In 1985, the Hastings Catholic Endowment created a fund with the purpose of supporting the operating expenses of Hastings Parochial School.
A generous couple in the Hastings Catholic community made the initial contribution. They felt their son received excellent attention from all the teachers after his difficult injuries from being burned. The family witnessed the teachers going out of their way to make sure their son continued to learn at his pace while he was coping with both physical and psychological healing. Because of their positive experiences with their son, they thought strong Catholic education needed to be continued in Hastings for as long as possible. They thought, just maybe, their gift could be the start of something that would help carry on Catholic education in Hastings.
During this time, with the team effort of three couples of Hastings Parochial Schools, a special event, the Spring Fling, was held. The goal of this event was to promote the Endowment Fund and help raise money to continue its growth. The net proceeds of the Spring Fling were invested directly in the Endowment Fund. The Spring Fling continues to be an annual fundraising event for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School to assist in the building of Endowment.
In 2018, the Endowment Fund was changed over to a foundation called the Hastings Catholic Education Foundation. The sole purpose of the Foundation is to support Catholic education through scholarships, Capital improvements, missions and ministries of the area Catholic schools, and to assist in subsidizing teacher salaries. This is to name a few of the Foundation's great works.