Challenge
- There are an estimated 10,000 individuals discerning a priestly or religious vocation in the US annually*
- 42% are blocked from pursuing this call due to educational loans*
- The average vocational ‘aspirant’ in Labouré owes $45,000 in educational loans
- Aspirants are accepted and ready to enter; prevented only by their student loans
- Most religious communities cannot assume this debt
- Most dioceses will allow some debt but have a limited threshold for acceptance
*(NRVC, Vision Study, 2010)
Solution
Our Aspirants
- Discern a vocation & are accepted into a diocese or religious community
- Are blocked from entering or continuing vocational formation due to student loans
- Apply to Labouré & meet intake requirements
- Are trained in ethical fundraising – empowered with practical tools, personal mentoring, & accountability
- Share their vocation stories & participate in building a culture of vocations & evangelization
- Raise funds for Labouré to benefit many vocations
- Are awarded monthly payments towards their educational loans
- Receive final award payout after 3 years & enter freely into a lifetime of priestly or religious service
The Labouré Society
- Works with each aspirant to ensure all personal means are utilized to mitigate the loan amount (loan consolidation, asset review, financial counseling, employment, etc.) prior to acceptance into the program
- Trains each aspirant in biblically based philanthropy
- Forms a semi-annual ‘class’ of aspirants
- Mentors each aspirant building a unified team; each individual works toward the collective goal
- Provides ongoing accountability to ensure proper preparation & completion of personal fundraising plans
- Equips each aspirant with an online fundraising platform for real time donation processing, reporting, assessment of goals & class interaction, marketing & communications tools
- Facilitates ongoing communication & updates between aspirants & donors after formation entrance
- Manages aspirant award payments while they are in formation
- Completes award payout after 3 years active formation