A Trusted Partner for More Than Three Decades

For more than thirty years, the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota has served as a trusted partner to Catholics and Catholic organizations across Southern Minnesota. Founded in 1991 as an Office of the Diocese, the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota was created to support important initiatives such as the Seeds of Faith endowment and the establishment of priest retirement programs. In 2014, the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota became a separate legal entity, providing greater transparency and peace of mind for donors and partner organizations.

Today, we continue this work by providing trusted stewardship, investment oversight, and charitable giving resources that strengthen the Church for generations to come. We follow a driving mission statement of: We exist to empower Catholic parishes, schools, ministries and individuals to fulfill their divine stewardship calling and sustain a vibrant mission of faith, hope, and charity within the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.

How We Serve and Support Catholics

The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota helps ensure the long-term stability of the local Church by supporting faithful generosity and responsible stewardship. We partner closely with Catholic organizations and individuals to address both the spiritual and practical responsibilities of managing resources entrusted to them.

We serve the Church by:

Helping Catholics Give: Offering flexible, personalized ways for individuals and families to support parishes, schools, and ministries they love.

Stewarding Funds With Catholic Integrity: Manage and invest funds in accordance with Catholic Responsible Investing principles, supporting financial stability and long-term growth for Catholic organizations and individuals’ chosen Catholic beneficiaries.

Serving Local Communities: Growing and administering grants that support ongoing and emerging needs of support our communities.

Advancing Catholic Stewardship and Supporting Under-Resourced Catholic Organizations: Providing tools, resources, guidance and infrastructure support rooted in Catholic teaching to organizations with limited internal financial and fundraising capacity.

In order to continue to support the emerging needs of our diocese, we undertook a strategic planning process with our Board in 2025-26. Learn more about our 2025 diocesan-wide listening exercise and what we're prioritizing on our 2030 Strategic Plan page.

Financial & Leadership Transparency

Financial transparency is central to our mission. The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota undergoes an independent annual audit each year to ensure responsible stewardship of all funds entrusted to us. Find our audit reports below and visit our Team page to learn about our staff and Board.

Contact Us

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A Trusted Partner for More Than Three Decades

How We Serve and Support Catholics

Financial & Leadership Transparency

Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota Financials