In addition to providing honest financial answers and guaranteeing the lowest rates, Catholic Home Loan, LLC is committed to supporting charitable causes.

In doing so, we donate over 15% of our net profits to charities chosen by our customers.

Through your loan with Catholic Home Loan, LLC, you can help to benefit charities and organizations around the world.

When Michelle and Mike Stephan were refinancing their home, Mrs. Stephan happened to see an advertisement in the National Catholic Register for a company called Catholic Home Loan, LLC, which promised the lowest interest rates available and also pledged to donate a percentage of its profits to the Catholic charity of their customer's choice.

The result is that the Stephans just paid their first new, lower mortgage payment, and All Saints School - where six of the Stephans' nine children are students - received a check for $103.

"We thought it was kind of cool," Mrs. Stephan said.

After her husband's initial contact with the company through its toll-free number, "he said it was almost too easy, and that we'll just wait and see how this goes."

"We saved a lot of money, and they donated money that will help pay for the gym our school is trying to build.

This is a small way to help but if everybody just does small ways - especially if they are going to refinance anyway - it's a good way to contribute without even knowing you're doing it," Mrs. Stephan said.

A spokeswomen for the Dallas-based loan company said the donations apply to first purchase loans as well as refinanced ones.

The firm was founded about three years ago by a group of predominately Catholic investment bankers who saw an opportunity to contribute to Catholic communities of all types - schools, home school programs, parishes or Catholic Charities groups.

Kathy Milligan, Senior Vice President of corporate development, said the company refuses to make donations to organizations that contradict teachings of the Church, but the loans are available to people of all religious denominations.

She stressed that the percentage given to the Catholic charities comes off the company's profits.

"It's not a charge-back to the customer," she said. "That's really nice; it helps built trust and confidence among our customers."

Catholic Home Loan LLC operates in 40 states and can be reached by calling 1-800-270-8565 or online at www.catholichomeloan.com.

- Excerpt taken from Eastern Oklahoma Catholic, November 2002