New Paths for Catholic Stewardship in 2026 in Southern Minnesota

Our Foundation has experienced a year of listening, reflection and change, beginning with two new team members (out of four!) in the first half of the year.

In the last six months, I’ve traveled from Worthington to Caledonia, was fed free breakfast at Bubbles Café in Chatfield when I forgot my wallet and we helped to serve alongside Saint Mary’s University Alumni during the Lasallian Day of Service.

All this in the hopes of more deeply getting to know the people and parishes in our Diocese of Winona-Rochester. I've been asking: what are you most excited about? What are you proud of? And, what's your biggest challenge?

It's interesting how challenges and successes sound so similar from Slayton to Rochester.

Our job as part of the Catholic community of Southern Minnesota is to listen and serve. And find ways that we can serve these needs to help advance the mission of the Church. We will never open a food shelf in our office, but we can figure out ways to help empower boots on the ground to be more successful. We won’t be preaching the Gospel directly, but we can help connect donors and seminarians in need to invest in the future of our Church and sacraments!

So, as a first step towards evolving to the changing needs of our diocese, we’ve added a few new programs for 2026. Let us know what you think? Do they sound helpful? What could we do differently?

Individual Stewardship: Donor Advised Funds

The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota is now offering Donor Advised Funds, a flexible giving tool that allows donors to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then recommend grants to Catholic parishes, schools, and ministries over time. This option gives families and individuals more control over how and when they give, whether they want to support multiple ministries at once or spread their generosity across several years. With a Donor Advised Fund, you can align your stewardship with your financial planning, ensuring that your gifts reflect both your faith and your long-term goals.

Parish-level Stewardship

Collective Parish Endowments

Next, we’re introducing Collective Parish Endowments, a simple yet powerful way to ensure long-term parish sustainability. As donor giving patterns shift over time, endowments will be critical to maintaining mission and ministry for generations to come. The concept is not novel – there are plenty of parishes who have an endowment they’ve built over the years, but many parishes do not. We will assist any interested parish—at no cost—in starting and promoting a collective endowment that is open to all parishioners. Any size gift can contribute, creating a permanent fund that supports parish needs in perpetuity and allows the entire community to take part in securing its future. Ask a Foundation representative about the no-cost toolkit for promotion. Info@CatholicFSMN.org

Legacy Planning Seminars (Planned Giving)

If you hadn’t yet heard, we’ve begun offering legacy planning seminars this fall, beginning at St. Mary’s in Chatfield. Within these free seminars, we help parishes and Catholic organizations guide their communities in planning faithfully for their legacy. We will co-host these sessions with you: providing either standard estate planning agenda or customized agendas tailored to your parish’s needs or local experts. Topics may include end-of-life spirituality, estate planning, advance care directives, funeral and cemetery planning, and more. These seminars create space for prayerful reflection and practical preparation, ensuring that families can make decisions rooted in faith while carin,g for loved ones and supporting the Church’s mission for generations to come.

Stewardship Educational Program

The final new offering for parishes will be a Parish-Level Stewardship Educational Program designed to deepen understanding of stewardship spirituality with the full picture of time, talent, and treasure. Provided at a very low cost, this program partners directly with each pastor to create a tailored plan that includes stewardship-focused messages during Mass, along with one to two onsite workshops open to the entire parish. Each series also comes with a customized toolkit of promotional materials to help inspire parishioners and encourage consistent tithing. Together, these resources aim to strengthen parish life and cultivate a culture of generosity rooted in faith.

Fundraising & Development Services

The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota is expanding its Fundraising & Development Services to better support parishes and ministries in today’s giving environment. Beyond traditional mailers and flyers, we now offer professional campaign capabilities that include feasibility studies, strategic planning, and engagement with major donors. Offered in partnership with Kim Synder of Excelsior Bay Group, a seasoned philanthropy leader, these services are designed to help parish leaders discern readiness for larger initiatives, cultivate long-term philanthropic relationships, and build sustainable funding for mission. By broadening our approach, we equip parishes to move confidently from everyday appeals to transformational campaigns that strengthen the Church for generations.

Regional Stewardship: Catholic Stewardship Panels

We’re excited to launch a series of Catholic Stewardship in 2026 Panels. The idea was spearheaded by our Board Chair, Dr Michael Speltz, as we talked about ways we could add more value to our Catholic community. I’ve seen time and again about the passionate Catholics who lead financial decisions within each parish but not all of them feel confident or equipped to make all of the types decisions needed, from investing to fundraising.

The free series will be hosted in a range of locations throughout the diocese and is designed to empower parish financial leaders with practical insights. Priests, trustees, finance councils, parish leaders, and seminarians are invited to join us as we first explore what stewardship leaders need to know about investing and money management in 2026, featuring Brad Stephans, Managing Financial Advisor from nationally renowned non-profit investment consultancy, Concord Advisory Group. Then, the second portion of the seminar, seasoned development experts will share how philanthropy and fundraising are evolving in today’s environment, including Kim Snyder, Founder of Excelsior Bay Group and former VP of Children’s Hospitals Foundation. Each panel will conclude with Q&A, offering space for dialogue and discernment. We are currently seeking host parishes—please reach out if your parish would like to partner to host one of these events.

Walking with you in Stewardship

As we look toward 2026, our commitment remains the same: to listen, to serve, and to walk alongside the people and parishes of Southern Minnesota in advancing the mission of the Church. These new initiatives—whether individual tools like Donor Advised Funds, parish-level supports such as endowments and educational series, or regional stewardship panels—are meant to meet the changing needs of our diocese with creativity and faith. We know that no single program will solve every challenge, but together they represent steps toward sustainability, deeper discipleship, and a culture of generosity rooted in Christ. We invite you to join us in this journey, share your feedback, and help shape the future of stewardship in our Diocese of Winona–Rochester.

For more information or to get started with one of these programs, contact info@catholicfsmn.org or call me, Executive Director, Elizabeth Williams, at 507-218-4098.