Father Casey Coleman, pastor of Our Lady of Grace, offers Mass in 2022 in honor of the 70th anniversary of the church. Since it’s inception in 1997, the Joseph M. Bryan Sr. Endowment has provided $536,000 in distributions to the Greensboro parish, providing necessary funds to help with facility needs. (Paul Campbell | Catholic News Herald)CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte Foundation recently reached a milestone: growing its endowment distributions from $10 million to $15 million in less than four years.
The foundation gives people and organizations a way to provide long-term financial stability for the diocese and its more than 180 recipient parishes, schools and ministries. It now tops $85 million in assets.
An endowment is a permanent fund in which the principal is never touched, but the income from it can be used according to the wishes of the donor organization or individual.
Endowments generate income and help to sustain the long-term strength and viability of the diocese and its parishes, schools and ministries.
The $15 million was distributed from 172 of these endowments. For the other 175 endowments, distributions will be made when the recipients have a particular need.
Established in 1997 with an initial gift of $200,000, the Joseph M. Bryan Sr. Endowment has provided $536,000 in distributions to the 71-year-old Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. Most notably, the fund provided over $109,000 to replace the steam boilers, which were leaking and deemed past their useful life. The endowment is currently valued at $352,000.
“The Joseph M. Bryan Sr. endowment has enabled us to keep the lights on and the church heated,” said Matt Fitzgerald, director of campus facilities for Our Lady of Grace.
“The mission of the Church is the salvation of the souls through praise, worship and, especially, the sacraments. We help enable that by creating an environment that is safe, peaceful and beautiful through maintenance, repair and upkeep. Endowments make all the difference to churches such as Our Lady of Grace,” he continued.
St. Mary Mother of God Church in Sylva is also making needed repairs and improvements through an endowment established in 2010 and named for the parish. With an initial gift of $178,000, the current market value is $199,000, with $117,000 in distributions to date.
“We spend it on things that add value to the parish,” said Father Paul Asoh.
The church, which also serves the students, faculty and staff at nearby Western Carolina University, has seen many young families join the parish, bolstering its faith formation program and its needs. Most recently, the monies have gone toward the HVAC system for classrooms and the conference center.
“[This endowment] means a lot,” said Father Asoh. “It’s made a huge difference.”
Jim Kelley, diocesan development director, said that to date, more than 1,600 people in the Diocese of Charlotte have notified the Development Office that they are making an estate gift to a diocesan entity in their will or estate plan.
Since the foundation’s establishment in 1994, Kelley has seen gifts that range from thousands to millions of dollars, and donors continue supporting the Church through endowments as a way to keep giving long into the future.
Kelley said he is gratified to see these endowments being put to good use for the benefit of parishes, schools and ministries throughout the diocese.
“These distributions provide funds that change people’s lives. This is all done because individuals or entities established endowments because they love the Church, and they want to provide for its future. People making these endowments are a wonderful gift for the Church,” Kelley said. “We hope more and more of our parishioners will establish endowments in their wills or estate plans.”
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish or Catholic school? You can establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities. For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Courtney McLaughlin