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Diocesan Stewardship Update
A Message from Our Sister Diocese in Chulucanas, Peru
IRA Rollover Provision Extended
United in Faith Campaign Update
Diocesan
Stewardship 2011
As of December 31, 2011
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Goal: $6,341,676
Total Pledged: $6,360,546 – 100.3% of goal
26,032 donors
Average pledge: $244
57 parishes over goal
Thank you for your very generous response!
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A Message from Our Sister Diocese in
Chulucanas, Peru
Posted December 12, 2011
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Dear Friends,
I hope this finds all of you well. A belated Happy Thanksgiving! I
was in the boonies and didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving
until I got back and noticed Thanksgiving "stuff" on the Internet.
I hope you had an enjoyable holiday. It is just another day
here. But no reason not to be thankful for each and everyday
that in one way or another shows us God's love even when things
might seem to be terribly messed up and not well at all. We
didn't have turkey and all the trimmings, but we did have fish
and rice at lunch and rice and goat for dinner....more than many
of our folks would have had, so we are blessed.
I guess I should be thankful, too, because both the Internet and
electricity are working today.
It must be Advent because it is getting hotter and hotter. By
Christmas it could still be 90+ degrees for midnight Mass.
Unfortunately the hot weather did not come soon enough, so the
farmers say that the mango harvest will not be very abundant
this year. Mangos are one of our most important products. It
seems that it is true. When we go to the boonies the tress that
are usually laden with mangos have some but not as many as
usual. As prices go up, it will be another burden for our rural
farmers who count on mangos as a big source of income.
The radio station continues to go well and has expanded. We now
have permissions from the government that make a reality of
the dream to have the radio reach even the most remote parts of
the diocese. I now have a second program on Sundays in addition
to our Monday through Friday program. A priest who is staying
here for something of a rest after having been subjected to a
really stressful situation has taken a real liking to the radio
and is presenting some fine programs. I think he has found a new
hobby that he finds very relaxing.
Many of you are kind enough to ask about my godson and his brother
and sister. The little girl, Maria, will be graduating from
grade school in a few weeks. The system here is different. There
are only 5 or 6 years of grade school in Peru. Despite the many
almost unbelievable things that have happened to them, she and
her brother continue to be at the top of their classes.
I have to say it seems that it never stops. The other day they
called at 6:00 in the morning. There had been a gas leak that
exploded. Fortunately they were not hurt, but their little
apartment was seriously damaged. Some of the priests I live with
said that it is so hard to believe that so many bad things have
happened to them. Maybe they are just taking advantage of the
distance from Chulucanas to Lima to get money. I have to admit
that I asked a friend in Lima to check it out. It is true. The
neighbors also corroborated that the other almost incredible
things that have happened, like their mother kidnapping them and
exposing them to cold rainy weather that endangered their health
and is now in jail for that is also true. As I write this the
civil defense, kind of like the fire department, has declared
their apartment unsafe. They are staying with an aunt who
begrudgingly allows them to sleep on her floor. Please keep them
in your prayers and if you can, help with what will be needed to
restore their apartment. They also lost most of their furniture
and clothing. I hope something can be done before Christmas.
Civil defense will offer the labor and perhaps some of the
material, but not everything. There is the matter of their
clothing and furniture, too. Thanks for whatever you can do
I am truly grateful for
your friendship, prayers, and material help...more than I can
express.
May you have a blessed Advent in preparation for the celebration of
the birth of our Savior. By the way, did everyone struggle
through "and with you spirit" Sunday? I chuckle to myself that
that is one of the blessings of being here...not having had to
struggle through that. Then I remembered: I will be back that
way around the middle of January!
Again, thanks for everything. Many blessings.
In His love,
Fr. Bill
If you would like to make a donation to help me
continue my work here in Peru, please make checks payable to: "'Rev.
William Schuessler' and place in the memo field: "Mission Acct." Then
send them to me at:
Rev. William R. Schuessler
c/o St. John Neumann
Church
2900 East Main St.
St. Charles, IL 60174
IRA Rollover Provision Extended...
