By Jessica Able, Record Staff Writer
The Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) received a “significant gift” to its permanent foundation earlier this year, according to a news release from the CEF.
Betty Schutte, a parishioner of St. Margaret Mary Church, established The H. Joseph Schutte Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor her late husband, Joe, who attended Flaget High School.
The Schutte gift is the second addition to the CEF endowment since the original drive in 1995-96, which established the endowment. Last year, the Bernard A. Dahlem family donated $500,000 to the endowment.
The fund will provide financial assistance in perpetuity to families who can’t afford the full cost of Catholic elementary school tuition in the Archdiocese of Louisville, said Richard A. Lechleiter, CEF president. The amount of the gift was not disclosed by the CEF.
Lechleiter said gifts such as the Schutte fund are “central to the continued success” of the foundation.
“The endowment is a key component to the foundation’s success. It is how we last,” he said.
To date, the CEF’s endowment stands at $20 million. From that, the foundation draws about $1 million a year for tuition assistance. The CEF provided $5.8 million to approximately 2,700 students during the 2016-2017 academic year.
“About $1 million of that ($5.8 million) came from the endowment. It is a huge part of our sustainability,” Lechleiter said.
In a statement released by the CEF, Betty Schutte said she wanted to show her gratitude for Catholic education by enabling others “to share in that experience.”
“Now it is time for me to share this same gift with others who want a Catholic education but can’t afford it,” she said in the statement.
To learn more about the CEF, visit ceflou.org.
