2022 Giving Challenge

In the past, our annual Gala event has been dedicated to raising funds for tuition assistance programs for Catholic Schools. However, due to the pandemic, the traditional in-person Gala was replaced by the Giving Challenge and expanded to assist the following efforts:

  • Tuition assistance for families seeking a Catholic school education for their children
  • Affordable housing projects within the five counties we serve
  • Regional youth ministry and young adult programs
  • Evangelization efforts to assist in spreading the Good News

Please consider rising to the challenge in 2022! Click here to make a gift today.

You can split your gift between the two challenge areas, as well as designate to the ministry areas that are most important to you. What truly matters is we help these ministries with their critical work of spreading the Gospel.

Our goal this year is $600,000 and our generous challenge partners are asked to prayerfully consider a gift that will be utilized in two ways:

  1. Meet the need today – $300,000. Part of your gift today will fund a grant to these ministries this year!
  2. Build for the future – $300,000. Part of your gift today will build a new Ministry Life Fund investment account for all four ministries. These funds will grow with each new donation, not only in their base value, but also in the interest returned on the investment – providing grant funding for these four ministries well into the future.

Meeting the Challenge Together

These grants for evangelization efforts, affordable housing projects and tuition assistance were made possible through generous donations to the 2021 Giving Challenge:

Click the image above to read more

Imagine what we can do if you

Rise to the Challenge today!

Donations of checks or cash can be made to the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Please click here to fill out a commitment form and learn more.

To make a gift online with your credit or debit card, please click here.

Other methods for personal contributions include specialty gifts, such as a charitable grants, IRAs or gifts of stock:

Stock Gifts

If donating stock, we request that the donor notify the Campaign Processing Office (PDF form click here) and provide us with the number of shares, the name of the stock(s)/security(ies) being gifted, which diocesan entity the gift is to benefit, and how you wish your gift to be applied.  The mailing address is as follows:

Catholic Foundation

ATTN: Campaign Processing Office

P.O Box 40200

St. Petersburg, FL 33743-0220

FOR DIRECT TRANSFERS (Broker to Broker) to the Diocese of St. Petersburg and all diocesan entities, please click here to download a listing of authorized brokerages.

IRA

Donating part or all unused retirement assets is an excellent way to make a gift to support parish, school or diocesan programs, services and outreach in a variety of ways. By “rolling” the distribution from an individual retirement account (IRA), directly to a charity, donors can make a gift to further the work and mission of our Church while possibly receiving a tax benefit.

Please note: It is vital for donors considering this option to speak with their tax advisers and financial advisers.

While there has been a lot of talk about the SECURE Act, voted into effect in December 20, 2021, it is important to know anyone can still make a qualified charitable distribution from their retirement account, no matter their age.

Benefits

  • Individuals 70 ½ years of age and older as of January 1, 2020, are still able to make qualified charitable distributions that can count toward the required minimum distribution (RMD). This will keep the RMD from being included in adjusted gross income for tax purposes, which can be a benefit for some even if they do not itemize deductions.
  • For all others, the age to make a qualified charitable distribution that counts toward the required minimum distribution was increased to age 72.
  • For those planning on leaving their IRA to their children in their estate, the SECURE Act put a cap on the amount of time they have to access and use the funds at 10 years. Therefore, depending on their ages, donors may want to consider leaving heirs assets that receive a step up in basis, such as insurance plans, real estate and stock, and utilize the retirement assets for charitable giving.

Details

To initiate a donation from an IRA, the steps are:

  1. Contact the IRA plan administrator.
  2. Provide the IRA plan administrator with the following information:
    • the Tax ID name and number: Emmaus Foundation, Inc. dba The Catholic Foundation (EIN 59-3519543)
    • mailing address the gift should be sent to: the Catholic Foundation, ATTN: Campaign Processing Office, P.O. Box 40200, St. Petersburg, FL 33743-0220.
    • the total amount to contribute
    • gift allocation. One distribution can be used to support multiple diocesan entities and ministries. For example, a total qualified charitable distribution of $5,000 can be split as follows: $3,500 for tuition assistance for “School Name”; $3,500 for the Catholic Foundation for general use.
  3. Verify the IRA plan administrator will include donor name on the check/stub being sent.
  4. Notify the Campaign Processing Office a gift was initiated from an IRA, the amount of the gift, the name of the company the IRA is held with and include the gift allocation. Notification can be sent by email to stock-iradonations@dosp.org, or by mail to the Catholic Foundation, ATTN: Campaign Processing Office, P.O. Box 40200, St. Petersburg, FL 33743-0220.
  5. IRA funds will be directly transferred to the specified organization to help continue our important work. Once the payment is received, an acknowledgement letter will be sent with a copy going to the entities receiving funds.

Please contact us if you have any questions about an IRA charitable rollover gift. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.

Matching Gifts

Some companies match the charitable contributions of their employees or retirees dollar for dollar. As a registered not-for-profit, gifts to Catholic Foundation services sometimes qualify. Please contact your company’s Human Resources office to find out if they support a matching gift program.

If you have any questions concerning this process, please contact a member of the Catholic Foundation staff at 727-374-0220, or email foundation@dosp.org.