Today, the Cristo Rey Network announced the achievement of a $5 million matching gift from an anonymous foundation. The resulting $10 million in collective cash gifts is fueling high-impact, network-wide programming delivered by the national office team, based in Chicago.

Launched in early 2023, the matching gift was designed to jump start funding of the organization's three-year 2026 Strategic Plan. Key priorities for 2023-2026 are well underway and include the following:

• Catholic Education: Across all program areas, we will deepen students' formation to become servant leaders and continue to fortify our mission, guided by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
• Attraction and Retention of Talent: We will initiate a new national effort to support schools to recruit, develop, and retain mission-aligned professionals who lead vibrant Catholic learning communities.
• Academic Excellence: We will improve student achievement and college readiness through network-wide curriculum and instruction initiatives (math and literacy), as well as implementation of targeted academic support programs, including the pilot and scaling of Harvard Education's Internal Coherence Framework.
• Corporate Work Study: We will modernize the future of Corporate Work Study and the impact of professional work for students, expand national corporate partnerships, and strengthen the program's reliability as a revenue source for schools.
• College Success and Scholarship Management: We will ensure that all students are provided the support and resources to identify, apply to, enroll, persist, and graduate from a best-fit, four-year college or university.
• Mission Vitality: Growth, Engagement, Sustainability: We will increase the number of Cristo Rey schools and students, strengthen alumni engagement, and ensure schools are equipped to sustain an operational model aligned with student needs.

The anonymous foundation granted the $5 million matching gift in honor of former Cristo Rey Network President and CEO Elizabeth Goettl, who retired on June 30, 2023. Elizabeth's successor, President and CEO Kelby Woodard, has sustained her legacy of leadership and data-driven results.

One year into the 2026 Strategic Plan, philanthropic investments have propelled early impact, including:

• Onboarding of Chief Mission Officer Fr. Jim Gartland, SJ, who is deepening Catholic culture and identity within 40 Cristo Rey school communities through school leader and board faith formation
• Launch of a Principals' Fellowship Program to promote the development of aspiring Cristo Rey academic leaders and to ensure a robust pipeline of skilled principals for the movement's future
• The commitment of 35 Cristo Rey school communities in academic learning HUBs, equipping new and tenured leaders with the tools and resources to ensure excellent math, excellent literacy, and excellent leadership
• Implementation of a CWS Modernization Project that will be expanded and accelerated in the school year 2024-2025 in partnership with a third-party strategic advisory firm and stakeholder thought partnership
• Development of training and resources to support CWS remote and hybrid work labs
• Expansion from 75 to 81 University Partners, which collectively attain an average bachelor's completion rate of 68% for Cristo Rey college enrollees, which exceeds the bachelor's completion rate for students in the highest-income quartile enrolled at any institution 
• Responsive action to the national FAFSA crisis that successfully achieved a network-wide FAFSA completion rate of 92% of the Class of 2024, compared to the national average of 47% for the Class of 2024
• New school growth with Cristo Rey Jesuit Seattle opening this month, Cristo Rey Orlando opening in 2025, and Cristo Rey Charleston on target to open in 2026

"The $5 million matching gift is designed to inspire our dedicated donors to continue their incredible support and to attract new contributors to join us in our transformative journey," said Woodard. "I'm truly grateful for our expanding family of supporters who believe passionately in our mission and have unwavering faith in our school leaders and students."

Every gift to the 2026 Strategic Plan match has been matched dollar-for-dollar by the anonymous foundation. Generous contributions of $5,000+ were received by 65 donors:

• Angels Among Us, Inc.
• Anonymous Donors (5)
• Kevin & Thayer Baine
• Leonard M. Braig
• Emil & Maureen Brolick
• Alison Buch & Daniel Donovan Rodgers
• James & Rosanne Burns
• BJ & Bebe Cassin
• Brian Cavanaugh
• CKC Foundation
• Clark Street Jesuit Community
• College of Saint Benedict
• John Compall
• James Deasy
• ECMC Foundation
• Ethan & Sarah Eldridge
• Ernst & Young
• Marlene Flanagan
• Jane E. Genster & John J. Buckley, Jr.
• Georgetown University
• The Gerardine Laffey Connolly Foundation
• Healey Family Foundation
• Hearst Foundations
• Christopher Hebig & Shannon Noonan
• Helen Brach Foundation
• Horace Grinnell
• Tina and Peter Holland
• The Howley Foundation
• Joliet Franciscan Sisters / S. Jeanne Bessette, OSF, Ed.D.
• Molly Joseph
• Kehl Family Fund
• KPMG Foundation
• Susan Leverone
• Loyola University Maryland
• Barbara Marchini Ellis
• Dan & Eileen McCallin
• McMaster-Carr Supply Company
• Jack & Marsha Myslenski
• Northern Trust Fund, a Fund of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation
• Janet & Tom O'Connor
• I.A. O'Shaughnessy Foundation
• O'Shea Family Foundation
• James O'Sullivan
• Perry Family Charitable Foundation
• John & Sheila Pigott
• Provco Group LLC
• Joseph & Cheryl Della Rosa
• Dr. Scholl Foundation
• Schreiber Philanthropies
• Ann & Tom Schriber
• The Shea Family Charitable Fund
• Leo & Martha Sheridan
• Marc Stern & Kim Yellin
• Roger & Susan Stone Family Foundation
• Strake Foundation
• Brendan & Kerry Swords
• Rosemarie & David Thurston
• David Francis Tracy
• Jose & Georgina Ubeda
• Villanova University
• John & Kelly Waller
• Joseph & Ann Wenger
• Dan & Sue White
• The Yass Prize

The Cristo Rey Network also facilitates the distribution of philanthropic gifts to fund college scholarships and school grants. Extraordinary gifts for these purposes were not included in the 2026 Strategic Plan match, which exclusively funds national office programming.

"Our mission and vision are bold and inspiring: to transform lives through a Catholic, career-focused, college preparatory education," Woodard continued. "We're committed to providing opportunities for our students to reach their highest potential and shape a brighter future for themselves and their communities."

To ensure the continued progress of these organizational priorities and successes, the 2026 Strategic Plan requires $16+ million in philanthropic resources to fund programming through June 30, 2026. To learn more or make a gift towards the next $6 million needed to fulfill the plan's identified needs, contact Cristo Rey Network Chief Advancement Officer Brenda Morris at bmorris@cristoreynetwork.org or 312-784-7208.