Northern Michigan Catholic Foundation

The Future Through the N.M.C.F.

Through the creation of endowments for individual parishes, schools and other Catholic agencies, such as Catholic Human Services, the Northern Michigan Catholic Foundation (NMCF) provides a means to generate income to help sustain the long-term strength and viability of these Catholic institutions.

Each endowment is recorded separately and serves only its specific designated purpose. Income from these accounts is distributed semi-annually to the beneficiaries named when the fund is established. Once a fund is established, many donors may contribute to build the fund, or donors may choose to establish separate funds to memorialize or celebrate an event, person or ministr.

The NMCF can be named in wills and a variety of trust arrangements. Domations can be made for the benefit of any Catholic parish, school, program, ministry, agency, or organization with the Diocese itself.

Funds Currently Established in NMCF

Designated Funds have already been established in the following areas:

Vocations Fund
Seminary Fund
Knights of Columbus Vocations Fund
Marriage Ministry
Charitable Works Ministry
Hispanic Ministry
Indian Ministry
Lay Leadership Ministry
Lay Leadership Scholarship Fund
Social Ministry
Emmaus Society
Youth Ministry
Our Lady of the Woods Shrine Endowment (Mio)
Priests Education
Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools (Traverse City)
St. Mary Cathedral Schools (Gaylord)
St. Ann School (Cadillac)
Catholic Schools
St. Joseph (West Branch) Catholic Cemetery Fund
St. Joseph (West Branch) Endowment in memory of the donor Marion M. Chadwick
St. Francis of Assisi Endowment (Traverse City)
Immaculate Conception Restoration Fund (Traverse City)
Stevenson Fund for Religious Education
Diocese of Gaylord

Through these and other programs and activities, the mission of the Diocese of Gaylord is in action.

Fact Sheet on the NMCF

Q: What is the Northern Michigan Catholic Foundation (NMCF)?

A: The NMCF is a separately incorporated endowment-based fiduciary body that supports the Catholic ministries in northern Michigan . The NMCF allows donors to designate a specific parish, school or diocesan ministry, or they can leave the gift undesignated to meet to the needs of the Diocese of Gaylord as they are determined by the NMCF Board of Directors each year. The gifts remain in the corpus of the NMCF, with interest payments made to the designated organization on a semi-annual basis.

Q: Why was the NMCF established?

A: The NMCF was established in 1998 to build long-term financial stability and security for the Diocese of Gaylord. The NMCF provides individuals and organizations a vehicle to support the Diocese and increase the long-term financial stability of the parishes, schools and ministries within the Diocese of Gaylord.

Q: Who are the fund managers for the NMCF?

A: Current fund managers for the NMCF are Navellier, Great Lakes and NICI.

Q: What is the benefit of giving to the NMCF rather than giving directly to my parish or school?

A: Donations designated to your organization through the NMCF benefit your organization for perpetuity – an endowment is established and the interest from the gift’s principle benefits the Catholic cause designated by the donor. Additionally, leaving a gift through the NMCF assures donors that their gifts are properly managed, through Diocesan fund managers.

Q: How do the individual parishes and schools benefit?

A: The parishes and schools receive semi-annual payments from the interest generated by the corpus of their individual fund. For example, if a donor leaves an estate gift of $1,000,000 designated to your parish, through the NMCF, your parish will receive semi-annual interest payments generated by the $1,000,000 gift. The interest payments are based on market performance.

Q: What types of gifts are accepted by the Foundation?

A: Gifts may be given in the form of cash, securities, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, life insurance and bequests. NMCF representatives are available to meet with donors and their financial planners to determine the giving method that is most beneficial for the donor and the Foundation.

Q: What is the “For Generations to Come” capital campaign and what is its goal?

A: The “For Generations to Come” capital campaign is a campaign for the NMCF to raise awareness and dollars by educating parishioners on the importance of proper estate planning, and how their planning can benefit their parishes, schools and diocesan ministries through the NMCF.

The long-term goal of the campaign is to build the NCMF’s endowment funds to $25 million over the next 10 years. This will be accomplished by reaching out to our Catholic community and building educational programs offering sound advice on philanthropic investments and estate planning. Your leadership will enable the Foundation to build the funds, and increase the financial stability of the Diocese of Gaylord.

Q: How much is in the NMCF corpus?

A: Currently there is approximately $6.2 million on the NMCF corpus.

Q: What are the administrative costs to have funds managed through the NMCF?

A: The administrative costs to have funds managed through the NMCF are approximately 1.25%.

Q: How can I find out more information about the NMCF, or learn more about how my parish can benefit?

A: You can contact NMCF executive director, Danielle Parish, by phone at (989) 732-5147, or by e-mail at dparish@dioceseofgaylord.org.