BRIDGEPORT—The Catholic Charities of Fairfield County Fund has been established to support the charitable ministries of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Bridgeport.
Conceived by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and the Board of Trustees of Foundations in Charity, the fund will offer donors the opportunity to support the mission and specific programs of Catholic Charities now and into the future, according to Anne McCrory, the chair of Foundations in Charity Board. “While we hope to expand our reach to other Catholic mission work in the county, right now we are committed to Catholic Charities, as the scope of what they are doing in our county is extraordinary and truly lives the mission of the Church,” says Michael McNulty, a trustee of Foundations in Charity. Foundations in Charity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, was created in 2018 to support the catholic works of charity throughout Fairfield County.
Accepting foundational gifts for both endowment and current needs, the fund will also provide an ideal support option for planned giving, McCrory said.
“We have heard from many of our supporters who are giving sacrificial gifts to the agency now that they also are looking for options to support Catholic Charities after they are gone,” she said. “At the same time, many long-term residents of Fairfield County who are now living elsewhere can opt to support Catholic Charities in their estate planning. The Catholic Charities of Fairfield County Fund is ideal for this purpose.”
“There is a tremendous desire for those planning their estates to ensure the charitable works of the Catholic Church can continue long after we are all gone,” said Bishop Caggiano, emphasizing that many of the faithful are looking for a specific way to endow the works of charity into the future. Foundations in Charity will do this by establishing this fund, which allows donors to support the mission and programs of Catholic Charities through operational support or endowment growth.
The new fund will be launched at an August 26 event to be held at the episcopal residence in Trumbull, which will honor Al Barber and his wife Gina for their years of service to Catholic Charities, along with Denis and Britta Nayden for their longtime support of the diocese’s charitable mission.
The event is being jointly sponsored by Foundations in Charity and Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, the two organizations which Barber led.
Barber recently announced his retirement as executive director of Foundations in Charity, a position he held since it began two years ago, following 16 years as president of Catholic Charities of Fairfield County.
(For more information about the launch of the Fund and how you can make a gift in honor of Al and Gina Barber and support the mission of charitable works, as well as the support of Denis and Britta Nayden to the diocesan ministries, go to the Foundations in Charity website at www.foundationsincharity.org.)
