We Are BK Capital Campaign: GRIFFIN MATCH UPDATE

A $200,000 challenge match; that’s what 1979 BK alumni Joe Griffin and Denise Dayer Griffin have offered to Bishop Kelley as part of the school’s historic $25M capital campaign. The offer, made nearly a year ago, is a challenge to alumni who attended BK from 1976-1982.

Since the challenge was made, alumni from those classes have contributed about $31,000, leaving $169,000 on the table. (Please note some alumni from those classes made significant gifts to the campaign prior to this challenge starting.)

“When the campaign first began in the silent phase, Fr. Gary Kastl (BK president at the time) asked Denise and me to serve on the campaign council to help open doors to other donors and generate new gifts,” Joe Griffin said. “Eventually, we decided to make a personal challenge in hopes of attracting another $200,000 to the campaign, which is very much needed.”

Having met as freshmen at BK in the fall of 1975, Joe and Denise have been married for 41 years and have three children. They sent their children to Bishop Kelley and two of them married BK alumni. The Griffins have ten grandchildren, and hope that all of them can also obtain a Bishop Kelley education.

“Some private schools have a capital campaign every three or four years, starting a new one about a year after ending the last one,” said Joe. “Bishop Kelley has gone decades between capital campaigns and so the school finds itself in a position to upgrade outdated facilities, address major structural issues, and enhance safety.”

“It is our policy not to use tuition funds for capital projects,” said Sister Mary Hanah, RSM, who is in her second year as president of Bishop Kelley. “We keep our tuition as low as possible and it covers the cost of salaries, benefits, basic upkeep of facilities, utilities, and those kinds of things.”

To afford campus improvements and grow the endowment, a concerted effort is made by the school’s Philanthropy Office to attract donors who have a passion for the mission of Bishop Kelley and the means to give, whether that’s a $500 gift or something much greater.

“We are very grateful to Joe and Denise for the leadership they have provided and for offering up their resources in a way to encourage their classmates to also support the capital campaign,” said Doug Thomas, BK’s Director of Philanthropy. “We don’t often receive challenge gifts, so when we do, we want to take full advantage of them. We’re encouraging all alumni who attended BK between the years of 1976 and 1982 to give so we can receive the full amount of this challenge grant.”

The school appreciates all donors, whether they are alumni, parents of alumni, parents of current students, grandparents, or friends of Bishop Kelley.

Scan the QR code to contribute to the Griffin Match as part of the We Are BK Capital Campaign. To scan, use your phone’s camera. Hover over the QR code as if you are taking a photo, then click the link that appears. It will take you to the donation page. 17

“We frequently hear stories about how the school changed lives and put its graduates in a position to succeed in life and we’re hoping many of those positively impacted by Bishop Kelley faculty and staff will give to the campaign,” Thomas said. “We intend to reach our $25M capital campaign goal, and it’s going to take all of us rowing in the same direction to realize these needs for our current and future generations of BK Comets.”