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Recently extended by law for 2011, the IRA Rollover provision
exempts from taxable income any funds transferred (“rolled over”)
from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a charitable
organization. The following limitations apply:
Download more facts...
- The donor must be age 70˝ or older.
- The cap on annual IRA rollovers is $100,000.
- A special provision allows interested donors to make
distributions that will be treated as made in 2011 if completed by
January 31, 2012.
- The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned
gifts).
Why should donors want to give some of
their IRA assets to a charity?
Many individuals have more than sufficient funds to retire
comfortably. In addition, individuals are encouraged under the current
tax laws to liquidate their IRAs during their lifetime since their
estates may face confiscatory tax rates if their IRA funds are left to a
dependent or family member (other than their spouse). Any amounts left
in an IRA when an individual dies may be taxed as income to the
beneficiary and are also considered assets for the purposes of
calculating that individual’s estate tax liability.
It is estimated that there is more than $3 trillion in
retirement funds such as IRAs. Even if only a small percentage of
these funds were donated to charitable purposes, it could add millions
of dollars to support the vital work that nonprofit organizations do in
communities across America.
By taking advantage of the IRA Rollover provision, individuals
over the age of 70˝ can not only help our nation’s charities fulfill
their mission, but they also can liquidate their IRAs tax-free for gifts
to charity (up to $100,000).
United in Faith Campaign Update
As of December 31, 2011
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 The
United in Faith Campaign is considered complete. However, if you have not
completed payments on your pledge, we encourage you to continue until
finished
Below are the campaign totals as of December 31, 2011:
$5,500,000 was allocated for Diocesan
Stewardship 2001
$4,558,615 to Parishes in rebates
(Campaign Expenses and Reimbursements to
3 Parishes which conducted approved capital campaigns as part of the United
in Faith Campaign complete the financial picture.)
Current endowment (corpus)
balances:
$6,976,196 to Catholic Schools Endowment
$7,027,867 to Seminarian and Priest Education Endowment
$3,488,098 to Religious Education and Youth Ministry
Endowment
$3,058,068 to Needy Parishes and Schools Endowment
$2,169,745 to Diocesan Priests Retirement Pension
Endowment
The United in Faith
President Appointed Committee (PAC) meets on the last Tuesday in August.
The UIF President Appointed
Committee made the following distribution decisions at their annual
meeting:
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Previous Years' Distributions by Case |
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Catholic |
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R/E |
Needy |
Priest's |
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| Year |
|
Schools |
Seminarian |
Youth Min. |
Parish/School |
Retirement |
|
Total |
| 2003 |
|
121,794.56 |
121,794.56 |
60,897.28 |
56,933.52 |
37,566.51 |
|
398,986.43 |
| 2004 |
|
187,560.11 |
187,560.11 |
93,780.06 |
82,506.76 |
57,851.33 |
|
609,258.37 |
| 2005 |
|
188,070.24 |
188,919.96 |
94,035.12 |
82,500.00 |
58,008.68 |
|
611,534.00 |
| 2006 |
|
386,349.39 |
386,251.13 |
193,174.69 |
176,000.00 |
119,149.97 |
|
1,260,925.18 |
| 2007 |
|
709,545.48 |
715,047.18 |
354,773.55 |
311,725.80 |
218,880.73 |
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2,309,972.73 |
| 2008 |
|
205,524.45 |
207,064.31 |
102,762.23 |
90,362.94 |
63,400.03 |
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669,113.96 |
| 2009 |
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-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
| 2010 |
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
96,800.00 |
-
|
|
96,800.00 |
| 2011 |
|
424,359.97 |
427,507.69 |
212,179.98 |
175,000.00 |
175,000.00 |
|
1,414,047.64 |
| Total |
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2,223,204.20 |
2,234,144.94 |
1,111,602.91 |
1,071,829.02 |
729,857.25 |
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7,370,638.31 |
$2,624,932 is currently being held in Retained Earnings for future
distributions.
Those who benefit from the UIF endowments are
deeply appreciative of your sacrifices and generosity. Thank you.
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Catholic Diocese of Rockford, IL
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