Growing Financial Resources
It has been approximately two years since the board of NCCL formally accepted the Federation for Catechesis with Hispanics or FCH. While FCH had existed prior as a forum this is going to be its first year as a federation within NCCL. For most of its history either as a forum or now as a federation the financial resources have been very scarce and non-existent. This changed in the past year. Three significant revenue streams are helping FCH launch some very necessary initiatives and programs. The first of these three sources was that the NCCL annual appeal in December of 2013, which was devoted totally to FCH. Through that very successful appeal we raised over $9,000. Have divided that money into thirds so that we can use it over three years.
The second revenue stream has been via grants. We received two very generous grants in the past 6 months. In November we received a grant from the JJ Sigstein Foundation for $8,300. The focus of this grant is for the production of this e-newsletter, webinars and for some of our expenses of our pre-conference. The second grant is from Loyola University Theology Department in Los Angeles (LMU). This grant was given to FCH to further the theme of US born Latino youth, which is a follow up to their Hispanic Symposium in the Summer of 2014. $3,000 was given so that we can continue the conversation as to the best practices with this population of youth. The theme of this year’s pre-conference is “Effective Catechesis with US Hispanic Born Youth,” and the two presenters are Ken Johnson-Mondragon and Lynette Saenz. Thus, the use of the LMU grant is in direct support of our pre-conference for 2014.
The third source of income is fees. First is the pre-conference fee, which is $60.00 per person. These are steadily coming in and we expect more in the months ahead. The other new source of income is the membership fees that were recently approved by the board of NCCL. We have three categories of members. The first is Member Colleage, which are diocesan, and /or parish catechetical leaders with the specific function of working with or interested in catechesis with Hispanics. The fee for the Member Colleague is $15.00 per person. The second category is Federation Advocate, which are corporate organizations such as: diocesan offices, publishers, educational institutions, religious communities and other national organizations vested in catechesis with Hispanics. The fee for Federation Advocate is $100.00, which allows for five people from that organization to participate. Finally, we have the Federation Affiliate, which are catechists who are potential future catechetical leaders and have been recommended by their diocesan or parish catechetical leader. The fee for Federation Affiliate is $35.00. Since these fees were just approved they have yet to be collected. We are hoping to find a web solution for your convenience in paying those dues.
These revenue streams will provide us with an intentional, organized way to communicate with all members, on-going educational opportunities through webinars, and a richer, fuller pre-conference experience. The financial viability of FCH will help us grow into the future and will help us better serve those who minister in catechesis with Hispanics.
