Partners reaches 89%

Compiled by RayMond L. Delisle
Director of the Office for Communications

“There are lots of good stories to share” about the annual Partners in Charity appeal, according to Michael P. Gillespie, director of development for the Diocese of Worcester. Although the annual appeal ended the year short of its $5 million goal, no cuts in the amount distributed to programs and agencies are expected, officials said. The collection reached 89 percent of the goal. The official final results, parish by parish, will be announced in the next few weeks.
We sat down with Bishop McManus and Mr. Gillespie to recap how the appeal performed in 2021.
What were the results for the 2021 Appeal?

GILLESPIE: To begin with, we raised more than last year which totaled $4,469,175. That is $89,280 more than last year. And 751 more donors supported the appeal, ending with 13,292 households participating. Those are impressive numbers, and we are grateful to all the pastors and parish leadership who helped us get there.

When do you start preparing for the annual appeal?

GILLESPIE: Planning for the annual appeal begins shortly after the last appeal is over. We finish reconciling numbers by early October and by November we are already discussing what to do differently for the next appeal.  In the fall of 2020 we knew we had to think more creatively, given a number of unique challenges we would face in 2021.

Bishop, was the fact that you were still conducting a capital campaign one of those challenges?

BISHOP: We have to remember that the capital campaign, Legacy of Hope, had yet to be conducted in some parishes. Because of the pandemic, we had to take some time off in that effort and extend the campaign by about 18 months. That put a strain on the annual Partners in Charity appeal.
I know that we have gone to great lengths to differentiate the two fundraising efforts. Simply put, Legacy is building endowments for the future, while Partners is funding today’s annual operating expenses for programs and ministries that either serve parishes or address things beyond our parishes’ means. Both Partners and Legacy need to succeed, but there can be fatigue when campaigns go on for a long time.

Did the ongoing pandemic pose specific challenges to Partners in Charity?

GILLESPIE: One year ago we didn’t know where the pandemic was going and when our parishes could return to normal routines. We could no longer rely on the methods that worked for decades, such as the in-pew appeal.
Instead, our office worked with parishes to use direct mail to bring the appeal right to people’s homes, as well as promote more online giving opportunities. The results demonstrated that both efforts delivered the majority of the donations and pledges for this year.
A third challenge was a combination of the first two. Since some parishes were going to start their capital campaigns in spring 2021, the Partners appeal adapted by launching in waves or groups of parishes. We started as early as January for about 30 parishes and were finished in about two months to allow for the capital campaign to proceed in those parishes. That helped both their Partners appeal and their Legacy campaign go more smoothly.

BISHOP: I have said many times how edifying it is to witness the generosity of our parishioners. Besides solid results in both Partners in Charity and continuing responses to Legacy of Hope, we introduced an Ash Wednesday Collection in 2021 to directly assist priests’ retirement care. The response to that was beyond our hopes. On behalf of all those assisted by our agencies and ministries, I cannot express enough how grateful I am, the donors who are supporting some or all of these efforts, while continuing to support their parish through the weekly offertory.

Michael, does Partners rely mostly on major donors to raise most of its total?

GILLESPIE: I think any successful appeal relies on a wide variety of donors. That was one reason we were asking parishes to focus on encouraging new donors to the appeal. The fact that our donors are spread across a wide number of giving societies and that the average donation is $336 shows how this appeal has wide support across the parishes.

What are some unique stories that come to mind from this year?

GILLESPIE: I think one category which I do not recall happening in the past involves matching gift challenges at the parish level. For example, at Holy Trinity Parish in Harvard/Bolton, a parishioner who wished to remain anonymous offered a challenge to other parishioners in order to help the parish make or exceed their goal. He was willing to match up to $10,000. Within two weeks they went over goal. Another example was by a pastor. Father (William) Schipper at Mary Queen of the Rosary Parish in Spencer made a personal matching gift challenge or $3,500 to get his parish over goal. They, too, finished up in less than two weeks and exceeded goal.

BISHOP: Leadership at the parish level is critical for success. I know it can be hard for new pastors or administrators who typically start their assignments in July to start talking about fundraising. Most would quite naturally want to shy away from it. However, I know there were four new administrators this summer who helped lead their parishes to surpass their goals: Father Juan Escudero in Northborough, Father Javier Julio in Webster, Father Nelson Rivera in Douglas, and Father. Hugo Cano at the cathedral. That was so good to hear. We have heard it said so often, “it starts at the top.” These were all great examples of that being true.

Editor’s Note: In the coming weeks we will publish the official final list of results by parish. For a list of the agencies and programs supported by Partners go to partners-charity.net