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CHARLOTTE — An estate gift from a credit card executive who went on to create a nationally-recognized personal finance curriculum to help young people manage debt is helping to pay for children in the Diocese of Charlotte attend Catholic school for free.

Before his death in 2017, C. Philip Johnston, 88, set up the “C. Philip Johnston – Aline W. Kaneer Scholarship Fund” with $4 million from his estate.

Students from all 19 Catholic schools in the diocese will be eligible for scholarship awards, which are expected to total $200,000 each year. The money will be used to pay the full tuition cost for students who qualify for aid.

The recently received initial distribution of $87,385, combined with additional distributions to be received this fiscal year, will fund the first year of scholarship awards for the 2019-’20 school year.

Johnston, a Catholic convert, was born in Charlotte but lived all over the country before retiring in the Southeast. He attended Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., which is where he made the decision to enter the Church, according to his nephew Greg Johnston. He earned a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1958. He worked in the entertainment industry, but when acting work became scarce, he took a “temporary job” working for Conrad Hilton in a new credit card venture called Carte Blanche.

He rose to success in the emerging credit card industry and, after reaching the position of senior vice president at a large regional bank in St. Louis, he left the banking side of the credit card industry to lead a non-profit organization specializing in consumer credit counseling. Johnston had recognized the need to teach people how to manage personal debt, so he partnered with a national group of educators and economists to create a curriculum in personal finance for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.

“The beauty of an endowment is that it provides income in perpetuity, so the impact of the distributions from an endowment literally go on for generations,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan development director.
“Through Philip Johnston’s generosity, many students who otherwise might not have had the opportunity to go to Catholic school will now benefit by receiving a Catholic education.”

— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter

Endowment funds for the benefit of our schools and Catholic education

The Diocese of Charlotte Foundation manages 57 endowments totaling $11,256,978 that directly aid the diocese’s 19 schools and their students:

• American Schlafhorst Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for students at Charlotte Catholic High School.
• Asheville Catholic School Foundation Endowment Fund: Financial support to enable the school to retain quality teachers, offer scholarship
  assistance, provide continuing education for teachers, and enhance the school’s curriculum.
• Joseph and Margaret Baldi Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for children of St. Leo Parish families to attend St. Leo School in Winston-Salem.
• Bishop McGuinness High School Endowment Fund: Financial support for the education of students at this school in Kernersville.
• Joan W. Books Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for children of Immaculate Conception Parish to attend Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Elizabeth Allen Brown Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Asheville Catholic School.
• Molly Cassidy Scholarship Fund: Tuition assistance for students in Catholic Schools in the Triad area.
• Charlotte Catholic High School Alumni Association Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarships for graduating seniors to attend a college of their choice.
• Charlotte Catholic High School Alumni Association Board Discretionary Endowment Fund: Financial assistance, at the board’s discretion, to Charlotte Catholic High School students.
• James P. and Eunice S. Cherry Scholarship Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students to attend St. Michael School in Gastonia.
• Cornelius Alexander Davis Fund: Tuition assistance for students at St. Leo School in Winston Salem.
• Digger Dawson Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for students from Immaculate Conception Church attending Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Derhofer Endowment Fund: For drama department productions, capital needs related to the drama department, and tuition assistance for students at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
• Deussen Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarships for Catholic high school education in the greater Charlotte area.
• Faucette Endowment Fund: Financial assistance for the educational ministry of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Charlotte.
• Forward in Faith, Hope, and Love campaign endowment: Tuition assistance
• Gayden and Janell Gauthier Fund: Tuition scholarship assistance for students at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Gismondi Family Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for children of St. Mark Church parishioners to attend Christ the King High School in Huntersville.
• Megan Healy Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for students at St. Patrick School in Charlotte.
• Edith and George Hilbert Endowment Fund for Asheville Catholic School: Financial support for the education of students at Asheville Catholic School.
• Immaculata School Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for students at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Immaculate Heart of Mary School Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point.
• Roger Kavanagh Tuition Assistance Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at St. Pius X School in Greensboro.
• Leeolou Family Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for families of Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools.
• LoBianco Family Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at St. Therese of Lisieux Church in Mooresville and St. Mark Church in Huntersville to attend Christ the King High School.
• Catherine McAuley Endowment Fund: Scholarships to Catholic students attending Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools.
• Francis J. McGrail Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance to students of Immaculate Heart of Mary School in High Point.
• Sandy McMonagle Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem.
• Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Education Development Council: Assistance to the nine MACS schools in the Charlotte area.
• n Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS) Special Needs Endowment Fund: For Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools’ students with special needs.
  n Monsignor Lawrence C. Newman Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Our Lady of Mercy School in Winston-Salem.
• Vic Nussbaum Jr. Memorial Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at St. Pius X School in Greensboro.
• Our Lady of Grace School Endowment Fund: For the general needs of this school in Greensboro.
• Poutre Family Endowment Fund: For the general needs of Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Quinn Family Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Clark G. Ross Scholarship Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for Catholic students from Catholic parishes in Mecklenburg and Iredell counties to attend Catholic high schools in these counties, Davidson College or Queens University.
• Sacred Heart School Endowment Fund: For the general needs of this school in Salisbury.
• Sheridan-Mangan Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Asheville Catholic School.
• Sisters of Mercy Scholarship Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at St. Michael School in Gastonia.
• Victoria Sleeman Endowment Fund: Scholarships for students of Immaculate Conception Church to attend Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Frank Spinks Endowment Fund: For professional development activities for the staff at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Mary Spinks Endowment Fund: For scholarship assistance to minority students at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Michael Sullivan Endowment Fund: Scholarships for graduates of Charlotte Catholic High School.
• St. Ann School Endowment Fund: For the general needs of this school in Charlotte.
• St. Gabriel School Endowment Fund: For the general needs of this school in Charlotte.
• St. Mary Church Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for children of St. Mary’s parishioners attending Our Lady of Grace and St. Pius X schools in Greensboro and Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
• St. Joseph Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarship assistance for students at Asheville Catholic School.
• St. Leo the Great School Endowment Fund: Financial assistance for the general needs of this school in Winston-Salem.
• St. Michael School Endowment Fund: For the general needs of this school in Gastonia.
• St. Pius X Catholic School Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at this school in Greensboro.
• Theresa Lasecki Talbert Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville.
• F. Joseph Treacy Endowment Fund: For scholarship assistance for students in all nine Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools.
• Triad Educational Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance to students attending a Catholic elementary or high school in the Triad area.
• Villalon Family Endowment Fund: Financial assistance for students at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kernersville.
• Sabrinia Watt Fund: Tuition assistance for students at Immaculata School in Hendersonville.
• Sister Paulette Williams Scholarship Endowment Fund: Scholarships for graduating seniors from Charlotte Catholic High School to attend a college of their choice.
• Wos-Dejoy Endowment Fund: Tuition assistance for students at St. Pius X School in Greensboro.

Endowments aid students, schools

$2,646,992 has been distributed from 57 endowments managed by the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation that directly benefited students and schools