Originally established in 1973, the Goretti Fund is a separate and distinct 501(c) (3) corporation from St. Maria Goretti High School. The Goretti Fund founders maintained independence to protect endowment assets from being used to support school operations. Under the bylaws, the Goretti Fund is managed by a five to nine member Board of Trustees, with no more than forty percent representation by SMGHS Board members. The Goretti Fund Board of Trustees is charged with distributing income and releasing principal for specified purposes. Yearly distribution from the Goretti Fund to St. Maria Goretti High School has been set at five percent of the fund’s market value as of Dec. 31 of each year. The Goretti Fund has a current market value of approximately $350,000, providing an annual distribution to SMGHS of over $17,000 while allowing the corpus to continue to grow.

Established in 2004-05, this unique opportunity made possible through the John and Peg Waltersdorf and Richard Henson Foundation provides for one hundred percent matching to new endowment funds. SMGHS applied to participate in the challenge and was accepted with a $255,000 matching fund target. Under the five-year fundraising program that runs from June 2005 through June 2010, Goretti will receive a dollar-for-dollar match on all new funds raised up to $255,000.

The $510,000 raised through the Waltersdorf-Henson challenge will provide a steady, yearly income stream to Goretti without ever depleting the corpus. When combined with the current Goretti Fund, the school will have a permanent endowment approaching one million dollars and generating nearly $50,000 in annual income. Put simply, your gift to the endowment continues to grow and benefit Goretti year after year after year.

To date, we have raised $221,000 in pledge commitments, representing 86.7% of our goal. We have received payments on these pledges totaling $132,000 and expect nearly all current commitments to be honored. Even with very high pledge fulfillment; however, we still have approximately $34,000 in new money to secure over the next eighteen months in order to receive the dollar-for-dollar match.

If you would like to help Goretti receive the $255,000 gift match through the Waltersdorf-Henson Endowment Challenge, simply make your check payable to The Goretti Fund and mail to 1535 Oak Hill Ave., Hagerstown, MD 21742. If you prefer to make a pledge, please contact the Development Office at 301-739-4266 to make arrangements. Final pledge payments are due by June 30, 2010. Thank you for your support of this exciting opportunity to create a lasting legacy for future generations of St. Maria Goretti High School students.