Fr. Chuck's Column, Sunday, March 1

If you made a donation to our parish school in 2014 and did not see your gift on the contribution statement from St. Austin Catholic Parish that was mailed to your home a few weeks ago, I would like to explain the most probable reason why:

The school has hired an Advancement Director, Ms. Bedina O’Neill, who has been diligently seeking grants for our school, and doing well at it. However, there are corporations, family trusts, charitable institutions, etc. that will make grants to SCHOOLS but not to CHURCHES. Therefore, to be able to apply for grants from these entities, we have acquired a separate tax I.D. number (or E.I.N.) for St. Austin Catholic School.

This transition occurred during the fourth quarter of 2014. Therefore, depending upon when your donation to St. Austin Catholic School was made and to which office your envelope or check was addressed, it could have been recorded under the parish’s tax I.D. number or under the school’s. If your donation was recorded under the school’s tax I.D. number, then you should have received a receipt and acknowledgement from the school separate from the parish’s records.

I encourage you to check your statement. If you have any questions or spot any discrepancies, please let us know. You can contact Pat Lucksinger regarding parish records at 512-477-9471 ext. 322 or at plucksinger@staustin.org. For school records please contact Bedina O’Neill at 512-477-9471 ext. 312 or boneill@staustinschool.org.

Going forward, all donations to St. Austin Catholic School will be recorded under the school’s new tax I.D. number and all acknowledgments will come from the school, not from the parish. We hope that this eliminates confusion and will make for clean records in 2015.

This in no way separates the school from the parish. St. Austin Catholic School remains a ministry of the parish, and the parish is committed to the school. Separate tax I.D. numbers simply make it possible for the school to apply for more grants from more donors, and we hope it will pay off for years to come.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

God Bless,

P.S. Please note: the parish’s annual Adopt-A-Student and Fr. Jim Wiesner Scholarship Fund appeal will still be recorded through St. Austin Catholic Parish. This appeal is a show of the parish’s support for the school, and funds are collected and distributed by the parish.