Extension Society gives grants to make dioceses more self-sustaining
By Mark Pattison (Catholic News Service)
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Close to 60 dioceses in the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories have received grants from the Catholic Church Extension Society to make them more self-sustaining.
The Extension grants themselves total nearly $980,000.
The grants focus on three main areas. One is diocesan and parish fundraising, which accounted for nearly $600,000 of all grant money. Another is diocesan and parish financial and facility management, for which about $270,000 in grants were made. The third area of grants was for diocesan planning and operational efficiency projects, which received $110,000.
The Diocese of Tyler, Texas, got one of the biggest grants. According to Deacon Richard Lawrence, diocesan director of stewardship, Extension recently sent the diocese $100,000 as part of a three-year, $225,000 grant to support implementing a multiyear discipleship-stewardship program designed to increase the diocese's fundraising capabilities.
"We're a new diocese. Next year we're going to celebrate our 25th anniversary. That's young in the life of the church," Deacon Lawrence said.
"The objective is to become more self-sustaining and not have to depend on the kindness of others to help make ends meet," he added, noting that the diocese depends on several foundations to help pay its bills.
Deacon Lawrence said the diocese would likely launch the stewardship initiative in the next month and a half.
A $55,000, three-year grant was awarded to the Diocese of Jefferson City, Mo., to support "Sustaining Diocesan Ministries Into the Future," an initiative to establish major gift programs, as well as planned giving programs to sustain the most critical ministries in the diocese.
Jane Rutter, diocesan director of development and stewardship, said the diocese has established two societies focused on charitable giving. One is the St. John Apostle of Charity Society for major donors who have given gifts, scholarships and the like. "It's kind of an honor for their faithfulness and charity," she said. The other is called the Immaculate Heart of Mary Legacy Society, after the diocesan patroness, for those who have made charitable lifetime agreements with the diocese.
"What the Catholic Church Extension Society has done for us has given us a comprehensive and consistent way to approach planned giving," Rutter told Catholic News Service in a July 21 telephone interview from Jefferson City. "It's happened informally all along, but this formalizes it."
The bulk of the grant money, Rutter said, is going into communications with donors and prospective donors, including the mailing of a quarterly newsletter to 12,000 Catholics that still requires the efforts of 40 volunteers to help prepare for mailing.
The Diocese of Boise, Idaho, got a $10,000 grant to explore distance-learning possibilities in the statewide diocese.
Jim Hughes, the diocesan development director, said the grant will help the diocese use videoconferencing and Webinars for its 25 permanent diaconate candidates and other religious education needs.
"This is a new effort. And there isn't any money for new efforts in this economy," said Hughes, adding this is a two-way demonstration grant: to show to other dioceses what can be done with video and the Web, and to show Extension how far it can stretch its grant dollars. "We may well be going back and asking them to renew the grant," Hughes said.
A $20,000 grant was made to the Diocese of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, to conduct its first independent audit to promote financial transparency.
More than 230 participants from Puerto Rico's six dioceses met this spring at a conference to discuss the need, importance, and benefits of financial responsibility and accounting in parishes. Extension partnered with the Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference to sponsor the financial workshop.
Seventeen U.S. dioceses were the beneficiaries of nearly $20,000 in grants that resulted in them joining the Catholic Conference for Facility Management. As part of their membership, Extension helped broker the creation of a facility management resource center, which provides under-staffed dioceses access to facility experts who give advice and information on proven methods and best practices for the care and construction of church facilities, many of which have been built with Catholic Extension support.
Other U.S. dioceses receiving grants included the Archdiocese of New Orleans and these dioceses: Alexandria, La.; Beaumont, Texas; Biloxi, Miss.; Brownsville, Texas; El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, N.M.; Lubbock, Texas; Rapid City, S.D.; Reno, Nev.; Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla.; and Santa Fe, N.M.; and the Prefecture Apostolic of the Marshall Islands.
Copyright (c) 2010 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops