Frequently Asked Questions

We’re proud to have assisted the Diocese of Winona Rochester in implementing the Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) for many years! Beginning in 2026, the CMA will be administered through the Diocese of Winona-Rochester independently. You can find more information about giving on their website here. 

If you’d like to consider alternative ways of giving to the CMAs, like a Donor Advised Fund or converting gift of stock, we can help with that! Visit our Plan Your Giving page for more information or contact us today at info@catholicfsmn.org or 507-218-4098.

Yes! We assist Catholics in fulfilling their divine stewardship calling through any number of non-cash assets. This includes converting stocks, commodities and real estate. We may be able to help with other non-cash assets. Just contact us a call to find out:  info@catholicfsmn.org or 507-218-4098.

Download the forms here to convert assets today:

• Gift of Stock
• Gift of Grain / Commodity

If you are age 70½ or older, you can make a meaningful gift to support the mission of the Church directly from your traditional IRA. This type of gift—called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)—allows you to give without increasing your taxable income. Once you reach age 73, a QCD can also satisfy part or all of your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

IRA Charitable Distribution Fast Facts

• You must be 70½ or older at the time of the gift.
• Your gift must be made directly from your IRA custodian to the charity.
• You may give up to $105,000 per person, per year through a QCD.
• Only traditional IRAs are eligible for QCDs.
• QCDs cannot be directed to donor‑advised funds, charitable gift annuities, or other life‑income arrangements.
• Once you reach age 73, a QCD can count toward your RMD for the year.

A QCD is a simple way to support the ministries you care about while reducing the impact of taxes on your retirement income. Many donors find that this approach allows them to make a gift of greater impact than they could otherwise accomplish. 

Contact the Foundation today to make a gift. info@catholicfsmn.org or 507-858-1276

Great question and we’re glad you asked. The short answer is two-fold: it allows your gift to be invested to grow well following Catholic values and it removes administrative burden from your beneficiary.

The long answer is giving through us has many benefits:

• We practice Catholic Responsible Investing (CRI), an investment strategy designed specifically to help Catholic institutions pursue their missions by providing sound financial returns while remaining faithful to the teachings of the Church.
• We offer a higher return on investment than what most banks and CDs can offer.
• A gift made to CFSM is tax-deductible, as we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and in many cases, there is no capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated securities and/or property.
• You retain the flexibility to create a fund tailored to your charitable interests.
• We adhere to public accountability in our annual reports certified by independent auditors that our funds are being used for charitable purposes.
• Your funds are kept safe from legal actions against individual charities/organizations.
• You receive access to our professional network of financial and legal advisors for guidance on planned giving.
• You save costs on administration, investment management, and grant activities, since funds are combined into larger pools.
• You gain the satisfaction of knowing your charitable interests will be supported for generations to come.

Planned giving is a simple, thoughtful way for you to support the Church and other charitable causes through your estate or other long-term financial plans. Some common types of planned gifts are:

• Beneficiary Designations – a gift made through existing accounts like a retirement or bank account
• Bequest – a gift made through your will, trust or life insurance policy
• Charitable Gift Annuity – You make a gift of cash or property to us, and we agree to make fixed payments for one or two lives.
• Life Estate Reserved – You transfer your personal residence or farm to us and retain the right to use the property for your lifetime.

For more information on planned giving see our recent blog or contact us today. 507-218-4098

Donor behavior is changing over time due to the changing workplace and many components of our culture. Committed Catholics can help sustain the future of the Catholic church through a future planned gift. A planned gift: 

• Helps parishioners express their faith and values in a lasting way
• Provides long‑term stability for parishes, schools, and ministries
• Is accessible to everyone, not just wealthy donors
• Often costs nothing today—most gifts come from assets, not cash

For more information on planned giving see our recent blog or contact us today. 507-218-4098

Yes! We act in our donors’ best interests at all times. Our investment advisor, Concord Advisory Group, and other asset managers also serve in a fiduciary capacity.

Founded in 1991 as a diocesan department, we now operate as a legally separate entity to best safeguard donor funds.

Yes! 100% of our funds are invested following CRI guidelines. We use both positive and negative screenings to secure the best possible investments. 

We use socially responsible investing (SRI) based avoidance screenings to divest from companies whose products and/or policies conflict with Catholic teachings. We use Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) based positive strategies to support companies aligned with Catholic values or that produce social good. And our fund managers actively participate to influence positive corporate changes through casting votes on proxies or resolutions.

You might be impressed to know that our financial advisor, Bradford Stephans, from Concord Advisory, was even on the US Conference of Catholic Bishop’s committee that helps to design and revise the CRI guidelines

Absolutely. We designed our two investment pools based on the most common needs we heard from parishes, schools and cemeteries in Southern Minnesota. Many already had checking, savings and CD products with their local banks that they were happy with so we don’t offer anything like that. 

We do offer a low risk investment pool for time horizons between 6 months to 3 years. Preservation of capital and income generation are the primary objectives with capital appreciation as the secondary objective. The return target is CPI (Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation) plus 2%. This pool uses 5 different investment strategies including 80% fixed income. Our average returns over the past 5 years after removing the Foundation’s fee is 4.86%. 

We also offer a long term returns investment pool for time horizons for 1 or more years in length. The primary objective is growth of capital in this pool, making it a perfect fit for endowments or other long-term funds. The return target is CPI plus 5%. This pool uses 10 investment strategies with 30% fixed income. Our average returns over the past 5 years after removing the Foundation’s fee is 8.98%.

All strategies in both of our investment pools are socially screened following USCCB guidelines. If you’re ready to learn more or get started investing, reach out today info@catholicfsmn.org; 507-218-4098.

