by Vince Anch
This school year, the Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) provided approximately $4.9 million in scholarships to over 1,800 youth.
Scholarships are primarily awarded to families who qualify for the National School  Lunch Program. There are already approximately 100 children on a waiting list who need financial assistance scholarships in order to attend a Catholic school in the archdiocese next year.
Demand for scholarships continues to grow each year while the costs of scholarships also continues to grow. Next school year, the Catholic Education Foundation is projecting that 200 additional youth will need scholarships in order to attend schools in our archdiocese. CEF adds a cost of living increase to existing scholarships for returning awardees and increases funding for new scholarships. Over $5.5 million will be needed for CEF to meet the scholarship need for next school year.
There is an increased interest from families who desire a Catholic education for their children. There are also some challenges that will drive scholarship funding costs higher, including inflation and rising costs to educate students.
RJ Gildea, chair of the CEF board, shared that “increasing funding by approximately a half-a-million dollars each year is a daunting challenge. However, CEF will work tirelessly to ensure that no child is turned away.”
CEF scholarship funding has doubled since just five years ago because of the demand and growing costs. Scholarships increase by $150-$200 each year. That might not seem like a lot but for CEF and the over 1,800 students that will receive renewed scholarships, those costs alone will total over $300,000 even before any new students are awarded scholarships.
“It gets more difficult every year,” Gildea said, “to meet the scholarship demand. Fundraising efforts have to continually grow. We can’t rest or some children will miss out on their opportunity to receive a high quality, faith-filled Catholic education. However, we have a great board of directors, staff and generous donors. We are blessed to live in such a charitable Catholic community. Our heavenly Father always seems to send people our way to help us meet the scholarship need.”
High school dropout rates for low-income students are 3.7 times higher than students from middle-class and upper-class families. CEF-funded students attending archdiocesan Catholic schools have had a 100% graduation rate for many years now. Over 85% of these students attend college. That number increases to over 95% when you add students who will pursue career technical training. The return on investment for funding students with scholarships in our community is tremendous.
More important, though, is the faith formation of our youth. This is invaluable in ways only Our risen Lord can measure.







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