on-line donations.)
Written Appeals
Our most basic way of gaining fiscal support is through written appeals. On six occasions throughout the year, we appeal to our friends and benefactors through correspondence. Generally, we write to our donors about an upcoming Novena and invite them to share their prayer intentions with us, so that we can remember their specific needs in our fraternal prayers. Many people use this opportunity to include a monetary gift to support our lives and ministries. See our current written appeal.
Parish Mission Appeals
Each summer, the Province is invited to preach from the pulpit about the evangelization efforts of our men serving in the foreign missions. This pulpit-preaching program is made possible through local dioceses' Propagation of the Faith Offices. Annually, a number of friars preach in 40-50 parishes in 8-12 dioceses. Second collections taken during these Masses support our foreign mission work.
Endowment funds are designed to receive income, often in the form of gifts. This income is invested and only the interest earned is used to support today's needs. The wonderful thing about making gifts to an endowment fund, is that the gift continues to work in perpetuity!
The Province currently has several types of endowments, each serving a different purpose:
Capuchin Formation Endowments
Capuchin Mission Endowments
Capuchin Retirement Endowments
Capuchin Memorial Endowments
Many of these
endowments are named in honor of various individuals. Friends and benefactors committed to
supporting our needs have often utilized endowments to perpetuate the name of a loved one,
while caring for our needs.
For example, John Doe and his family are extremely committed to the training of men for the priesthood. The cost of educating and supporting a student from his initial acceptance into the Order to final profession is about $50,000.
During his life, Mr. Doe initiates a named Capuchin Formation Endowment by making a contribution to the Province for $25,000 in honor of the "John Doe Family Endowment for Formation." At the time of John's death, his family makes a second gift in his memory, for an additional $25,000, thus "completing" this endowment. Interest from this endowment will help support those in formation for decades to come.
Other friends have begun named endowments for much smaller amounts and then simply continued to add to them over the course of their lifetimes or until they are complete.
The Capuchin Memorial Endowment was established in response to the increasing difficulty of having Masses offered for a deceased loved one. This unique program allows a friend and benefactor to make a gift to us in honor of a deceased loved one. The name of the deceased is entered into our book "Treasured Hearts and Memories" which is on the chapel altar at St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Denver, Colorado. The donor is given a card to mail to the family of the deceased, notifying them of the gift made in their loved one's honor. Upon receipt of the name of the deceased and the donation, we mail a letter to the family of the deceased, confirming the gift and promising our remembrance of the deceased and the family in all our prayers. Interest earned from gifts made to the Capuchin Memorial Endowment is utilized to support our ministerial work.
Capuchin Mission Association
The Capuchin Mission Association was formerly called the Seraphic Mass Association. Its aim is to meet the material needs of our foreign missions. Almost a century old, the Association still provides a method of missionary participation within every person's reach. Through friends and benefactors' prayers and offerings, the members enrolled become linked with our 11,000 Capuchin Friars scattered around the world, and more specifically, with our 2,000 Capuchins priests and brothers who labor in missionary countries.
Once a member is enrolled in the CMA, they are remembered daily in the Masses, prayers and good works of our Capuchin priests and brothers around the world. They share in the redemptive graces of the courageous sacrifices and sufferings endured by our Capuchin missionaries who minister amidst poverty, despair and violence. Members are enrolled perpetually.
Our CMA offers four attractive cards for all occasions including birthdays, anniversaries, the death of a loved one, or to express friendship. A donation of $10 for individuals and $20 for a couple/family is suggested, but not demanded. We mail an enrollment certificate contained within a special card to the enrollee or their family (in the case of death) to notify them of the enrollment in the Association. Gifts offered through the Association are used to help continue our ministries in Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
From time to time, the Mid-America Province embarks on major capital projects which require support outside the scope of our annual appeals. For these projects, the Office of Development approaches potential benefactors for major gifts on a onetime basis.
Currently we are involved in two capital campaign projects: replacement of the first and second floor windows at St. Fidelis Friary in Victoria, Kansas, at an estimated cost of $250,000, and purchase and restoration of a multi-apartment building in Denver, Colorado, for the development of a new friary called Fraternidad San Antonio at an estimated cost of $500,000.
Capuchin Friars' Benefit Gala
Each spring, Friends of the Friars (a
committee of volunteers) share their time, talent and treasures in the development of a
major special event hosted in Denver. For the past three years, the gala has been a
project of the Denver Broncos Charities Fund, a fund of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune
Foundation. This partnership, between the Denver Broncos Charities Fund and us, provides
us an opportunity to receive a matching gift for the gala's net income. Proceeds from the
gala and any subsequent matching gift are used to support the friars' ministries in Denver
and the Rocky Mountain Region. Last year's gala and match totaled $165,854! Click
here for the Final Report.
Wills & Estate Planning
We encourage our friends to help us by remembering the Capuchins and our ministries in their estate plans. Many people intend to do so, but they never get around to writing their wills. By taking this step now, you can assure that your life's work plays an important part in our lives and ministries well into the future. Our legal name is Capuchin Province of Mid-America, Inc. Special recognition is given to our "estate-planning" benefactors by membership in the distinguished St. Conrad Circle, for which Charter Members are still being accepted.
We publish "The Capuchin Questor" each fall following the completion of our fiscal year. This annual report is mailed to all of our annual donors. In addition to the Honor Roll of Donors, it contains current news stories and features about our life and activities and articles about estate planning.
Fr. John Lager, O.F.M.Cap., is director of the Capuchin Office of Development & Missionary Activities. He is assisted by Mrs. Stephanie Pedersen (assistant director of development), Mrs. Nancy Stalf (director of planned giving/special events), Ms. Rosanna Kippur (secretary-receptionist), and an army of part-time and seasonal volunteers in meeting the challenges of raising money for the needs of the Province.
If you have any special prayer intentions or if you would like more information or details on any of the programs outlined here, use Our Secure Connection or contact Fr. John Lager, O.F.M.Cap., Mrs. Stephanie Pedersen, or Mrs. Nancy Stalf at:
Capuchin Office of Development & Missionary Activities
P.O. Box 40575
Denver, CO 80204
(303) 433-0296
fax (303) 477-6925
e-mail: benefactors@midamcaps.org
The webPorter.