Partners in Charity reaches 93% of goal

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

Parishioners’ desire to see Partners in Charity goals reached helped parishes exceed those goals, pastors told The Catholic Free Press.
These stories came from parishes that reached their appeal goal for the first time in years.
“It has been a very positive campaign,” said Michael P. Gillespie, director of the Office of Stewardship and Development, which oversees Partners in Charity. “Pastors and parish administrators and lay parish leaders have been very supportive. That makes all the difference.”
Partners in Charity reached 93 percent of its $5 million goal, bringing in $4,637,869 from 11,961 gifts, Mr. Gillespie said. Of those, 487 were new gifts equaling $88,460. The 1,146 online gifts totaled $572,813. This year there were more new gfts than last year, and the number of online gifts was the highest since online giving began.
Among parishes that Mr. Gillespie highlighted that exceeded their goal, after not having met it in years, were St. Leo in Leominster, Sacred Heart of Jesus in Webster and Sacred Heart of Jesus in Milford.
St. Leo, Leominster
Mr. Gillespie reported that St. Leo’s raised $76,344, or 109 percent of its $70,000 goal, with 198 gifts.
Father William E. Champlin said this was the first year in his eight years as St. Leo’s pastor that the parish met its goal.
He said he was a little more vigilant this year; he gave updates weekly from the pulpit and in the Sunday bulletin, encouraging parishioners to contribute.  
“Suddenly we find ourselves at 92 percent of our goal,” he recalled. “Once we got to 92 percent, we had a few people who really wanted to see that we reached the goal. I think they see the value of Partners in Charity.”
One husband and wife – longtime parishioners who do their part with other tasks too – contributed the remaining 8 percent.
“They indicated that they brought this to prayer,” and felt God wanted them to do this, he said. “They had already made their donation to Partners in Charity, so this was an additional donation.”
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Webster
Sacred Heart of Jesus in Webster reached 103 percent of its $30,000 goal, with 96 gifts totaling $30,788, Mr. Gillespie reported.
“That was a great accomplishment for the parish,” said Father Adam Reid, pastor. “Given the importance of what Partners in Charity funds, I’m very pleased. … I’m very grateful for the generosity of the … parish family, as well as for the terrific effort of Kyle McDonald, our campaign chairperson.”
Father Reid said he requested a lower goal since “some of us are still paying off our commitment to the Legacy of Hope diocesan capital campaign,” after just paying off commitments to the parish capital campaign.
“I’m certainly very appreciative that the bishop responded to the request,” he said. “Lowering the goal was the catalyst for the incentive to reach goal because people saw it as a lot more realistic, and they responded.”
When the parish was close to goal, a couple people each gave $1,000, Father Reid said. After that, a second collection, like one the parish held earlier, brought in enough to put the parish over goal.
He and Mr. McDonald had pushed heavily for contributions by speaking at Masses on different weekends, he said.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Milford
Sacred Heart in Milford contributed $72,360, or a little more than 101 percent of its $71,300 goal, Mr. Gillespie reported.
“We had a lot of gifts (234), but they were very small,” said Stigmatine Father Richard A. Scioli, pastor.
The parish exceeded the goal by supplementing Partners donations with money from the parish’s share from the diocesan capital campaign, he said. He said Sacred Heart used Legacy of Hope money in its human services account that it had earmarked “for the poor and the care of God’s people.”
Mr. Gillespie praised the efforts of parishes like these, which were among the 58 parishes that reached or surpassed their goals.
He also stressed that the appeal relies on increased “leadership giving” from various societies, which involve annual commitments ranging from $300 to $7,500 or more.

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