#iGiveCatholic grows despite GivingTuesday flat trend U.S. Catholic Giving Day Raises over $20 Million
New Orleans, LA (December 11, 2023) – In a year when the GivingTuesday movement saw only a marginal increase in dollars given and a ten percent decline in donors, #iGiveCatholic achieved growth in both areas. The U.S. Catholic Church’s ninth annual giving day raised $20,123,280 -- $1.6 million (8.7%) more than in 2022. 1,870 Catholic non-profit organizations in 34 states received gifts from 58,822 donors (11% more than 2022) from all 50 states and 22 countries.
“This result is a good reminder that our impact is deeper and broader than the dollars we raise,” said board president Cory J. Howat. “#iGiveCatholic helps our partner dioceses and participating organizations build communities of generosity. Even in this challenging economic climate, donors faithfully supported their Catholic parishes, schools, and ministries through #iGiveCatholic, and we are so grateful.”
While not all dioceses and organizations improved year-over-year, there were several diocesan partners and individual organizations with exceptional campaigns that far exceeded 2022 results.
The #iGiveCatholic campaign in the Archdiocese of St. Louis grew 144% from 2022, with a 31% increase in the number of unique donors. Joe Shaver, who administers #iGiveCatholic for St. Louis, attributes this success to returning organizations applying lessons they had learned in previous campaigns: more participating organizations had specific projects that they communicated more clearly to their audiences, which seems to have inspired a more generous response.
The Catholic Diocese of Memphis – a mission diocese supported by a grant from Catholic Extension – saw a 112% increase from 2022’s totals, from nearly $67,000 to $141,725. They also attracted 94 additional donors. Assistant Director of Development Allison Thron said, “This year’s #iGiveCatholic campaign was a combined effort with our Offices of the Bishop, Development, and Communications. From announcing the dates for Advanced Giving and Giving Tuesday to working one-on-one with our organizations that needed extra help, this was an all-hands-on deck year. I am truly amazed at the generosity of our faithful across West Tennessee.”
Fr. Beau Charbonnet of St. Angela Merici Church in Metairie, LA called #iGiveCatholic “One of the best gifts you can give to your parish” in an #iGiveCatholic Pastor Testimony video distributed in August of this year. In eight years of participating, they have raised over $750,000 and completed numerous major projects. This year, 505 donors contributed $340,948 – a significant surge from their inspiring 2022 total of $275,000 from 490 donors and nearly double the $185,000 campaign goal to fund construction of a new Adoration Chapel.
St. Thomas More Catholic Church and Newman Center at the University of South Carolina ended their fourth #iGiveCatholic campaign with $323,423 raised from 345 donors (as compared to $205,790 from 267 donors in 2022). Director of Development Katie Washington attributes their success to “harnessing our resources to the best of our ability, which are our students and our leadership.” Their students raised a combined $55,000 as Peer2Peer fundraisers and were extremely present in social media posts as well as a live event on the evening of GivingTuesday. Their young and charismatic pastor and chaplain, Fr. Rhett B. Williams, was equally present and engaging, even participating in an online “Father v. Father Power Hour” competition with his alma mater Bishop England High School for the most donors in a single hour. Another key component Washington celebrated was the acquisition and growth of match opportunities.
Some newcomers also achieved considerable success. In this first year for The Archdiocese of Louisville, 31 ministries raised collectively over $220,000 from 900 donors. Director of Mission Advancement Molly Keene Smith had this to say about their experience: “We are absolutely thrilled with the process and with the outcomes for our parishes and schools! Participation in #iGiveCatholic made lots of great things happen and some very worthwhile projects will now be able to be completed. We can’t wait to see what happens in Year Two!”
The 2023 #iGiveCatholic giving day was made possible by the financial contributions of National Sponsor Our Sunday Visitor; Impact Sponsors CCS Fundraising and Yellow Line Digital; and Affiliate Sponsor CAPTRUST as well as programmatic collaborations with Catholic Extension, the International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC) and GivingTuesday.
For more information about #iGiveCatholic or to view the full list of results visit www.iGiveCatholic.org. To find more individual success stories about #iGiveCatholic partners and participants, follow #iGiveCatholic on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, YouTube & LinkedIn (@iGiveCatholic).
Next year’s #iGiveCatholic on #GivingTuesday is December 4, 2024. Dioceses and organizations interested in participating are encouraged to email info@igivecatholic.org to schedule a personalized presentation. |
About #iGiveCatholic: #iGiveCatholic is a bishop-led initiative in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and dozens of individual dioceses to bring the Catholic community together to inspire and support generosity. #iGiveCatholic is an independent 501c3 organization that runs the annual U.S. Catholic Church’s giving day (www.igivecatholic.org) as well as the #iGiveCatholic Together platform (www.igivecatholictogether.org) which hosts year-round online giving for the USCCB as well as Catholic giving days outside of GivingTuesday. Celebrated annually since 2015 on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, #iGiveCatholic on GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season and brings the Catholic community together to "Give Back and Give Catholic". As the first-ever giving day created to celebrate our unique Catholic heritage, #iGiveCatholic on GivingTuesday inspires faithful stewards to express their generosity in support of and gratitude for their beloved faith community and ministries on this global day of giving. |
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