We believe our calling is best expressed in Catholicism, and we embrace our Catholic faith as fundamental to our business. In part, this means we have committed to following the social teachings of the Catholic Church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) describes Catholic Social Teaching (CST) as comprises several key themes, as shown below, and associates them with the principle of Solidarity.

Seven Themes of CST

CST guides causes our work advances. We focus on organizations that:

• Help people get through crisis situations and get back on their feet
• Support those with chronic needs that are obstacles to self-sufficiency 
• Lift people up by empowering them and connecting them to real opportunity
• Strengthen families and build up the communities in which they live
• Promote and protect the lives of the most vulnerable members of society
• Work to reclaim and conserve the environment and its natural resources
• Advance freedom and legimate human rights in the US and abroad

Missions, Clients, and Approaches

CST gives life to our goal of elevating people and communities.  First of all, it affects our focus the challenges we seek to mitigate or eliminate. We want to solve pressing issues like hunger, homelessness, affordable working class housing, lack of access to quality health care, financial insecurity, mental and behavioral health challenges, access to education, illiteracy, un- and under-employment, crisis pregnancies, family struggles, and economically distressed and unsafe communities, among others. Individuals and groups affected by challenges in such areas are diverse, but they have in common the fact that they are our neighbors who need our help. We are all obligated to will and work for their good.

Who we serve is also affected by CST. We strengthen the organizations best positioned to support and elevate people and communities, at the levels of society that enable the most efficient and effective use of resources to provide the right assistance to those in need, when it's most necessary. Our clients are typically non-profits, governments, and businesses that serve localities and/or regions, because they know the issues, the people they affect, and how they manifest locally. While it's not always the case, they can usually plan and deliver tailored services to their communities better than, for example, global and national entities that think they can fix problems with "one size fits all" solutions.

Finally, it's the "spirit of CST" that guides a key aspect of our philosophy. We're confident in our abilities, but we understand humility is essential. We don't have all of the answers ourselves, especially given the unique characteristics and nuances of local contexts, and we don't pretend to. In adition, we know we share common goals with our clients, because we exist to support their causes. These beliefs lead us to collaboration as a core value. It's by working together, combining our subject matter expertise and cross-sector experiences with our clients' situational knowledge, that we can make the most progress towards meeting their constituents' needs and solving the underlying socio-economic problems.

We're committed to the Economy of  Communion (EoC), a global initiative aimed at addresing social issues through business practices that prioritize community welfare and shared values. With roots in CST, it was first presented in 1991 in São Paulo, Brazil as a mandate to create a new economic model integrating business success with social responsibility. Businesses are encouraged to allocate a percentage of their profits to support those in need, and to foster a culture of giving within their communities. In some ways, the EoC is similar to the Certified B Corporation® movement, so it's natural that we adopt its principles.

Key EoC Principles

The following are the essential responsibilites of companies that designate themselves as EoC participants:

• Community Focus—EoC businesses are integral parts of their communities, aiming to address social problems by creating meaningful jobs and supporting local initiatives focused on improving people's lives and the places in which they live. We do this primarily by working with organizations alleviating poverty, helping in crisis, etc., and businesses that provide opportunities in under-served areas.

• Profit Sharing—A significant aspect of the EoC is the commitment of businesses to share their profits for three main objectives: (1) Aiding the needy, (2) Developing the business, and (3) Promoting a culture of communion. We are firmly committed to this principle—in fact, we go beyond profit and allocate a percentage of our gross revenue to non-profits that address the issues that concern us the most.

• Human-Centered Approach—The EoC emphasizes the importance of relationships and the well-being of all stakeholders, prioritizing human dignity over profit. This mirrors the Catholic business ethic of seeking only reasonable profits to keep ourselves whole and re-invest in our business. Our ultimate goal as a company is to help people, not to make excessive amounts of money off of their problems.