CHARLOTTE — Generosity marked the end of 2020 in the Diocese of Charlotte, with parishioners making a difference in a variety of ways – from large donations to regular offertory contributions.
Diocesan development staff report receiving a record number of 12 six-figure gifts at the end of the year to benefit several parishes, St. Joseph College Seminary, Catholic Charities and Christ the King High School.
Of the 12 year-end gifts that were made to entities in the diocese:
- A gift in the amount of $101,000 was given to St. Ann Church for purposes to be determined by the parish.
- Three endowments to the foundation were established in the amounts of $100,000, $130,000 and $128,000 – to benefit Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, St. Benedict Church in Greensboro, and St. John Baptist de la Salle Church in North Wilkesboro, respectively.
- Four major gifts were made to the St. Joseph College Seminary capital campaign: three gifts in the amount of $100,000, and one in the amount of $125,000. The capital campaign now stands at $18.4 million, just $1.6 million shy of its goal.
- Two gifts of $100,000 and $210,000 were made to Christ the King High School in Huntersville for its ongoing capital campaign
- Two gifts of $100,000 each were made to Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, to be used to strengthen families, build communities and reduce poverty particularly at this time when the needs are so great.
“We are finding that more and more people who have the means are giving six-figure gifts,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “These individuals and couples have a strong commitment to the Church. They want to have an impact and they know their gifts are changing lives every day.”
In addition, unrestricted and restricted gifts overall to Catholic Charities were up 60 percent from July 2020 to December 2020 compared to the previous year.
And despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there is more good news. Parish offertories for the fourth quarter of 2020 were on average 89 percent of what they were at the same time last year, diocesan finance officials report.
However, smaller and more rural parishes continue to be hit hard by the economic decline caused by the pandemic. At year’s end, almost one-third of the diocese’s 92 parishes and missions reported their fourth-quarter offertory income remained down 30 percent or more.
“While we are grateful that our parishioners have continued their giving at an 89 percent level of where we were pre-COVID,” Kelley noted, “we encourage those who are not currently giving to resume their giving to their parish and consider online giving.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter