Students raise over $1 million fifth year in a row in Catholic Schools Raffle

More than $7 million raised through the Catholic Schools Raffle since 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7th, 2018
Contact: 1-800-568-6670, swendorf@catholicunited.org

ST. PAUL, MN — Families and schools united to make another successful Catholic Schools Raffle happen, and all that effort paid off incredibly with a record $1.1 million raised in 2018. This is the highest total raised since the program began in 2009.

On March 7, the Raffle officially concluded with a prize drawing ceremony streamed live on the Catholic United Financial website. During the broadcast, the grand total of $1,166,520 was revealed to a cheering audience. That total is nearly $100,000 more than the total raised in 2017.

Since January 12, students attending 84 Catholic schools in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota have been selling $5 raffle tickets as part of the Catholic Schools Raffle, a fundraising program provided free of charge by sponsor Catholic United Financial. (A complete list of participating schools is available here.) Before that January start date, school administrators set ambitious fundraising goals. Catholic United Financial provided all promotional materials, raffle tickets and prizes for the program at no cost.

“Catholic United Financial has had a strong commitment to education ever since our founding 140 years ago. This year, our Catholic Schools Raffle again is one of the largest fundraisers for Catholic education in the Upper Midwest,” said Harald Borrmann, president of Catholic United Financial.

As the tickets were sold and money came in, families and staff counted their totals. They were excited to know that they keep every dollar raised during the six-week ticket selling period, which ended February 25.
“Since we started this Raffle in 2009, well over $7 million has been raised for participating schools. We are incredibly proud that 100 percent of the total has gone directly to the students, parents, faculty and administrators who have helped make this program such an unqualified success,” Borrmann said.

Winners of the raffle prizes announced during the March 7th ceremony resided as far west as Rapid City, South Dakota and right up to the Canadian border in International Falls, Minnesota. The prizes included a new 2018 Chevy Trax SUV, vacation and travel packages, iPads, smart TVs and more, with a combined value of more than $40,000. A complete list of winners will be posted to the Catholic United website after the verification process is completed.

s an extra selling incentive, sponsor Catholic United Financial gave $3,000 grants to the top performing schools that sold the most tickets per student: St Thomas Aquinas School in International Falls, St. Agnes School of Osakis, MN; and St. Scholastica HSC Academy in Isanti, MN. Catholic United also rewarded the hard work of the top classroom at each school with all the pizza they could eat, and the top selling student won a new self-propelled WowWee robot.

Funds raised by participating schools are used to enhance school programs and facilities, including funding field trips, building playgrounds, supplementing tuition costs and providing new education technology.

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About Catholic United Financial
Catholic United Financial is a not-for-profit financial cooperative that has served Catholics in the Upper Midwest since 1878. The company provides life insurance and retirement products for its 80,000 members and returns a portion of its profits to local communities through programs like the Catholic Schools Raffle, Post-High School Tuition Scholarship, Gather4Good® service events, and more. Based in St. Paul, Minn., Catholic United helps its members plan for every step of their life journey.