Day: July 5, 2018

President's Report

President's Report

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Dear Friends,

Thirty years ago, Bishop Paul Dudley, along with 20 clergy and lay leaders, met in Huron to establish what has become the Catholic Community Foundation for Eastern South Dakota. The July 1987 Bishop’s Bulletin quoted Bishop Paul Dudley, “It is my hope and prayer that the basic needs of our diocese can be guaranteed in perpetuity through such a foundation.” Bishop Dudley went on to explain that the foundation is planned as an “ongoing, perpetual support for the needs which we have now, and the needs which will surface in the future.” The Catholic Community Foundation began with $200,000 and today we are deeply grateful to manage $112 million. What an awesome privilege and responsibility we have to be a part of Bishop Dudley’s vision today!

The Catholic Community Foundation’s investment objectives are committed to Catholic moral and social values. In addition, the Catholic Community Foundation will not make distributions or grants to charities that are not consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church. We ensure donors’ legacies forever follow their values and wishes, perpetually impacting the ministries they determine. It is with a deep sense of gratitude to God for his many blessings that we present this annual report of activities of the Catholic Community Foundation for Eastern South Dakota. This includes the financial statements from our annual independent audit by Eide Bailly LLP for fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. 

As Bishop Paul Swain’s episcopal motto states, we “Give praise to the Lord!”

Gratefully yours in Christ,

Mark Conzemius

Mark Conzemius - President
Mark Conzemius
President of the Catholic Community Foundation for Eastern South Dakota
Meet Our Donors - Roger & Marcia Liebig

Meet Our Donors - Roger & Marcia Liebig

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Roger and Marcia Liebig

Roger and Marcia Liebig, from Gettysburg, recently established a Variable Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity with The Catholic Community Foundation for Eastern South Dakota. Marcia is the daughter of Lyle Griese who was a long time participant in the Gettysburg Fishing Tournament. He established the Griese family endowment to benefit t seminarian education in memory of his wife Josephine after she died. He died in 2011. Roger and Marcia Liebig received money from her dad’s estate and chose to use the money to establish the variable deferred charitable gift annuity. It is a way for them to have some income to supplement their retirement with the remainder of the annuity at the time of their deaths going to the Griese Family Endowment to carry on their family legacy. 

The Liebig’s have two sons and one daughter (a third son is deceased). They are members of Sacred Heart Parish, Gettysburg. The endowment became Marcia’s dad’s passion. He wanted “to continue to provide funding for seminarian education,” said Marcia. “I was aware that he had an annuity with the Catholic Community Foundation which upon his death was his donation. It made it very easy for us as his family.” The Liebig’s wanted to also make it easy for their own children going forward and, Marcia says, the children are supportive of their parents’ decision. Heather Fortin, of the Catholic Foundation for Eastern South Dakota, says this decision is special. “I believe it plants seeds,” she said. “Because an endowment is established it creates a document allowing loved ones to know what ministries are important to you.”  

The Liebig’s love being part of the Bishop’s Charity Fishing Tournament each year, another gift from Marcia’s dad and from the late Msgr. Marvin McPhee. “When attending these [events], the persistent energy to donate to the seminarian education was also greatly influenced by Msgr. Marvin McPhee,” Marcia pointed out. “Who could say ‘no’ to the Monsignor?”

Meet Our Donors -Justice & Heitgen

Meet Our Donors -Justice & Heitgen

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Harold and Monica Heitgen
Clarence and Phyllis Justice

Faith and a desire to generously share their blessings were commonalities shared by two South Dakota couples that probably never met, at least in this life. Harold and Monica Heitgen were long-time members of St. Mary, Salem. Monica passed away in 2014, joining Harold who had died several years ago. Their legacy of generosity will live on through the endowments they established for ministries they wanted to support from their estate and charitable trust. Similarly, Clarence Justice died in October of 2014, almost a year to the day after his wife Phyllis passed away. These stalwarts of Milbank left a deep impression not only at their parish and school but St. Lawrence but for other diocesan ministries including seminarian education. St. Lawrence pastor, Father Gary DeRouchey said, “The Justices were a wonderful example of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony – a team in faith and life. Phyllis was Clarence’s sweetheart.” 

“They did not believe they were entitled to anything, but they went great lengths to be stewards of the many gifts God had given them. We see their generosity in the building of the new addition to the county museum, the new hospital and the addition to St. William’s (nursing home). Throughout their lives, they supported the different activities of St. Lawrence. They knew the importance of educating our children.” The Heitgen’s were a faithful couple who were humble about what they were able to share. “They were devout Catholics, faithful to daily Mass and devotions,” said their pastor, Fr. Martin Lawrence, at St. Mary, Salem. “They were generous but practical: they installed the central air conditioning and heating in our church, paved the roads in our cemetery, paved our church basement as part of the 2008 restoration, all practical projects. 

It will be a blessing for years to come to assist us in ministry, both in the parish and in our parish school, which was very dear to the Heitgen’s,” Fr. Lawrence said. “It was truly a privilege to come to know them and help them, “said Bette Theobald from the Catholic Community Foundation, who worked with both couples. “It is truly a legacy of faith that will last because we were able to find the right charitable tools to achieve the goals unique to each, but which now will benefit the parish, school and a host of broader ministries long into the future,” she said.