Here’s how it works: Endowment donations are invested. A portion of the annual income from the investment is used to address immediate needs at the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island. The remaining funds are reinvested to ensure indefinite support. Read more here.

Any legal adult can establish an endowed fund.

You can give any amount to any existing endowed fund. We have over 400 endowed funds to choose from. Call our office to learn more about your choices.

We accept outright gifts and planned gifts. To learn more about planned gifts, please read more here or contact us to set up a confidential in-person meeting or phone call.

We do not provide legal or financial advice. We simply educate you on gift plans available at CFRI.

Any amount is accepted as a gift to an existing endowed fund; however, to start your own named endowed fund, we request a minimum of $10,000.

Once you plan a gift in your estate/will, open your endowed fund, or donate $10,000+ to an endowed fund, you are eligible to join the St. Katharine Drexel Society. Please read more about it here.

Heeding the Gospel’s call to action, the mission of the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island is to perpetuate the charitable giving of Rhode Island Catholics.

Checks and estate gifts should all be made payable to the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island. The purpose should be stated where the gift should be directed (e.g., the specific school, church, or ministry).

The Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island is a separate 501(c)3 organization; however, the Bishop heads up our Foundation as the president, and we are housed at the chancery in downtown Providence.

Your donor-advised fund is different from an endowed fund. An endowed fund at CFRI will continue in perpetuity and is socially and ethically invested. When a donor dies, it will continue its distribution. When a donor-advised fund donor dies, their money is dispersed to the named charitable beneficiary(ies), or the successor owner continues to specify what charities will receive gifts. A donor-advised fund will end, or you will lose control of the charitable recipients, leaving it to your heirs to decide.

Currently, 70% of the funds are invested in socially and ethically screened funds, and 30% are invested in fixed instruments (bonds & cash).

We accept assets such as stock, mutual funds, bonds, cash, crypto, etc. Real estate and tangible property gifts are reviewed and accepted upon approval.

Yes! All investments follow the Council of Bishops’ guidelines for investing.

You can send a check made payable to the Catholic Foundation of Rhode Island and mail it to 1 Cathedral Square, Providence, RI 02903. Any planned gift should involve a conversation with our planned giving staff. Please call (401) 277-2115 for assistance.

Absolutely not! However, the gifts should support a Catholic ministry or Catholic-approved cause in Rhode Island.

Every year, we distribute millions of dollars to churches, schools, and ministries in the state. This has made a massive difference to these entities and gives them a reliable income stream with which they can budget.