CCF director guided by ‘North Star’ of relationship building

The archdiocese’s new Catholic Community Foundation director Peter Duncan smiles with his wife Caroline and their son George in this 2025 Christmas photo. (Submitted photo)

Peter Duncan knew at some point he wanted to work for or serve the Church in some capacity, “but kind of later on in life, you know, kind of the back half of my career,” he says.

But “divine providence” had other ideas, he adds with a smile.

Just eight years after graduating from college, Duncan was hired in April as director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Community Foundation (CCF).

“You don’t often get to match your personal side with your professional side,” says the lifelong Catholic.

He grew up in Seymour, where he and his family worshiped at St. Ambrose Church. Duncan then headed to Franklin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Franklin College in 2018.

He worked in banking for nearly eight years, first as a credit analyst and then as a wealth management advisor starting in 2020.

“Several years ago, I actually did a quick Google search of Catholic charities and foundations in the greater Indianapolis area that I could in some capacity get involved in, and the Catholic Community Foundation is one that came up,” says Duncan.

He tucked the information away as something to consider in the future.

As time passed, Duncan found himself “wanting a little bit more out of work” than his wealth management position provided.

“So, I started thinking about what moves I could make in my current career that would make me more marketable to go work at the archdiocese later on in life,” he says.

That was the point when “divine providence”—and Duncan’s wife—stepped in.

‘This mission is the one’

Duncan met Caroline Gabehart, a resident of Franklin, while he was in college. Caroline was Catholic—but the two did not meet exchanging glances over hymnals during Mass.

“It was kind of that old story that I think a lot of people have, where you go off to college and kind of fall away from the faith, not really going to church much,” says Duncan of his faith life during his college years. “But I still considered myself Catholic.”

After dating for a few years, the couple “started thinking about marriage and what that would look like and what that actually meant,” he recalls. “Those conversations kind of naturally came right back to the Church, that if we’re going to get married and take it seriously, then it should probably be within the Church.

“I got very serious about the Catholic faith again—actually, I’d say probably serious for really the first time.”

The couple wed in September 2021. They and their soon-to-be 2-year-old son George are members of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis.

Back to Duncan’s search for jobs that would make him “more marketable” for the archdiocese at some point down the road.

“I never really talked to anybody about these grand plans that were in my head,” he says.

Around that time, Caroline approached him one day and said, “I really think that you should look at the job listings for the archdiocese,” Duncan recalls.

He had done that before but never found a good fit.

“This time when I pulled up the job listings, there was a job opportunity I thought that kind of matched pretty closely what I was doing at the time. So, I threw my hat in the ring and applied. One thing led to another and here we are.”

During the interview process, Duncan received an e-mail thanking him for his “interest in working for a mission-based organization.”

“And I thought to myself, ‘Not just any mission. This mission is the one that I’m interested in working for.”

‘It’s about building relationships’

Duncan describes the CCF’s mission as “partnering with the Catholic community in central and southern Indiana to foster stewardship and provide long-term financial stability for all the parishes, schools and agencies within the archdiocese.”

That mission is currently carried out through some 600 funds.

“It’s astonishing how many funds the Catholic Community Foundation has under its care,” says Duncan. “I think that just about any Catholic cause, whether it be an archdiocesan school or charity or parish—you name it—we’ve got funds for it.”

But Duncan’s job will not see him tied to a desk, eyes focused on his computer screen.

“As far as the position and this work go, it’s about building relationships with the community and the people across the archdiocese. That’s kind of my North Star,” he says.

Duncan pursued that guiding principle of relationship building right out of the gate.

“I think week one, maybe, I had a good conversation with the business manager at a parish,” he says. “We kind of walked through one by one all of the funds that support the parish that he works at.

“I think that’s a great template for conversations to have with every parish in the archdiocese and say, ‘Here’s all of the [CCF] funds that support your parish. Let us help you.’ ”

When Duncan isn’t building relationships through his job, he usually can be found on the road with Caroline and George enjoying other relationships.

“We’ve got family close to us and kind of scattered throughout southern Indiana and in Cincinnati,” he says. “So, it’s kind of a full-time gig, traveling around and making sure that we’re seeing everybody and staying up to date.”

He’s a sports fan, too.

“I love Notre Dame football and Cincinnati Reds baseball,” says Duncan.

The Indy 500 is “always a big-ticket item for me,” he notes, adding that Caroline took him to his first race in 2017 for their second date. “I’ve gone every year except for one since then.”

Otherwise, says Duncan, “With the little one running around, our life is being with our son and chasing him around the house.”

Caroline has noticed a change in Duncan since he started his new job.

“She says my general demeanor is much better,” he notes with a smile. “That’s encouraging to hear.”
 

(For more information on the Catholic Community Foundation, go to archindy.org/ccf.) †