QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (FAQ)
Below you will find a list of Frequently Asked Questions and answers about the St. John Vainney Foundation itself and the capital campaign for the foundation. We hope these questions and answers will help give you a better understanding of the purpose of the foundation as well as the value of the campaign to support it.
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How broad will the fundraising efforts be?
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(Will they just involve existing members of the school, parish, or beyond)?
The initial phase of the campaign is focused on the parish itself – first with the leadership, potential significant donors, and then the full parish community. The initial phase of the campaign is divided into four divisions: leadership, special gifts, general parish, and continuing strategies. It is considered essential the leadership reflect their commitment in both time and treasure before seeking special donations and before approaching the general parish.
Overlapping the initial phase of the campaign will be efforts associated with planned giving, special events for community support (beyond the parish), and our first effort to reach out to school alumni in a coordinated fashion. As a result, the campaign is expected to build a foundation of support from the parish. It is anticipated that this foundation will help support efforts to raise other funds from outside the parish including support from the alumni of St. John Vianney. Will the money that is raised be segregated from their school/parish accounts and from any access by the diocese?
The funds raised will be part of the St. John Vianney Foundation which is an independent non-profit organization focused on supporting the needs of the St. John Vianney Parish. It is important to recognize that the St. John Vianney Foundation is separate from the parish, is overseen by lay people from the parish who serve three-year terms as trustees, and who appointment must be approved by the parish priest.
It is expected that the bulk of the funds raised will be applied to the Catholic School Fund of the St. John Vianney Foundation. The intent of this fund is to use the income generated by the campaign donations to apply directly to the school operating expenses. In other words, any income generated will be provided as income to the school in much the same way as tuition is income for the school. As a result it is expected that school tuition will stabilize and eventually be reduced as a result of the income generated by the foundation.
The income generated by the Catholic School Fund will go directly to the school operating expenses and will therefore positively affect tuition for all students. The intent is to ensure a Catholic education is affordable to all members of the Catholic community.
The specific impact of the additional funds will be determined by the school administration in consultation with the school board and the parish finance council. However, since it is being applied directly to the school operating expenses it is our intent to impact tuition for all students.
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When will the funds be available to help defray tuition costs
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(while my kid is attending the school?)
Income generated from the Catholic School Fund will be made available annually – so the campaign will have an immediate positive impact on the school’s income. How much support will be provided by the foundation will be based on the actual income earned (historically 3 – 5%) from campaign contributions as they are received. The early income is expected to be modest compared to the significant support that will be available once the total goal of the campaign is achieved and available for investment.
The foundation trustees have decided to apply the income from the Catholic School Fund directly to the operating expenses of the school. The school administration including our pastor, in consultation with the school board and the parish finance council are responsible for the school operating budget and therefore the application of the income received from the foundation.
While student enrollment has been depressed we continue to believe in the underlying strength of our school. We represent the only Catholic elementary school south of 28th street and believe the school will remain viable for the foreseeable future given the appropriate support. The campaign is one pillar of the strategy to maintain the school as a vibrant part of our parish community. In the event the school was closed, Foundation resources would continue to honor donor intentions by providing support for the catholic educational programs of the parish children at any successors to the St. John Vianney School.
The income from the funds raised would continue to be used to support the operations of the resulting school thereby continuing to support the children of our parish as well as the general Catholic community.
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Why does the parish need to undertake this campaign?
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Do you have proof that school enrollment is falling because of costs and not other reasons?
The reasons for a decline in school enrollment are complex. The decline of enrollment can likely be attributed to multiple factors including a general decline in the active Catholic population, an aging of the St. John Vianney Parish, the demographics of the local population, as well as the underlying burden of school tuition on school families.
School enrollment at Catholic schools across the country has eroded significantly over the past 7-8 years. Unfortunately our St. John Vianney School has not been able to avoid these declines. Based on discussions with the school administration, one key factor has been the cost of tuition. As enrollment has declined the school administration has been forced to increase tuition to offset the declining enrollment. Reducing these tuition increases is seen as one element of a multi-faceted strategy towards reviving school enrollment and reducing the general tuition.
The school board is developing a strategic plan. This plan will address tuition, but also other factors such as academic excellence and improved marketing of our school’s main differentiator – an immersive Catholic education.
The original goal was set to increase St. John Vianney Foundation assets to $10,000,000 from their current balance of around $1,000,000. The resulting asset base will generate income of appropriately $500,000 per year once the full campaign goal of $9,000,000 is achieved. If that income were available today it would cover almost half of the annual operating expenses for the school. In 10 years, after consideration for inflation, the income generated by these funds is still expected to be capable of reducing tuition by upwards of 25%.
The goal was set based on the desire to push tuition down in an effort to permit all families to benefit from Catholic education thereby supporting the general renewal of our parish and our overall Catholic faith community.