We use a Catholic Values investment approach while concurrently maintaining a diverse portfolio. 

Diversification is an important strategy to ensure Foundation portfolios are able to effectively manage risk, and also provide consistency to the returns generated over time. 

• Our Long-Term Pool includes 10 investment strategies: U.S. Equity, International Equity, Global Equity, US Fixed Income, Alternative Investments and Money Market. US Fixed Income makes up 29% of the portfolio.
• Our Short-Term Pool uses 5 investment strategies and is heavily weighted towards US Fixed Income (70%) and also includes U.S. Equity, International Equity and Money Market.

If you’re ready to learn more or get started investing, reach out today info@catholicfsmn.org; 507-218-4098.

We charge a tiered, competitive fee of 1.1% to 1.25% which covers:

• An investment fee to pay our Financial Advisors & Investment Firm
• An administrative fee to pay for our staff & overhead costs

All of the returns mentioned on this website are after fee was removed. We never charge fees to open, take a distribution or close an account. It’s your money so we want you to access it when you need it. 

We may charge meager fees to convert gifts of stock or commodities in order to pay a third party provider. Speak with your Foundation rep for information specific to your situation. info@catholicfsmn.org; 507-218-4098.

In fiscal year 2025 (Jul ‘24-Jun ’25) our long-term portfolio earned 13.42% annualized net of fees; meaning our customers took home 13.42%! 

We don’t expect those kinds of returns every year but are proud to share our average over the past 5 years (as of 12/31/25), the long-term portfolio has earned 8.74% annualized net of fees, and the short-term portfolio 4.98% annualized net of fees.

We don’t offer individual or personal investment accounts because our Mission is to advance the Mission of the through by supporting ministries. And many other great Catholic investing firms exist to support individuals. 

However, we do offer Donor Advised Funds (DAF), Annuities, help donors set up endowments for their preferred Catholic organization and can help you give to your parish or other Catholic organization. When you use our endowments, DAFs or annuities, your funds are invested in the same Catholic Value Based investment pools and see the same investment return benefits.

The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota seeks to advance the mission of the local Catholic Church. That means we support programs that advance the Church's social teachings such as Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota; formation including Catholic schools, seminaries and advancing education for formators; evangelization; priest retirement and care and more! 

What we’re most proud of is our ability to support whatever Catholic mission you are passionate about. Many donors come to us with ideas and we help them create a legacy that aligns with their personal passion. For instance, Charles Passe created a program to grant scholarships to Catholic students in his home parish who were seeking skilled trade degrees. We can think outside the box as big as you can dream!

• Parishes
• Schools
• Cemeteries
• Seminarian Education
• Foreign Mission
• Higher Education Tuition Assistance
• Hispanic Education Tuition Assistance
• Catholic Education Tuition Assistance
• Faith Formation
• Clergy Formation
• Individual Charitable Trusts and Annuities
• And more!

Please visit our webpage here.

Please visit our webpage here.

Wonderful. We look forward to helping you. Contact us today: info@catholicfsmn.org; 507-858-1276.

Our services and resources are at the heart of our mission to empower Catholics to fulfill their divine stewardship calling. 

We offer no and low-cost services and resources that span all areas of stewardship from educating a parish about stewardship as a way of life to leading a feasibility study and capital campaign. Learn more on our Services webpage.

We host free planned giving or legacy seminars for any Catholic 501c3 in Southern Minnesota. We’re typically at least a few months out in scheduling so reach out today to get on our calendars! info@catholicfsmn.org; 507-218-4098.

Yes, please! We love to work with parish leadership teams to strengthen stewardship within a parish community. We can approach it many different ways from training your leadership to leading parish-wide workshops. Let’s talk about your situation and decide what the best solution is together. Some, smaller toolkits or programs are free. Others will be low cost, just enough to cover our time. Reach out today.

In the meantime, here is a blog we did on parish stewardship committees that many parishes have found helpful.

We offer full-service capital campaign support - but we customize it to what your parish actually needs. Not a cookie cutter. 

Typically, we start with a feasibility study and planning process Then we go into campaign execution. Many fundraising agencies will charge as much as 8-10% of the campaign budget. Meaning if you hope to raise $1M, plan to pay them $80-100K. 

We don't work like that.

We charge a decent fee for feasibility and planning phases. That will take the bulk of the capital campaign budget. Then, we do execution at the cost of print materials plus a low hourly rate where you'll know costs up front. We can do all, some or none of the execution. It’s up to you. 

Our capabilities for execution are full service, including case statements, direct mail, bulletin inserts, website materials, mass announcements. You name it, we do it. Some parishes will also choose to use our services for gift receiving so they don’t add extra burden to their small administrative staff. For gift receiving we receive gifts, send acknowledgements, deposit them and send annual tax receipts. Depending upon where you want your funds to go, we may be able to receive gifts without a fee. 

If you’re interested in learning more, contact us today: info@catholicfsmn.org; 507-218-4098.

Yes. The Catholic Foundation is here to help you every step of the way.

We can assist with both the set‑up and the fundraising. Endowments are a powerful way to care for your parish in the long term, and we want to make the process simple and accessible.

We provide:  

• No‑cost endowment tool kits to help your parish invite support and explain the purpose of the fund (new offering in 2026!)
• Hands‑on guidance to establish the endowment itself  
• Ongoing support so your parish can grow the fund over time  

Many parishes find that an endowment gives their community confidence that essential ministries, facilities, and future needs will be cared for generations.

If your parish, cemetery or school is ready to explore this, we would be glad to walk with you. Reach out today: info@catholicfsmn.org or 507-218-4098.