Meet the Team: Morgan Lowney, Development Specialist

The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota has an elite team, and each member is highly specialized in their respective field. Today, we are pleased to introduce you to Morgan, the longest standing member of our team. After four years with the Foundation, her expertise has shown through her hard work and dedication.

What is your role at CFSM and what initially brought you here?

• I am the Development Specialist for CFSM. I am responsible for much of the background work and processing of donations, acknowledgements, database management and general reporting done by the Catholic Foundation. I coordinate and run our grant programs as well as manage the database related to fundraising and marketing campaigns such as the annual Bishops and Rector Dinner.

Why do you continue to choose to work at CFSM?

• I continue to work at CFSM because I enjoy the work I do and the relationships I’ve developed with our team, with related organizations and with our larger Catholic community. I also love knowing the work I do gives direct value to the community around me.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

• My favorite part of my job is getting to work with people who care deeply about the people around them. This includes people like priests, bishops, and executives who do great work as well as their bookkeepers, administrators, and secretaries who I have the pleasure of working with on a daily basis. I also am a lover of numbers and data, so playing in my Excel sheets is always a highlight in my day.

Which of CFSM’s core value resonates most with you?

• I resonate most with our core value of integrity. I feel a responsibility for acting with integrity in every aspect of my role. This includes the accuracy of our data, the confidential processing of donations, and in the way we steward the monies we are entrusted with.

What are some personal goals or aspirations for yourself within your role?

• My goal is always twofold but deeply connected: I aim to make the experience of every donor and client as easy and painless as possible. I also work to increase the efficiency and accuracy of each aspect of my role; working with important and sensitive data on a daily basis makes it vital to be exact every time. The more I make progress towards one of these goals, the more I see improvement in the other.

What would you like to see the Foundation doing in five years?

• My hope for CFSM in five years is that we can support more parishes and organizations who are doing important work through growing their funds while also directly supporting the community. I would love to see CFSM create more scholarship and grant opportunities for our local community. I hope to see us launch a successful donor advised fund program, which empowers our local community to support the organizations and programs they love in a sustaining and impactful way.

What else should we know about you?

• Outside of work, I have what some may call “older lady hobbies”. I love to cross stitch, cook, garden, listen to audiobooks and take medium length walks with our 13-year-old dog, Buddy. I am originally from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and I moved to La Crosse to attend the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse.

A note from Elizabeth Williams, Executive Director:
“Morgan’s work is one of the quiet strengths of this foundation. Her care for accuracy, her integrity with donor information, and her genuine love for our Catholic community shape the experience of every parish, school, and ministry we serve.

We are deeply grateful for her four years of dedicated service and the steady, mission‑driven leadership she brings to our team. Thank you, Morgan!”

Contact Morgan today for help with donations, acknowledgements, or gardening tips: mlowney@catholicfsmn.org or 507-494-8844.