Endowment &
Capital Campaign

ABOUT US

The Catholic Foundation of Santa Clara County

The mission of the Foundation is to provide support to educational, parish, religious and charitable groups that comprise the Catholic community of the Diocese of San Jose located in Santa Clara County, California, to enable them to accomplish not only their goals but also the goals established in the Pastoral Plan promulgated by Bishop Patrick J. McGrath for the Diocese of San Jose in 2002.

The Catholic Foundation of Santa Clara County was founded in 2004 as a 501(c)3 Not-for-Profit Foundation and charged with the management, investment, and distribution of endowment monies and other gifts and bequests placed in its care. The Foundation Board will ensure that campaign monies receive the highest professional management and fiscal accountability. It is a legal entity separate from the Diocese of San Jose and not controlled by the Diocese.

The Foundation Chairman and President is Ronald Pelzel. He is supported by a Board of 10 other Directors.

As a means of initial growth, the Foundation, through the services of Community Counseling Service Co. (“CCS”), embarked on a capital campaign in 2005 called “Rooted in Faith Embracing our Future”. The elements targeted in the Campaign were determined after an initial feasibility study performed for it by Netzel Associates, as further refined by the consultants from CCS.

The majority of the funds raised by the Campaign will be for Endowments to ensure a continuing source of funding for the case elements, including tuition assistance, Catholic Charities programs, parish programming, maintenance and repair, and various pastoral ministries. Also included are non-endowed funds to enable the acquisition of property for the establishment of new parishes in the Diocese as called for in the Pastoral Plan and for the reduction of debt of the Diocese to improve its liquidity and enable it to continue to provide for its ministries.