October 20, 2010

Foundation honors Holy Family Legacy Society members

Special to the Denver Catholic Register

Trustees of The Catholic Foundation for the Roman Catholic Church recently gathered to celebrate and bless the inaugural members of the foundation’s Holy Family Legacy Society. The foundation established the Holy Family Legacy Society as a tribute to those individuals and families who took the extraordinary and loving step of including The Catholic Foundation in their estate plans.

The evening’s intimate celebration, held in the home of Lisa and Tom Heule, chair of The Catholic Foundation’s board of trustees, was attended by numerous additional members of the board including Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Auxiliary Bishop James Conley, and Msgr. Thomas S. Fryar, vicar general. Also in attendance were past board chairs of The Catholic Foundation: John Saeman, Mark Bauman and Wayne Murdy.

Tom Heule welcomed the guests and recognized members of the Holy Family Legacy Society. Members of the organization transmit their values and faith through a future gift in support of the Archdiocese of Denver, Catholic schools, parishes, the seminaries or other activities of the Church in northern Colorado. These gifts are often in the form of a bequest, trust, life insurance, retirement plan, charitable gift annuity, life-income gift or other planned gift. 

“It is not an easy thing to think or talk about—what happens to our financial resources after we die,” Tom Heule told the gathering, “but, for Lisa and me taking the proactive step to be sure of our financial support for the ministries that are most important to us is a natural extension of how we live our faith.

“I encourage each of you, to take the conscious step to reflect your faith in your financial legacy,” he continued. “I also would encourage you to share your decision to do so with your family members, your friends and other parishioners and encourage them to do the same.”

Donna Farrell, a member of the Holy Family Legacy Society, echoed Heule’s sentiments. “It is our duty to ensure that the Church that nurtured us is financially stable for future generations of Catholics,” she said.

According to Bud Laber, president of The Catholic Foundation, planned gifts to the foundation allow the faithful to support the Church’s mission and ministries closest to their hearts even during these difficult economic times.

“Donors don’t have to use cash to make a gift, so their current cash flow and financial planning is unchanged,” says Laber. “Such giving techniques are called ‘planned gifts,’ because with thoughtful planning, together we create win-win solutions for donors and the causes closest to their hearts.”

The Catholic Foundation makes gift planning services available to those individuals and families with a desire to make a deferred gift to The Catholic Foundation benefitting the Archdiocese of Denver, their  parish, Catholic schools, the seminaries or other ministry.

Archbishop Chaput expressed his personal gratitude to the members of the Holy Family Legacy Society and blessed the gathering and all the members of the society.

“The long-term financial stability of the Church in northern Colorado owes so much to the Catholics who have taken the thoughtful steps to make a planned gift to create a legacy of faith, hope and love for the Church in northern Colorado,” the archbishop said. “I’m very, very grateful to those of you who are living a life of service to others through your gifts to The Catholic Foundation both today and in the future. You are working together to ensure a promising future for the universal mission of the Catholic Church.”

For more information, visit www.thecatholicfoundation.com/.