Investing in faith

A key funding source supporting Catholic learning for all ages marks its 50th anniversary this fall. 

The Bismarck Area Catholic Education Foundation (BACEF) was launched on Sept. 3, 1975, to boost and support religious education at Catholic schools and six local parishes in Bismarck and Menoken ranging from preschool to adults learning about the faith.

The nonprofit is a permanent endowment fund with board members making decisions and establishing goals based on safety, stability and long-term visibility. 

In 1975, its first fundraising campaign solicited three-year pledges from six Catholic parishes, garnering a total of $1.1 million by 1977. Today, that foundation value exceeds $10 million thanks to ongoing annual donations.

BACEF is overseen by a 12-member board consisting of six pastors from each Catholic parish (five in Bismarck and one in Menoken) and six lay people. Its purpose is to raise funds, provide oversight to those funds and govern how disbursements will support the participating parishes.

After the first three years of fundraising surpassed the board’s $1 million goal, BACEF disbursed its first total payment to the parishes at $50,000. With the trust value now over $10 million, in 2024, a total of $382,000 BACEF funds were donated to the participating churches for their faith formation programs and the Light of Christ Catholic school system.

Since its inception, BACEF has given nearly $8 million for Catholic education, said Tim Bohan, a board member for 15 years. Organizers say this speaks to how highly the community values investing in Catholic education in the Bismarck area.
 
Today, an annual Foundation Sunday Fund Drive is conducted in the fourth quarter of each year to seek donor support for the ongoing mission. Its aim is to raise $75,000 per year which is added to the foundation fund. Funding is dispersed from interest gained by the endowment fund.

BACEF may be one of the oldest foundations for Catholic education in North Dakota, according to Bohan.

He said BACEF practices socially responsible investing to ensure its funding is ethical and meets the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops standards. Managing its investments is the Catholic Foundation of Western North Dakota which oversees the investments of 130 separate nonprofit Catholic causes. This resource wasn’t available in the early years of BACEF, he explained, and board members had to sort out responsible, ethical investing themselves.

BACEF supports approximately 1,400 student enrollment costs at five local Catholic schools and more than 1,000 students in faith formation at the six Bismarck area parishes.
 
During most of its legacy, BACEF would give to Bismarck Catholic schools based on their number of students at each school in a weighted system. When all Catholic Schools in Bismarck became part of the Light of Christ Catholic school system in 2012, the BACEF board simply allocated funds to the new school system. The Light of Christ School board and administrators decide, internally, how the money should be given, said Bohan. Schools assisted by BACEF are St. Mary’s Central High School, St. Mary’s Academy, St. Mary’s Elementary School, Cathedral Elementary School and Saint Anne Elementary School.

BACEF now dedicates 75 percent of its annual allocations to the school system and 25 percent to parishes for various faith formation programs.

Each parish’s BACEF funding is still decided on a weighted formula, apportioned by the number of parishioners and families at the church, said Bohan. Faith formation is supported for youth and adults at Bismarck parishes of Saint Anne, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Pro-Cathedral of St. Mary, Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and St. Hildegard in Menoken.

BACEF funds are not applied to parish building projects or other parish expenses, only to support faith formation and education initiatives within the parish.
 
“I am grateful for the assistance that BACEF provides,” said Father Russ Kovash, pastor of Ascension Catholic Church. “It really helps in faith formation for youth not in Catholic schools (preschool through eighth grade). These programs need resources, books and manuals. The BACEF funds offsets those costs.”

Ascension parish is planning a significant change to their faith formation program and supplemental funds will be a great help in that transition as well as other educational programs for youth and adults. 
 
“We will move to the Catechesis of the Good Shepard in the fall of 2026,” he said. BACEF helped pay for the new youth curriculum at the parish, starting with preschoolers.

Kovash noted his parish also hosts several youth groups there. Other resources given may involve books about understanding the faith, grief recovery and prayers.

“I am particular about what I hand out. I meet with a lot of people. I want good resources in their hands,” said Fr. Kovash. “I want it to help people in their walk of faith.”

Kovash said BACEF support also has been essential to faith formation for faith newcomers like the Order of Christian Initiative of Adults (OCIA).

No special observance will be given for the 50th year, yet BACEF will emphasize the importance of the historical year, Bohan said.

Bohan credits numerous board members over the years for giving of their time and energy to help the momentum for the BACEF move forward. Among these are Morris Tschider, the late founding board member, who served 45 years and current at-large board member, Jim Volk, who has served nearly 40 years, he said.

BACEF speaks to those who value the investment in Catholic education whether in our schools or at our parishes and the benefits of the return of that investment. Bohan said there is little solid testimony about BACEF’s results, but he does get some hints it is valued. “I get notes from people who will write, ‘I attended Catholic school, and I look forward to making this donation,’” he said.

To contribute to the fund, make checks payable to BACEF, P.O. Box 1544, Bismarck, N.D. 58502.