Catholic Foundation announces challenge to raise money for seminarians

BISMARCK--Spurred on by two anonymous donors and the Bismarck Diocese's record number of seminarians, the Catholic Foundation for the People of the Diocese of Bismarck is on a quest to raise $300,000 by the end of the year.

Two generous families have challenged the diocese to a "matching gift challenge" that will benefit the diocese's 20 minor seminarians, i.e., those who have not yet reached their final four years of seminary formation.

Any gift given to the Catholic Foundation Seminarian Scholarship Endowment Fund for Minors by December 31, 2014 will be met with a two-to-one match. That is, if the foundation raises two dollars, the families have agreed to match one dollar (up to $100,000), hence the $300,000 goal.

Kim Dvorak, director of development and planned giving for the Bismarck Diocese, organized four dinner celebrations in cities around the diocese this summer to help promote the challenge. So far, the response has been encouraging.

"The timing of this matching gift challenge couldn't have been better," Dvorak explained. "With a record fourteen new seminarians beginning their studies this fall, the diocese faces a significant challenge to assist them financially."

With yearly tuition at many seminaries averaging over $40,000 per year, Dvorak said the need is great, as some of the diocese's seminarians are literally unable to afford such an education.

"The cost of seminary formation shouldn't be a roadblock to a priestly vocation," he said. "That's where the Catholic Foundation comes in--so that these guys can focus on discerning what God is calling them to do."

Certain gifts to the Catholic Foundation Seminarian Scholarship Fund for Minors may also be eligible for a 40 percent N.D. state tax credit. For more information or to make a gift online, visit www.catholicfoundationdob.com, click on "Donate Now" and select "Seminarian Scholarship Fund."