CCF-LA News | January 17, 2023 | |
A New Year and Renewed Pursuit of the Meaning of Life | |
Beginning a new year is an opportunity to assess what’s important in our lives and with that comes for each of us a resolve to spend more time and effort in the pursuit of those activities. Most likely, the meaningful part has to do with the people in your life.
Every day, we encounter people we know and others we don’t know that can profoundly change us to be a better person. It’s what we make of those encounters that matter. Whether it’s a family vacation where not everyone got along, letting someone go ahead in line at the grocery store, checking in on a neighbor you haven’t seen in a while, letting your pastor know you liked his sermon, giving $10 to the homeless person blocking your way into the building where you work, or sending a Happy New Year email to an old friend – each encounter is an opportunity to discover something new about yourself.
Even more important, these are all opportunities to find meaning not only in your life, but in the people you encounter. At CCF-LA, we meet people every day that are doing good works, running charitable organizations, being parish leaders, teaching in Catholic schools, and volunteering in food banks and homeless shelters. These are the people that work in organizations that received $75 million in grants from our charitable funds last year. Through these grants, we helped charitable individuals find more meaning in their lives through supporting both people that do good and people that need help.
When we pursue the meaning of life, the new year is a good time to assess and review the resources that we have been given. How we use those resources, whether a kind word to a stranger or a monetary gift to a charity, these resources have a powerful impact on making our world a better place for all.
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Kathy Anderson
President and Executive Director
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The greatest achievement for CCF-LA in 2022 was evident in the amount of grants that were issued. A total of almost $75 million was sent to schools, health care providers, social services organizations, and shelters that feed and house the poor and marginalized.
This was a new milestone in reaching worthy Catholic and charitable organizations aligned with the values of our Church – and truly a testament to the CCF-LA mission that empowers charitable people and organizations to be more impactful.
In 2021 we issued $50.2 million in grants and that was a record year. To handle this much higher level of volume and to keep up with our extraordinary levels of services, we formed two dedicated functions as an outgrowth from the development effort.
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The Client Services team, led by Tania Naaman and with Janette Gordo, meets the daily demands of issuing grants and receipting gifts, while ensuring compliance to policies and procedures for recording all transactions.
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The Marketing function, led by Norma Hernandez with Bonnie Peralta, focuses on outreach to clients, beneficiaries, and prospects through the newsletter, website, publications, and events – each providing an informative touch point and reminder of the purpose of CCF-LA.
Every grant made by CCF-LA sends a strong and kind message to a charity, indicating that their mission is important to us and to the advisor on the charitable fund that was the source of the grant. The work done in a community foundation environment is truly the power of many like-minded people and organizations coming together to make a difference, and in 2022 it was an $75 million difference!
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As we closed on a year of volatile financial markets in 2022, our pooled fund results matched up to our benchmarks. The Balanced Pool portfolio experienced a -3.28% return (net of fees) in the month of December and -16.12% for the twelve months ending December 31,2022. The Intermediate Fund pool returned -1.42% for the month and -7.99% for the year. The estimated annual yield on the STIF account has improved to +3.15% due to the recent increase in interest rates.
The final month of 2022 saw negative returns for both equities and bonds as uncertainty over the duration and severity of monetary tightening continued. The Federal Reserve raised its target range for the Fed Funds rate by 50 bps to 4.25% - 4.50% at its December meeting, the highest since 2007. The 2022 cumulative rate hike totaled 425 bps. As we enter 2023, uncertainty remains around the degree to which the Federal Reserve can navigate a “soft landing” while combatting inflation.
The yield curve remained inverted at year-end; the 10-year Treasury yield was 3.88% and the 2-year yield was 4.41%.
Our Investment Committee met six times in person and five time electronically for action items during the year, working closely with our investment advisor and managers to monitor the impact of market volatility on our portfolio. This is our business -- to manage charitable assets.
Andrew O'Boyle
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
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DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND FAMILY OFFICE | |
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Maggie Byrne
Head of Development and Assistant Treasurer
[email protected]
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Kara Duncan
Director, Family Office
[email protected]
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CCF-LA’s Business is Far and Wide! | |
By area: We have over 4 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, spanning across 5 pastoral regions, with 288 parishes in 120 cities – wow! CCF-LA is so excited to continue working in and expanding our approach to encompass all regions in our Catholic community. It has been so wonderful to work with and to grow our Development Committee to meet the far reaches of our Diocese. We are headed into 2023 prepared to keep expanding our reach from Long Beach to Lompoc, and everything in between.
By product offerings: We offer customized charitable funds that meet the philanthropic goals of charitable individuals and organizations. We have always offered our Agency Fund, Donor-Advised Fund (DAF), Scholarship, and endowed fund products, but we have since evolved some of those products and created new ones! For example, for our organizational clients we now offer a Designated Fund, similar to an endowment, that can be set up as permanent or non-permanent fund based on your needs.
