Jim Pogge joins CEA as the Director of Development, focusing on Corporate Relations and Corporate Tax Credits. Jim joins us after 3 ½ years as the Director of Advancement at Seton Catholic Preparatory in Chandler, Arizona. At Seton, Jim’s Advancement Team directed the annual fund, resurrected fundraising events, spearheaded corporate tax credit initiatives, and led capital improvement projects, including athletic field lights and the recent renovation of its “Historic Campus.”
In 2018, Jim moved to Arizona from Omaha, Nebraska. He is very familiar with Catholic education both in K-12 formation as well as from an administrative standpoint. Jim attended Catholic elementary school, graduated from Creighton Prep in Omaha, and earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University in Minnesota. Jim also holds a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He married his college sweetheart, and they have two adult children who also attended Pre-K thru 12 Catholic schools.
For the past 17 years, Jim has worked on what he calls he “business side of education.” He was on the leadership team that opened St. Peter Claver Cristo Rey High School, directing the Hire4ED Corporate Partnership program; from there, Jim joined Creighton University as Director of Philanthropy and liaison to what is now known as the Heider College of Business. Jim was then hired as the Vice President of Advancement at Mercy High School, a girls’ college prep school in Omaha, run by the Sisters of Mercy. After nearly 7 years driving Mercy events, the annual fund, and capital campaigns, Jim and his family moved to Arizona and started his position at Seton.
Prior to his work in education, Jim helped manage his family’s 50-year-old business. Jim’s experience also includes corporate sales and training positions as well as a few years as a university instructor.
Jim became professionally involved in Catholic education after what he calls an epiphanic moment. “I knew that I was blessed with a family that valued education and made sacrifices for my education. However, not all families can make those sacrifices—especially in Omaha where this are no provisions for school choice. We need strong public schools; however, many families desire the different benefits that private schools can offer their children. Unfortunately, the tuition is often of reach, and many families opt out before they even explore a private education. I got into this business because I met so many families who wanted a Catholic education for their children but could not afford it. I wanted to help bridge that gap.”
Jim will focus primarily on building relationships with business leaders, educating them about how easy it is to participate, and asking them to redirect their Arizona tax liability to directly support student scholarships. As a former business owner himself, Jim thinks the answer to this question is fairly straightforward: If you have to write a check for your tax liability, where do you want to send it?
Jim added, “I have had the privilege to work with individual schools and their families. I witnessed firsthand how education and first-generation college matriculation quite literally changed the trajectory of entire families. I look forward to sharing the CEA story to business leaders across the Diocese so that any child who desires a Catholic education can truly have access to it. These tuition tax credits are truly a blessing—one that most Catholic school parents across the country do not enjoy.”
