On June 5, Cardinal George announced a major fund-raising effort for Catholic education and faith formation in the Archdiocese of Chicago — the $350 million To Teach Who Christ Is Campaign. The campaign has been structured to create significant financial support to archdiocesan Catholic schools, religious education for children and teens, adult faith formation and capital needs for parishes and schools. To Teach Who Christ Is is an archdiocesan- wide, parish-based campaign with an enhanced major gift effort that has already raised $82.5 million, or approximately 24 percent of the total. The campaign will be rolled out in parishes over a three-year period. The total goal for parishes is $250 million with 60 percent of the funds raised to remain in the individual parish for its specific needs and 40 percent to be distributed through the archdiocese. The campaign offers benefits to archdiocesan Catholics in Cook and Lake counties, to individual elementary and high school children and to the entire metropolitan community. “The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago and our faith formation programs make their case in the lives of those transformed by them,” said Cardinal George. “The alumni of our schools and parishes are living and working in Chicago, the suburbs and around the world. They are the reason, and the winning conclusion, to the need to conduct the To Teach Who Christ Is campaign. The campaign is well named. That is our mission. It’s what we do — we teach the world who Christ is.” The launch that took place at a kickoff press conference conducted at St. Stanislaus Kostka School on Chicago’s Near North Side was attended by the members of the campaign’s Leadership Committee, Steering Committee, pastors Advisory Committee and other invited guests. Priorities of the campaign were identified in a comprehensive case, which included input from administrators, educators, pastors and staff. The campaign’s fund-raising goals have been outlined as: Scholarships: $150 million allocated for scholarships will generate millions of dollars annually for new and continuing needs-based scholarships. Program enhancements for Catholic schools: $8 million of direct cash infusion will ensure academic excellence. Strengthening religious education programs: $10 million will support Religious Education programs. “Next generation” religious education: $2 million will develop and pilot new approaches to religious education and faith formation. Capital needs: $30 million will address specific capital needs in Catholic schools and related parish facilities. Parish needs: $150 million will address parish-specific needs through the parish-based portion of the campaign. This number reflects a total parish-based campaign goal of $250 million, of which 60 percent ($150 million) will remain at the parishes for their needs and 40 percent ($100 million) will come to the archdiocese to meet parish needs. “The spirit and the substance of the To Teach Who Christ Is campaign are in its embrace of our archdiocesan mission to create sufficient funding to help all of us teach God’s Word and the beauty of our Catholic faith,” said Auxiliary Bishop Francis Kane, the campaign’s general chair and an auxiliary bishop of Chicago since 2003. “The money raised in this campaign will be used to support that mission in our religious education and faith formation classes for children and adults in our 356 parishes as well as in our Catholic schools.” In addition to Bishop Kane, who serves as the general chair, Cardinal George also named Auxiliary Bishop George Rassas as the campaign’s major gifts episcopal liaison and James Perry, managing director for Madison Dearborn Partners and member of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Board of Catholic Schools, as major gift chair.