Tiered Rates for CFSM Managed Funds

For the convenience of all of our current and prospective customers, we have published the letter that we delivered in July 2025 to each fund advisor and/or correlated parish pastor. This rate structure applies to all agency and many endowed funds held with the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota. A handful of our owned or endowed funds may see higher management rates due to additional Foundation staff effort to process grant applications and distribute annual grants. 

If you have any questions about our managed fund rates, please reach out to me, Elizabeth Williams, our Executive Director. I'm happy to discuss the best investing plan for your Catholic organization. 

Summer sunshine and blessings, Elizabeth

ewilliams@catholicfsmn.org   |   507-218-4098

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Dear Fund Advisor,

Thank you.  

Thank you for your parish’s continued trust and investment with the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota. Together, we are advancing the mission of our Church in Southern Minnesota through sustainable stewardship, faithful service, and meaningful support for parishes, vocations, and ministries across our region. 

As part of our long-term planning for sustaining our Catholic Foundation, we are updating our fund management rates effective October 1, 2025. This change reflects both our fiduciary responsibility and our desire to remain a premier partner in Catholic investing in Southern Minnesota. 

What’s Changing.  

We have developed a new tiered rate schedule, designed to create greater alignment with peer Catholic foundations, as well as secular financial managers’ fee structures while helping sustain our organization.  

Agency funds and institutional endowments like yours will move from the current fixed rate of 1% annual management fee to a tiered rate of 1.1% to 1.25% depending upon the fund balance. 

Competitive Fees. Outstanding Performance. 

Despite these adjustments, our fees remain highly competitive and our performance is something we are proud of. In fact, fees for other similarly sized funds such as funds managed by the Catholic Community Foundation in the Twin Cities have tiered rates up to 1.75% while the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania- a rural area like ours- has tiered rates up to 1.5%. In addition, our fees are below many secular alternatives relative to returns. However, our fee structure would not matter if our performance was not outstanding. After our fee was removed, our long-term investment pool had a 12.42% return in fiscal year 2025 while our short-term investment pool had 7.74% returns. 

Staying Faithful in Our Investments.  

Investing with us is more than a financial decision - it’s a profound act of faith and witness. Through Catholic Responsible Investing (CRI) following USCCB guidelines, your dollars are carefully stewarded in ways that honor the sanctity of life, uphold human dignity, and reflect the Church’s call to care for the vulnerable and protect creation. Every decision is guided by the moral teachings of the Church, ensuring that we not only avoid harm but actively seek to bring about healing and hope. 

Where You Invest Matters.  

Investing with us means sustaining our local organization that positively impacts every community in Southern Minnesota. Your investment means sustaining critical infrastructure and outreach that make our work possible. This includes: 

• Stewarding and distributing Seeds of Faith grants annually for Catholic school tuition, faith formation and clergy education.  

• Stewarding and distributing over 100 other local Catholic endowments annually, supporting everything from seminarian education to local scholarships, faith formation curriculum, and staff development. 

• Low-cost resources for parishes to access fundraising consulting and execution. 

• No-cost planned giving seminars for parishes who invest through us. 

We have included a one-pager with FAQs for your convenience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or our Executive Director, Elizabeth Williams. She would love to take this opportunity to meet with you if you have not yet had the chance! 

With deep gratitude, 
Dr. Michael Speltz 
Board Chair | Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota 
michael.speltz@rochesterfranciscan.org  

Please direct questions to: 
Elizabeth Williams 
Executive Director | Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota 
ewilliams@catholicfsmn.org 
507-218-4098