We also created the New Philanthropist DAF a few years back as a product to teach next generations how to give. We are always evolving to find solutions and we look forward to embarking on the new year working with our current and future clients.
The role of our Development Committee is vital in all our efforts, as they are from varying regions, parishes, and professional backgrounds and experiences.
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CCF-LA Takes Data Security Seriously | |
As we know, even a minor data breach can expose a business and its clients to data thieves. For that reason, CCF-LA utilizes the most sophisticated data privacy protection available in the market.
As we begin 2023, changes in the workplace, geopolitical factors, and the increasingly complex data threats mean that CCF-LA must always look to enhance its security systems, never remaining complacent, and engaging the most talented IT and data security professionals to protect client and financial data. This includes implementing regular software updates and integration, instituting data recovery techniques and backups, adding additional authentication protocols, and live training to all personnel on how to respond to data threats.
Additionally, CCF-LA, through its financial partners, engages a full-time cyber security team that regularly conducts incidence response training, and disaster recovery exercises. All employees, clients, and beneficiaries can rest assured that CCF-LA makes their data security its top priority.
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T. Matthew Hansen, Esq.
General Counsel,
Sr. Director of Operations and Corporate Secretary
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Welcome Andres Telo,
New Intern
We are happy to welcome our new Intern, Andres Telo to CCF-LA. Andres will be dividing his time between the Client Services and Development Departments. Andres graduated from UCLA with a degree in Philosophy with honors, and has a minor in Management of Enterprise from the UCLA Anderson School of Management MEMES Program.
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Our clients are the heart of our business and that’s why delivering exceptional levels of service is key to our business strategy. Each client relationship, whether with an individual, a family, or an organization, is very important to us.
These are like-minded people who see the potential for philanthropy to make our church and world a better place for all. Helping our clients get the most from their charitable giving is our priority –we’d like to share with you a few of the grants our clients requested in December below.
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Arbor Family Wellness Village & Institute (also referred to as “The Village”) is a comprehensive resource center that serves families within a community setting at a low cost.
The Village provides services that contribute to the family’s physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, financial, and social well-being.
To learn more about Arbor Family Wellness Village, please visit their site.
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Founded in 2014, the Catholic Schools Collaborative, (CSC) is an innovative 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to bring multiple schools, third-party partners, and multiple funders together to build the academic and operational capacity of some 60 Catholic TK-8 schools that serve Los Angeles most under-resourced communities.
Visit their website at: www.cscloseangels.org
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Mercy Ships is an international charity based on Christian values that operates the largest non-governmental hospital ships in the world, providing humanitarian and medical care. Their mission provides hope to those in need and send hospital ships filled with volunteer professionals who selflessly provide life-changing surgeries.
To learn more about Mercy Ship, please visit: www.mercyships.com
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Mater Dolorosa Passionate Retreat Center is dedicated to preaching the Passion of Jesus Christ and its relevance in the lives of people who wish to hear the message of the Passion through traditions of preaching, hospitality, and compassion. Mater Dolorosa Passionate Retreat fosters and promotes spiritual growth and renewal through retreat programs and a peaceful environment for personal prayer and reflection.
All are welcomed to this sacred space at the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, to learn more about Mater Dolorosa Passionate Retreat Center please visit their website.
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The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) is a Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization that is working to put an end to modern slavery and human trafficking through comprehensive, life-transforming services to survivors and a platform to advocate for groundbreaking policies and legislation.
Through these programs, CAST has helped empower survivors to overcome their traumatic pasts while bringing awareness to one of the fastest growing problems of our society.
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The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet is a congregation of Catholic sisters who share charism and a mission and are motivated in all things by the profound love of God. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet work to bring loving unity to a divided world through education, advocacy, and social justice.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious which traces its origins to a group founded in France around 1650 based on the spirituality of the Society of Jesus.
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Support Our Aging Religious, Inc. (SOAR!) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization which raises funds and provides grants to help Catholic religious congregations in the United States care for their elderly and infirm members.
Through the generosity of its donors, SOAR! grants help address practical immediate needs which ensure the safety, comfort, and dignity of our aging religious women and men.
To learn more, please visit their site: www.soar-usa.org
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Together in Mission provides financial support to Catholic schools and parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Together in Mission is the annual Catholic appeal of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, founded in 1993 and has raised nearly $360 million for schools and parishes in the Archdiocese. Donations enable Together in Mission to provide essential resources and ministries that enrich parish life, strengthen families, advance Church leadership and inspire and educate future generations of our faith.
Last year, 74 schools and 67 parishes received support from Together in Mission.
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Mission Statement
The Catholic Community Foundation of Los Angeles empowers charitable individuals and organizations across cultures and generations through professional philanthropy management solutions that allow clients to develop and sustain their philanthropy in support of Catholic values.
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