Philanthropic Commitment

In the spirit of John Baptist de La Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers Religious Institute, Saint Mary's Press has long been committed to distributing its “profits” for the common good, especially for the care of the poor.

Saint Mary’s Press has operated the Bible Grant Program since 2000. Saint Mary's Press donates Bibles to teens who are incarcerated or living in detention centers, as well as to parishes and schools serving young people who are living in poverty. Since its inception, Saint Mary's Press has donated close to 65,000 Bibles to individuals and institutions.

In 1993, Saint Mary’s Press funded the start-up of Instituto Fe y Vida, a nonprofit corporation that functions solely as a training institute for Hispanic youth leaders who bring the Good News to Hispanic young people in the United States. Saint Mary's Press publishes several of Fe y Vida’s printed materials. Over the years, Saint Mary’s Press has invested several million dollars in the good work of Instituto Fe y Vida, based in Stockton, California.

During the early 1980s, the Christian Brothers who worked at Saint Mary's Press started what has become the Saint Mary’s Press Lasallian Education Fund. The fund’s capital has been built through the donated salaries of brothers who have worked at Saint Mary's Press since 1988. The fund is now held and administered by the Christian Brothers of the Midwest Province. The fund’s purpose is to provide monies for projects that advance religious education in a Lasallian manner, beyond the normal scope of the Saint Mary's Press publishing business.

In 1988, Saint Mary’s University established a scholarship in honor of Br. Alphonsus Pluth. Since the inception of the scholarship, over 100 scholarship grants have been given to Saint Mary’s University students, totaling over $200,000.

Br. Alphonsus Pluth, founder of Saint Mary’s Press, believed that lay employees of Saint Mary's Press should receive a just and fair salary and the means to provide for their needs in retirement. Hence, Saint Mary's Press employees receive generous profit-sharing benefits that are deposited directly into their 401(k) retirement programs.