Skip to content
Southern Nebraska Register
Catholic schools in the city of Lincoln came together May 16 to host the first Lincoln Catholic Schools Day of Giving. More than 700 donors contributed, raising a grand total of $315,223.21 for Catholic education.
In past years, Pius X High School and some Lincoln Catholic elementary schools participated in the Lincoln Community Foundation’s Give to Lincoln Day. Because of new policy requirements contrary to the practice of the Catholic faith, Catholic schools and organizations were not able to participate in the community-wide event this year.
The Pius X Foundation led and hosted the Lincoln Catholic Schools Day of Giving for their partner schools in Lincoln, as well as the Good Shepherd Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance to students in Catholic schools across the diocese.
Courtney Johnson, executive director of the Pius X Foundation, said, “We were so humbled by the overwhelming support of the Catholic community for our Lincoln schools. Pius X was blessed to raise almost $20,000 more than we did during last year’s Give to Lincoln Day, and it was so fun to see the other schools in our community—some of whom had never participated in Give to Lincoln Day before—achieve success in their fundraising efforts.”
Each school identified a project to fundraise for and set a financial goal on the shared platform. Projects identified as fundraising priorities included security and facility updates, hiring of new faculty and staff, tuition assistance, purchasing or improving playground equipment and play areas, technology upgrades, and communications systems. Donors were able to give online directly to the school or schools they wanted to support and read about the projects each school had identified.
Staff at Cathedral of the Risen Christ School were excited to raise more than double the amount that they had during their previous year’s participation in the community-wide Give to Lincoln Day. Over the past four years, their highest total during Give to Lincoln Day was $21,760. During the Lincoln Catholic Schools Day of Giving, Cathedral raised well over $55,000.
Jennie Kobza, director of stewardship for Cathedral of the Risen Christ, said “We were able to raise over $55,000 for our Guardian Angel Scholarship Fund! This fund was established in 2022 to offset rising costs impacting the neediest families in our midst, allowing families to continue to take advantage of Cathedral for an outstanding education rooted in the Catholic Faith. We are overwhelmed with gratitude by the way our community generously came together to give the gift of a Catholic education!”
Other Catholic organizations in Lincoln that did not participate in Give to Lincoln Day launched similar successful fundraising efforts. Bishop Conley issued a letter April 13 encouraging the faithful to give directly to the Catholic schools and organizations they wanted to support.
Katie Ostgren, director of development and stewardship for the Diocese of Lincoln, said that conversations are beginning about new opportunities to support Catholic schools and organizations next year.
“We are excitedly working to create solutions that will allow faithful and generous Catholics to donate to parishes, schools, and Catholic organizations they care about without worrying about political agendas or threats to their religious freedom,” she said. “We will continue to work together to seek funding opportunities that will allow the Church to carry out its mission of living out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy in service to everyone in our communities, regardless of their beliefs or background.”
