When Anne Cullen Miller began taking in the breadth of the financial impact the coronavirus pandemic would have on parishes and schools, she knew the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota would need to play a big role in helping them survive.

“I think we were aware in real time that the impact of social distancing was going to be absolutely devastating to our parishes and schools,” said Miller, president of the St. Paul-based foundation. “We help meet the spiritual, educational and financial needs of the community. We are where philanthropy and needs meet. We needed to lean into that.”

Conferring with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and others in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis in mid-March, Miller and others at the CCF, which administers grants to schools, parishes and other agencies that act in accordance with the Catholic faith, decided to put all their time and energy into a new fund: the Minnesota Catholic Relief Fund.

Early fundraising efforts have raised more than $400,000, but a minimum of $5 million to $10 million will likely be needed, Miller said.

People are encouraged to continue their regular tithing to parishes, particularly through electronic giving. But those who have more resources are asked to give to the fund, she said.

“We are asking those who are blessed to pass on those blessings now,” Miller said.

In a letter sent to supporters March 28 and a broader announcement March 29, Miller helped set out the purpose of the fund and how it would be managed.

Working in conjunction with a newly-formed archdiocesan Economic Impact Task Force, CCF will put the money it raises toward parishes and schools gravely impacted by costs even as they face the loss of weekly plate collections and other revenue with the suspension of public Masses to help slow the virus’ spread. Higher costs include setting up and maintaining the technology needed for distance learning as students learn from their homes because schools are closed. Other costs include deep-cleaning churches and schools, Miller said.

The CCF is developing criteria to determine which parishes or schools might qualify for assistance. At the same time, the archdiocese’s task force has been in touch with most parishes and schools, and it will continue to monitor their financial situation through an archdiocesan-wide software program that provides up-to-date information, said Dan Statsick, a member of the task force and chairman of the archdiocesan Finance Council and the Corporate Board of Directors of the archdiocese.

Statsick stressed the importance of parishioners regularly giving to their parishes, particularly through electronic giving while public Masses are suspended.

Signing up for electronic giving on a parish website or in a parish office takes less than 10 minutes, and it makes a tremendous difference in the life of a parish, said Statsick, a member of St. John the Baptist in Excelsior.

Many parishes also are reaching out to their parishioners about electronic giving and that has made a needed difference, he said.

The task force also is helping identify additional resources, public and private, that can help. Members of the task force meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the panel will remain in place as long as it is needed, Statsick said.

“The ETF is committed to the successful outcome of all parishes and schools during this crisis, no matter the length of time,” he said.

Parishes and schools will bear no expense in creating or administering the fund, Miller said. “In addition, we’re shifting our own assets, our human capital, to focus entirely on this fund,” she said. “Financially supporting the needs of our Catholic community is the core of our mission. The needs are great, and the time is now.”

As organizers discussed the fund and organized their efforts, it was clear the Holy Spirit was at work, Miller said.

“It is a sacred space,” she said of meeting the needs of parishes and schools. “I am so honored and so proud of how this committee came together for the common good.”

CCF’s advisory committee includes Miller; Frank Forsberg, CCF’s consultant for education policy and a former senior vice president of Greater Twin Cities United Way; Doug Milroy, former chairman and CEO of G&K Services Inc. and a member of the archdiocese’s Economic Task Force set up for this effort; Meg Payne Nelson, CCF’s program officer; Jeanne Schaaf, parish administrator at St. Odilia in Shoreview; Father Ralph Talbot, pastor of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake; and Estela Villagran Manancero, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Latino Ministry and president of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry. The committee’s moderator is Frassati Catholic Academy and the executive director is the Presbyteral Council.

In addition to Milroy and Statsick, the archdiocese’s Economic Impact Task Force includes Father Charles Lachowitzer, the archdiocese’s moderator of the curia and vicar general; Al Erickson, managing director of Catholic Finance Corp., a financial advisory firm serving parishes and schools in the archdiocese; Jean Houghton, president of the Aim Higher Foundation; Tom Mertens, CFO of the archdiocese; and Jason Slattery, director of the Office for the Mission of Catholic Education in the archdiocese.

To learn more about the Economic Impact Task Force, go to archspm.org/etf, and more about the Minnesota Catholic Relief Fund at http://www.ccf-mn.org/relief