Catholic Education Foundation
Deo Gratias Award – 2022 Distinguished Catholic Organization
“Catholic Education Foundation’s work is an essential part of Catholic social teaching to serve those in need and a catalyst for the evangelization of the family by bringing them to a deeper understanding of the faith.”
Catholic schools offer a safe, high-quality, faith-focused education, giving children the tools they need to succeed and helping lift them out of poverty. However, Catholic school tuition costs can be a significant barrier for families in need.
In the past 25 years, the Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) has provided $28 million in tuition assistance scholarships for students most in need. As a result, the Foundation has helped stabilize and strengthen enrollment growth at K-12 schools throughout the Archdiocese.
Impact on Families
Today, at least one out of every three students in most Catholic schools in the Archdiocese relies on a Catholic Education Foundation scholarship to help them afford tuition.
This financial assistance relieves burdens for struggling families and single parents who turn to the Church to support them in their responsibility as their children's first teachers. CEF’s work is an essential part of Catholic social teaching to serve those most in need and a catalyst for the evangelization of the family by bringing them to a deeper understanding of the faith.
No ministry in the Archdiocese is doing more to cultivate the next generation of Catholics than the Catholic Education Foundation – helping students come to know the heart and mind of Jesus.
Impact on Communities
As a result of CEF’s consistent support, these schools – one of the primary service institutions of the Church – have been stabilized in many northeast Kansas communities (both urban and rural) that have faced economic and cultural distress.
Parish schools – and those supported by multiple parishes – provide a wealth of resources for families. Basic human needs, as well as intellectual and spiritual development, are supported by parishes and school communities. By ensuring access to Catholic schools and their communities, CEF opens doors to families through educational and fellowship opportunities they may not otherwise have access to.
Despite the social and economic challenges that CEF scholarship students face, their experience in our Catholic schools is transformative. These CEF scholars overcome a myriad of obstacles as their teachers, counselors, priests and support staff educate “the whole student” in a way no public school can. As a result, 100% of our CEF scholarship students have graduated and advanced to the next grade in the past few years. They are prepared for college and career paths, often returning to their home communities to live and work.
CEF is helping to deliver our community’s most productive young workers and families by supporting these scholarship students in Catholic schools. The average CEF scholarship graduate will make a positive net fiscal contribution of $292,000 to their community. In addition, CEF scholars are collectively saving taxpayers millions each year.
Supporting the Catholic Education Foundation
Founded by a group of Catholics intent on making Catholic schools accessible for more than just affluent families, the Catholic Education Foundation, a 501c3 charity, has grown in scope to now support 1,800 students in 27 schools with $4 million in scholarships annually.
You can support CEF through traditional cash/check donations, donor-advised funds, dedicated endowments, and gifts of stock, property, retirement accounts, life insurance and other assets. Certain qualified donations are also eligible for Kansas income tax credits. All gifts support our scholarship programs for students most in need.
