Three months into leading Catholic Charities Twin Cities (CCTC), Jamie Verbrugge is getting to know employees, volunteers, lawmakers, stakeholders, donors and the people served by the largest nonprofit social services agency in the metro area.
“What I’ve been focused on for the first couple months, and I shared this with the (Catholic Charities) board, is that it’s entirely about building relationships,” Verbrugge said.
Citing the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’ significant financial support through the Catholic Services Appeal, Verbrugge said that kind of stable funding is critically important to Catholic Charities.
“We can’t do the work without that,” Verbrugge said. “It really is important to us to have the commitment and the knowledge that we have a sustainable source of funding from the archdiocese.”
With government and local organizations as partners, CCTC provides emergency shelter, permanent housing and housing assistance, meals, medical assistance, job hunting, haircuts, foot care and other services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. Last year, CCTC served more than 33,000 children, families and adults in facilities and housing units across the Twin Cities.
Verbrugge met with Archbishop Bernard Hebda March 14 at the Archdiocesan Catholic Center in St. Paul, and said it was reassuring to hear from the archbishop “how the work that we do is consistent with what he believes is one of the primary ministries of the Church, which is to serve people who are experiencing homelessness, people who are living on the margins of society. That’s the mission of the Church. That’s being the Church to community.”
The archbishop said Catholic Charities Twin Cities and the Catholic Services Appeal have a long history of working together to serve the most vulnerable.
“The need continues to be great,” the archbishop said. “The archdiocese is blessed by the generosity of our donors, which allows us to partner with Catholic Charities to serve those whom Jesus would recognize as the ‘least of his brothers and sisters,’ providing them with a path toward hope. As an agency that serves those in need at all stages of life, Catholic Charities is an important partner as we strive to advance the mission of the Catholic Services Appeal and demonstrate to our community faith in action.”
Marci Franzen, associate director of the archdiocese’s Office of Mission Advancement, said that “as the leading voice for those experiencing homelessness, Catholic Charities provides services consistent with Catholic social teaching –– without judgment, without condition, and welcoming all. They are a leader in this ministry and Catholic Services Appeal is a proud partner in their work.”
In January under Franzen’s leadership, the appeal began its annual effort to help fund Catholic education and ministries like CCTC that focus on social justice, evangelization, pro-life efforts, marriage, family and youth. This year’s fundraising goal is $9 million. Promotional materials and impact statements demonstrating the appeal’s assistance to ministries in the archdiocese will continue to be released through 2025.
Also in January, Verbrugge, 55, began his work as president and CEO of CCTC. Verbrugge said he left a job he loved as Bloomington city manager and three decades in local government to have an impact on a more “individual level” at Catholic Charities.
Catholic social teaching, with its emphasis on human dignity and respect for all, is foundational to Catholic Charities, Verbrugge said during a recent tour of CCTC’s Dorothy Day Place emergency shelter, permanent housing and supportive services campus in downtown St. Paul.
Meeting with Archbishop Hebda was one of many touchpoints for Verbrugge as he visits elected officials, Catholic Charities staff, supporters and donors including representatives of large foundations such as Otto Bremer Trust in St. Paul and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation in Edina.
“They’re essential to the work that we do, and it’s both individuals and large foundations that support us,” Verbrugge said. In the coming months, he said, he will dive more deeply into operations, and a strategic planning process for the nonprofit organization will begin in earnest in the latter part of 2025.
As the federal government looks at its own spending, Verbrugge said, Catholic Charities is evaluating possible impacts on its budget, with a new fiscal year beginning July 1 fast approaching.
CATHOLIC CHARITIES’ SOURCES OF REVENUE
- 45 percent from government fees and grants
- 30 percent from private contributions
- 23 percent from client-based income, including program fees, Medicaid reimbursements and government-based housing rents
- 2 percent other
“There’s a lot of uncertainty because we do get grant funding from the federal government,” Verbrugge said. “Most of that comes through HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). We do get some through the Department of Agriculture for our food programs. We’re seeing what’s happening in the rest of the nonprofit sector, where those grants are being terminated, often without any real explanation of why, other than it doesn’t comport with executive orders. That’s frustrating for us trying to predict or be able to plan for the sustainability of that funding, and it impacts the services that we provide.”
Donations and grants, such as those from the Catholic Services Appeal, as well as volunteers are critical to CCTC, which has an annual budget of about $60 million. The nonprofit organization has about 500 employees, including social workers and mental health consultants, program leaders and fundraising specialists, Verbrugge said.
Catholic involvement in Catholic Charities runs deep. Last year alone, men and women from Catholic parishes across the archdiocese volunteered 4,223 times, for a total of 9,677 hours, Catholic Charities estimates. That’s about a quarter of all volunteers helping at Catholic Charities, officials said.
Auxiliary Bishop Kevin Kenney is a new member of CCTC’s board, replacing Father Charles Lachowitzer. Auxiliary Bishop Michael Izen spent an afternoon April 12 helping to prepare lunch at Dorothy Day Place.
Franzen said that “for people to be successful, it starts with affordable housing. Catholic Charities focuses on this, along with the health conditions and lack of available resources for those who spend a great deal of time outside. To find a job, people need an address and transportation. This all begins with housing.”
“Catholic identity is foundational to Catholic Charities,” Verbrugge said. “That’s rooted in Catholic social teaching. That is the core of why we do the work that we do.”
CLOSE TO THE HEART
Jamie Verbrugge, 55, said he wants to finish his career in public service close to those in need, as president and CEO of Catholic Charities Twin Cities.
The organization is close to his heart.
Born in then-Minneapolis City Hospital (now Hennepin County Medical Center), Verbrugge was adopted as an infant through Catholic Charities, which at the time facilitated adoptions.
The household had a heart for service. His late father, Jim, was a police officer at the University of Minnesota for 35 years. His mother, Patti, worked as a school secretary and later a public health nurse.
“I have a couple of older siblings,” Verbrugge said, “and I have an older sibling who was stillborn. My parents were going through the adoption process in light of that life event.”
Later, when his birth mother initiated a search, “the social worker from Catholic Charities (who) contacted me was just fantastic in terms of helping me navigate that issue, too.”
“I was really fortunate to land where I did,” Verbrugge said. “I’ve had a lifelong affinity and gratitude for Catholic Charities.”
