| QUESTION: Why is the Social Justice Endowment Fund set up at OCF and not within the parish or at the archdiocese? |
ANSWER: The St. Andrew Social Justice Endowment Fund is intended to distribute earnings in perpetuity. To achieve this, the Fund requires long-term, professional investment management and distribution oversight. OCF provides both services. |
| QUESTION: The description of the social justice activities that qualify as intended uses of funds appears to be very broad. |
ANSWER: The description of the intended use of the funds is written very broadly to give the parish flexibility to adapt to future needs. It is the role of the pastor and the parish leadership councils to use the funds in accordance with the spirit of the endowment as described in its Fund Declaration. |
| QUESTION: How can we be assured that the funds are used as intended? |
ANSWER: Use of the funds is periodically monitored and evaluated by OCF through OCF’s reporting protocols. OCF has the authority to redirect the fund distributions to the four designated alternative organizations if it is determined that St. Andrew is not using the funds as intended or St. Andrew parish ceases to exist. |
| QUESTION: Can I request that my donation to the Social Justice Fund at OCF be directed towards specific uses? |
ANSWER: No. If you want your donations used for specific social justice purposes, it is suggested that you make your donations directly to St. Andrew or associated organizations (i.e. directly to St. Vincent de Paul or the St. Andrew Nativity School, etc.). |
| QUESTION: Can the intended use of the St. Andrew Social Justice Endowment Fund be changed at some point in the future? |
ANSWER: Technically, yes, but practically, no. Any future changes to the Fund Declaration must to approved by all donors to the fund. Since we expect that some donations to be made as estate bequeathals, approval from these donors won’t be possible. |
| QUESTION: When will distributions be made from the St. Andrew Social Justice Endowment Fund? |
ANSWER: Historically, distributions from OCF endowment funds are made annually. This is expected to continue in the future but could change. The fund must hold a minimum of $50,000 for fund distributions to be made. If the fund falls below that amount for a period of five years, OCF will terminate the fund, and any existing balance will be distributed to St. Andrew for social justice uses as described in the Funds Declaration. |
| QUESTION: Can OCF invest the asset of the St. Andrew Social Justice Endowment Fund in investment vehicles that reflect the parish’s historic social justice values? How would that investment option be activated? |
ANSWER: Since 1991, OCF has provided donors with the option of having their fund assets investing in OCF’s Social Impact Pool. OCF states, “The Social Impact Pool seeks to invest in companies that have strong records along three pillars: Environment, Social Responsibility and Governance (ESG). As appropriate, the Fund shall request that fund managers vote shareholder resolutions in accordance with the above criteria.” The St. Andrew Social Justice Endowment Funds Declaration directs OCF to invest the fund assets in OCF’s Social Impact Pool. |
