I would like to know who was receiving the grants. Were there any contracts with friends/relatives of the previous managers? We’re the bishops ok with the spending?
So, McCloud just gets to set the whole operation on fire (running up almost $3,000,000 in debt) & then walk away? Was there no oversight of the C.C.H.D., no higher ups at the Conference looking over McCloud's shoulder & the C.C.H.D.'s books until it was too late?
How much of the spending was directed to political action groups? Do we have access to the names of the groups that received the grants? What do we know about those organizations?
The Lepanto Institute has been documenting this for years. While the financials are important, the fact that the CCHD has been granting funds to organizations that militate against Catholic teaching is reprehensible. The CCHD should be disbanded completely and if the bishops want a charitable organization to represent them, they should be meticulous and transparent about the Catholic nature of it. A hint: Catholic Charities USA does not pass muster.
Per several questions: The CCHD does post lists of all grants and donations they make. The most recent list is through the summer of 2022 and can be read here:
Grants range from $20k to $75k and while they are non profits (and thus officially non partisan) they do generally read as left-ish to neutral. I've not seen any that people would identify as seeming right wing. For instance, while there are a lot focused on helping advocate for better housing in poor areas, help for immigrants, workers rights, civil rights, and criminal justice reform, I do not see any focused on helping mothers in at-risk pregnancies.
Some randomly collected examples of groups funded in this last list are:
So, over the last 10 years, they took in $86M in the national collection plus $22M in investment income and about $5M in bequests and other donations. Total revenue: $122M
The dispersed $147M in grants.
They had $4.6M in salary and other office expenses.
They had $21M in transfers back to the USCCB, which my understanding is to cover salaries and expenses for the program done by the USCCB resources.
Brendan, the word is disbursed (and disbursement), although given how rapidly and permanently the money has flown, dispersed does sound reasonable too!
If management's recent purposes are not clear even now at the red-ink stained destination, what was it telling us potential benefactors en route? (I would know if I had been paying attention, but I was not.) The perdurability of a charity seem a material consideration in the decision whether or not to donate. If management knew the mission was moribund, did it EVER say so publicly?
Excellent reporting. I am a CPA and the Pillar is the only Catholic publication in the US that even presents financial matters in a competent and knowledgeable manner.
Please correct me if I’m missing something here. But it looks clear that the yearly budget has been relatively hit or miss (with a mild downwards trend) but then fell through the floor during 2020. Which…. Just makes sense for a charitable organization, given that there was a pandemic . Times were bad, so donations go down as people have less disposable income, and payments out go up, as more people are in need.
It’s not great but hardly rocket science. discipline with money isn’t a good in if itself- it’s good precisely because it allows you to be more flexible in the lean times. What’s clear is that now that discipline needs to be brought back.
If they were trying to wind down the previous program by spending that money? Why was money continuing to be collected for it? Additionally, why was it not an announced strategic decision?
I would like to know who was receiving the grants. Were there any contracts with friends/relatives of the previous managers? We’re the bishops ok with the spending?
Thank you for asking this - I smell an episcopal rat. Inquiring bishops who asked similar questions were ignored.
Yes. Why isn’t the question of where the money went relevant to answering the question in the title of the article?
They say, “You can’t take it with you.”
So, McCloud just gets to set the whole operation on fire (running up almost $3,000,000 in debt) & then walk away? Was there no oversight of the C.C.H.D., no higher ups at the Conference looking over McCloud's shoulder & the C.C.H.D.'s books until it was too late?
How much of the spending was directed to political action groups? Do we have access to the names of the groups that received the grants? What do we know about those organizations?
In the spirit of synodality, hire some lawyers and submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
The Lepanto Institute has been documenting this for years. While the financials are important, the fact that the CCHD has been granting funds to organizations that militate against Catholic teaching is reprehensible. The CCHD should be disbanded completely and if the bishops want a charitable organization to represent them, they should be meticulous and transparent about the Catholic nature of it. A hint: Catholic Charities USA does not pass muster.
“CCHD is in a difficult situation, because it’s been giving out more in grants than it takes in. It’s becoming clear that’s not sustainable.”
If it's only just "becoming" clear, you have no business handling funds of any kind.
Per several questions: The CCHD does post lists of all grants and donations they make. The most recent list is through the summer of 2022 and can be read here:
https://www.usccb.org/resources/CCHD-Grantees-2021-2022.pdf
Grants range from $20k to $75k and while they are non profits (and thus officially non partisan) they do generally read as left-ish to neutral. I've not seen any that people would identify as seeming right wing. For instance, while there are a lot focused on helping advocate for better housing in poor areas, help for immigrants, workers rights, civil rights, and criminal justice reform, I do not see any focused on helping mothers in at-risk pregnancies.
Some randomly collected examples of groups funded in this last list are:
https://www.casasanjose.org/
https://www.weareunchained.org/
https://www.chicagoworkerscollaborative.org/
https://kccancompost.com/
https://www.cworkers.org/
So $60+ million was spent over 10 years. Some of that was on grant disbursements. But not all of it. Where'd the rest go?
So, over the last 10 years, they took in $86M in the national collection plus $22M in investment income and about $5M in bequests and other donations. Total revenue: $122M
The dispersed $147M in grants.
They had $4.6M in salary and other office expenses.
They had $21M in transfers back to the USCCB, which my understanding is to cover salaries and expenses for the program done by the USCCB resources.
Total revenue was $113M not $122M.
Dispersed in grants = $147M
Depletion at this point = ($34M)
Less $4.6M more in salaries & office expenses puts them at ($38.6M)
Less the final $21M in interoffice transfers leaves them in the hole ($59.6M) ~ ($60M)
Thank you Brendan - they clearly weren’t tracking a hole that got bigger & bigger.
The question remains WHY NOT?
And who can answer THAT question?
The former director has a LinkedIn profile account but his supporters/CCHD detractors will excoriate you for asking your question along THAT route.
Brendan, the word is disbursed (and disbursement), although given how rapidly and permanently the money has flown, dispersed does sound reasonable too!
If management's recent purposes are not clear even now at the red-ink stained destination, what was it telling us potential benefactors en route? (I would know if I had been paying attention, but I was not.) The perdurability of a charity seem a material consideration in the decision whether or not to donate. If management knew the mission was moribund, did it EVER say so publicly?
The weirdest thing about all this the fact that we don't know if they were directed to draw down the funds. That shouldn't be a mystery at all.
A small point, but a distribution of funds is a “disbursement”. To disperse is to scatter over a large area. Thanks
Excellent reporting. I am a CPA and the Pillar is the only Catholic publication in the US that even presents financial matters in a competent and knowledgeable manner.
Please correct me if I’m missing something here. But it looks clear that the yearly budget has been relatively hit or miss (with a mild downwards trend) but then fell through the floor during 2020. Which…. Just makes sense for a charitable organization, given that there was a pandemic . Times were bad, so donations go down as people have less disposable income, and payments out go up, as more people are in need.
It’s not great but hardly rocket science. discipline with money isn’t a good in if itself- it’s good precisely because it allows you to be more flexible in the lean times. What’s clear is that now that discipline needs to be brought back.
If they were trying to wind down the previous program by spending that money? Why was money continuing to be collected for it? Additionally, why was it not an announced strategic decision?