Their Generosity Will Outlive Them

Established by the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania, the new recognition society honors individuals and families who have committed to strengthening the Catholic causes they love beyond their lifetimes.

They have embraced a powerful idea: Think Bigger Than Your Lifetime.

Through estate gifts, beneficiary designations and endowments, these Catholics are transforming their faith, gratitude and generosity into lasting support for future generations. They are investing in forever.

“The members of The Forever Society are making a powerful statement,” said Pete Waldron, president of the Catholic Foundation. “They are telling future generations: ‘Our faith mattered to us. These Catholic causes mattered to us. And we want to make certain they are here for you, too.'”

The Forever Society recognizes donors who have done at least one of the following:

Thinking Beyond Today

Most philanthropy begins with an immediate need. A parish needs repairs. A Catholic school needs scholarships. Seminarians need support. Ministries serving the poor and people with special needs need resources.

Annual generosity helps meet those needs. But Forever Society members have asked another question:

Who will support these Catholic causes 25, 50 or 100 years from now?

Economies will change. Buildings will age. Communities will evolve. New challenges will emerge.   But the Church’s mission will remain.

Endowment funds help futureproof that mission by creating permanent financial resources designed to provide support year after year, generation after generation.

Making Generosity Last

Family funds offer something especially meaningful: an opportunity to pass along generosity.  Parents and grandparents can permanently support Catholic causes that shaped their lives while inviting children and grandchildren to participate in the family’s charitable mission.

The result is more than a financial legacy. It becomes part of a family’s story of faith.

Planting Seeds for Others

“The inaugural members represent something larger than a recognition society,” Waldron said. “Their example may inspire others to consider how their own generosity could endure and support the Catholic causes meaningful to them.”

A parishioner learns that someone included a parish endowment in a will. A family discovers how an endowment can support Catholic education forever. A donor realizes retirement assets could sustain a beloved ministry through a family fund.

A seed is planted and transformational giving begins. Someone else’s example encourages others to answer a personal question:   What do I want to outlive me?

The Forever Society celebrates donors who have already answered that question and acted upon it. Their commitments connect the Church they have known and loved with the Church future generations will inherit. “Their lifetimes may be finite. But the good they have set in motion doesn’t have to be,” Waldron said.