The Archbishop of Sydney has opened the doors of Cathedral House to invite past and present members of the Catholic Development Fund to celebrate three decades of exemplary service.
The Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic Development Fund (CDF) was established by Cardinal Edward Clancy in 1993 as a not-for-profit with the purpose of maximising the use of church funds for the greater good.
Since its founding, at a time when a family could purchase an average home in Sydney for $188,000, Paul Keating was PM, Bill Hayden was Australia’s Governor-General, and roughly half of all payments were made by cheque, Australian life and culture has changed dramatically.
However, one constant has been the CDF’s faithful dedication to the responsible stewardship of church funds, providing a source of finance and credit for capital and other expenditures in the work of the church, primarily in the Archdiocese of Sydney.
The CDF also has assisted in the provision of better financial management of investments and assets of parishes, the archdiocese, Sydney Catholic Schools and many Catholic Church entities and charitable activities.
“In the decades the CDF has been operating, it has become one of the good news stories of the Archdiocese,” the late Cardinal George Pell once said of the CDF.
That good news story can be witnessed in the many and wide-ranging pastoral, charitable and capital works brought to fruition across the Archdiocese of Sydney with the financial support of the CDF.
The small, dedicated team at the CDF, each have their own financial acumen, commitment and professionalism.
Most are ex-bankers, but with a difference. The difference being that they share the same mission, vision and values of all members of the archdiocese and understand the way an agency or parish or school operates from a financial perspective.
When asked about the importance of the 30-year milestone, the CDF’s current General Manager Peter Bokeyar said, “On behalf of all our past and present staff and board members, we are extremely proud to have provided significant support for our mission.
“We have grown from humble beginnings to become a significant and sustainable financial institution that favourably compares to similarly-sized credit unions and banks.
“We are committed to the continual financial support of the archdiocese and other Catholic entities.”
The CDF team is always available as a financial sounding board, for any of the archdiocese’s Catholic entities for trusted advice and financial solutions.