Tina Schirmang and Sam Wheeler paint the hallways at St. Elizabeth School, 4052 S. Wabash Ave., during Big Shoulders Give Back Day on April 25, 2009. The Big Shoulders Fund was created in 1986 to improve access to Catholic schools for low-income students. (Karen Callaway / Catholic New World)
The Big Shoulders Fund and the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools are working on a formal agreement that would increase the not-forprofit’s commitment to funding urban Catholic schools. The Big Shoulders Fund, created in 1986 to improve access to Catholic schools for low-income students, announced the collaboration in early March, days after the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that it would close five schools this year as a cost-cutting measure. The school closings were announced at the same time the archdiocese announced the elimination of 75 staff positions. Three of the five schools — St. Gregory the Great High School and St. Paul-Our Lady of Vilna and St. Helena of the Cross — received assistance from the Big Shoulders Fund. “Even as other cities announce closing as many as 40 Catholic schools, Big Shoulders Fund regrets the loss of these three schools following a six-year stretch with only two closings,” according to the announcement. Big Shoulders Fund president and CEO Joshua Hale said that he could not release details such as how much money the Big Shoulders Fund would provide, or what form the assistance would take, until the agreement is finalized, something he said had been delayed by Cardinal George’s travel to the Vatican for the conclave to elect a new pope and the meetings that preceded it. “It’s all in the works, but it’s not done yet,” Hale said. “We want to have a commitment saying that we all are working in the same direction.” The March 6 announcement was precipitated by donors calling and asking about the future of Catholic schools in the lower income communities that the Big Shoulders Fund serves. “In contrast to what is happening to innercity Catholic schools nationally, enrollment has grown in our schools for three consecutive years through concerted efforts focused on marketing and need-based scholarships, while fundraising has increased each year,” the statement said. “This growth is evidence of increasing interest in the success of our schools and students.” The Big Shoulders Fund currently provides $12 to $14 million in annual support for 93 inner-city Catholic schools educating nearly 24,000 children in Chicago. This support includes renewable and emergency scholarships coupled with strategic investments in marketing and development, in academic programs and resources and in enrichment programs for students. This year, Big Shoulders Fund will provide $6 million in scholarships to more than 5,000 children in preschool through 12th grade. The amount of money Big Shoulders Fund provides for schools has grown to its current level from $5 million to $6 million a year only seven or eight years ago, Hale said. The new commitment relies on a continued increase in its fundraising capacity. “We’re already out there raising the money,” he said. The statement said the Big Shoulders Fund will invest directly in several schools to help them become more viable. Those investments of financial, human and strategic resources in schools serving the neediest communities will be in addition to current support provided by Big Shoulders. In the case of the three Big Shoulders Fund schools that have been announced to close, Big Shoulders Fund investments such as technology or other resources will be transferred to another Big Shoulders Fund school, and scholarship students will have the opportunity to take their scholarships to another Big Shoulders school, according to the statement.