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Saint Paul
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

2018 appeal increases goal, adds new ministry

Catholic Services Appeal

This year, the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation is increasing both its fundraising goal and its impact, with the addition of another supported ministry. Rachel’s Vineyard, a ministry for men and women seeking post-abortive healing, is joining the other 17 ministries the annual appeal previously supported in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“We wanted to have a pro-life ministry, and we didn’t really have [one],” said Greg Pulles, a CSAF board member.

Previously, Catholic Charities’ Seton Prenatal Clinic, which served expecting mothers, filled that niche, he said, but the clinic’s 2016 closure left a hole in the appeal’s pro-life impact. He noted that the archdiocese’s Office for Marriage, Family and Life also does pro-life outreach, but the CSAF wanted one of the supported ministries to have that exclusive focus.

Rachel’s Vineyard “is a great organization that works really hard,” said Jennifer Beaudry, CSAF executive director. “The stories that we hear from them … are just amazing. … They’re talking about themselves having an abortion and how Rachel’s Vineyard has helped them through [the healing process].”

The CSAF is convinced it can raise additional funds to support a new ministry because the 2017 appeal exceeded its $9.3 million goal, drawing $9.8 million in pledges and an anticipated $9.5 million in funds collected. That outpouring of generosity from local Catholics gave the CSAF leadership confidence that Catholics can match that number again this year. Commitment weekend is Feb. 10-11 in parishes.

Additional funds raised through the increased goal will support the addition of Rachel’s Vineyard and a Catholic elementary school scholarship program it launched last year in partnership with the Aim Higher Foundation, as well as parish rebates, which leaders anticipate will proportionally increase. It’s the first time the Catholic Services Appeal goal has increased since the CSAF was created in 2013.

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In last year’s appeal, the CSAF saw both the amount pledged and amount collected increase by 5 percent.

Last year, 124 parishes hit their appeal goal in collected dollars — one more than the previous year ­— and the CSAF returned 25 percent of funds raised. Parishes that raise more than 90 percent of their goal but less than 100 percent receive 10 percent of their funds raised back. The CSAF expects to return $1.9 million to parishes from the 2017 appeal, Beaudry said.

Also notable is the number of parishes that increased the amount of their appeal contributions by more than 20 percent, Pulles said. Some parishes also dropped below last year’s giving, but the number of parishes that increased their giving “far outweighed” those whose giving fell, he said.

The CSAF also brought in 39,900 gifts, a similar number to last year, but the average gift amount — $246 — was up $14 over the previous year.

As of Jan. 30, the CSAF had distributed $6,529,000 to the collective ministries.

Several factors made the 2017 appeal a successful campaign, Beaudry said. Funds raised by the initial “in-pew ask” went up by $300,000 over the previous year, and the initial mailing was strong, she said. The Deo Gratias Society, composed of donors who give $1,500 or more, also grew by 10 percent, and web donations went up by $200,000. Its social media and email outreach to parishes has also grown, and it sends monthly emails to about 40,000 addresses.

“I think we’ve done each year a better job than the year before in telling the story of these ministries,” Pulles said.

The appeal supports ministries throughout the archdiocese that no one parish could support on its own, emphasized John Norris, CSAF president. He said he also appreciates Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s support.

Without the appeal, “there would be 18 ministries that would suffer immensely, and our archdiocese … would lose these ministries,” Pulles said. “Many of these ministries could not survive without this money.”


18 in ‘18: Ministries funded by CSAF

The following are the 18 ministries in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis funded by the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation and its 2018 appeal funding goals.

$200,000
AMERICAN INDIAN MINISTRY
The archdiocese’s special outreach to the Catholic American Indian community includes a funeral ministry that arranges for the deceased to be buried on his or her home reservation.

$25,585
ARCHDIOCESAN COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC WOMEN
ACCW aims to support, empower and educate women in spirituality, leadership and service.

$264,000
CAMPUS MINISTRY: NEWMAN CENTER
An estimated 10,000 Catholics attend the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and the St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center in Dinkytown aims to provide a welcoming, Catholic community that helps students encounter and share the love of Christ.

$11,000
CAMPUS MINISTRY: ST. PAUL’S OUTREACH
The goal of campus ministry is to form lifelong disciples among college and university students. Last year, campus ministers working with St. Paul’s Outreach, a national campus ministry organization based in Inver Grove Heights, directly served more than 1,300 students attending college in the Twin Cities.

$1,100,000
CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF ST. PAUL AND MINNEAPOLIS
The social service organization serves those most in need, and is a leader in alleviating poverty, creating opportunity and advocating for justice.

$39,733
DEAF MINISTRY
Funds provide pastoral care, including liturgy and the sacraments, for Catholics who are deaf.

$1,705,125
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SUBSIDIES AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Catholic schools receive block grants for operating funds or five individual scholarships for students most in need.

$150,000
EVANGELIZATION AND CATECHESIS
The archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization offers opportunities for people to encounter Jesus. Among its initiatives are the Catholic women’s and men’s conferences; Behold, a ministry for young women; and a grandparents ministry.

$800,000
HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS
The funds help students in the 13 Catholic high schools in the archdiocese who are recipients of 320 need-based scholarships.

$600,000
HOSPITAL CHAPLAINS
Chaplains provide spiritual care, including the sacraments; resources on ethical issues; crisis support; and bereavement care to patients and their families at hospitals in the archdiocese.

$350,000
LATINO MINISTRY
More than 32 programs serve Latino Catholics’ spiritual growth in the 23 parishes in the archdiocese with an active Latino ministry.

$430,174
MARRIAGE, FAMILY AND LIFE
The archdiocese’s Office of Marriage, Family and Life offers events for youths and adults, and encompasses the archdiocese’s disability ministry, marriage preparation, youth ministry training, Archdiocesan Youth Day, Totus Tuus and pro-life ministry.

$1,900,000
PARISHES
Parishes that meet fundraising goals receive a percentage of their funds returned to them to help them fund their ministries.

$45,345
PRISON CHAPLAINS
Prison chaplains offer the sacraments, retreats and spiritual direction to incarcerated individuals, and a program to help those individuals re-enter society.

$26,875
RACHEL’S VINEYARD
The ministry offers retreats to women and men seeking healing from the effects of abortion.

$300,000
ST. JOHN VIANNEY COLLEGE SEMINARY
As a college seminary, St. John Vianney forms undergraduate men discerning priesthood and studying at the University of St. Thomas. Funds support the 28 men from the archdiocese who are currently in formation at SJV.

$650,000
ST. PAUL SEMINARY
As the archdiocese’s major seminary, the St. Paul Seminary forms men in the years directly preceding their ordination to the priesthood. The CSAF funds tuition, room and board for the 27 men from the archdiocese currently studying for the priesthood.

$204,163
VENEZUELAN MISSION
The archdiocese has had a missionary presence in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela, since 1970. The mission parish, Jesucristo Resucitado, is served by two archdiocesan priests and has 65,000 people in 11 neighborhoods within its boundaries.

— Adapted from CSAF promotional materials

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