Mom’s advice leads Feltz to become director of planned giving
By John Shaughnessy
Joanna Feltz smiles when she acknowledges that it was her mother’s advice that led her to become the new director of planned giving for the Catholic Community Foundation of the archdiocese.
The 42-year-old attorney and mother of three was firmly established in her job of estate planning and trust administration for a private company when she first saw an advertisement in The Criterion listing the open position in the archdiocese’s office of stewardship and development.
Intrigued, Feltz thought about applying but didn’t. Still, the thought kept coming back to her as the ads continued to appear. It finally reached the point where she talked about it with her mother.
“She always says that when something won’t let you go, and it keeps coming into your consciousness and your prayers, it’s either God or the devil,” Feltz recalls.
Believing it was God at work, Feltz’s mother encouraged her to pursue the position. So she did.
“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Feltz says. “I believe in divine intervention. The culmination of all of it is that they offered me the position.”
Feltz is excited about the possibilities.
“The reason I want to work for the Church, especially in this position, is that I feel we have so many great ministries, parishes and schools that I want them to be here for thousands of years,” Feltz says. “To be able to help do that is pretty powerful.
“With baby boomers being such a large population, I feel we have this great opportunity to communicate all the good work we’re doing in our schools and agencies, and we can leave legacies to continue that good work.”
Feltz says she has experienced the blessings of her Catholic faith throughout her life. She talks fondly of her education at Holy Name School in Beech Grove.
“I’ve benefitted from going to Catholic schools, participating in CYO [Catholic Youth Organization] sports and being part of the parish community, which is like an extension of family.”
She and her husband, Jonathan Sturgill, have tried to continue those connections for their children through their involvement as members of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis.
He leads the coffee-and-conversation hospitality ministry after two of the Sunday Masses at the parish. She’s immersed in the Mothers of Young Children ministry, including co-chairing the St. Patrick’s Day party that more than 300 adults and children attend.
“I get a lot of rewards from volunteering at the parish level,” she says.
Feltz’s dedication to her faith and her expertise in legacy planning make her a natural fit as the archdiocese’s director of planned giving, according to Ellen Brunner, the director of the Catholic Community Foundation.
“Joanna is highly committed to helping individuals looking for help with legacy planning to benefit charitable work important to them,” Brunner says. “Her extensive experience practicing law in the areas of trusts and estates—and assisting individuals with achieving planning goals—are gifts that will serve our Catholic community well.”
Feltz has already used those talents during one of her first days as director of planned giving.
“I met with a gentleman whose wife was a lifelong educator. She was a resource teacher that assisted grade-school children who were struggling with reading,” she says. “He’s going to set up an endowment in her honor. He’s making a contribution to help with reading resources at the parish school he identified.”
That’s the kind of connection she wants to make.
“My main purpose is being a resource to help people who have something in mind that they want to accomplish and that requires resources. My goal is to explain to them how that can be done.
“It’s all a process—learning about them, why they are considering it, how we can accomplish it, and how we will be good stewards as they help people. I really enjoy it.”
(For more information about planned giving in the archdiocese, log on to www.archindy.org/plannedgiving or call Joanna Feltz at 800-382-9836, ext. 1588, or 317-236-1588.) †