No. ACEF is completely independent of the Diocese. Furthermore, strict regulations and policies ensure that each endowment that is established with ACEF is accounted for separately. The vast majority of ACEF endowments have been established to benefit individual parishes or church-related programs. The remaining one-third have been established to benefit the Diocese.

An endowment is an investment vehicle that ensures that a parish will always have an income. The principal of an endowment is not spent; beneficiaries receive an annual income distribution. Endowments managed by ACEF distribute approximately 4.5% income each year. Any additional income is reinvested so that in years when financial returns are poor, a distribution can still be made. Over…