Campaign 2013

Campaign update — May 15, 2013

Less than 1 million needed to reach our goal!


The Annual Partners in Charity Appeal has raised 81% of its diocesan goal of $5 million and 20 parishes have now exceeded their goals! To achieve our 2013 goal we need to raise $967,202. 

$4,032,798 has been received in pledges and cash, as was reported through this past Wednesday evening. Last year (2012) at this juncture we were at $3,915,128 which represented 78%. Online gifts have now exceeded $240,000.  The St. Paul Society, whose members pledge a minimum of $5,000 has raised $663,850 so far. The average gift is $264.00.  

We have received 876 new gifts and pledges from individuals who have never previously supported the annual appeal. This group alone have given a total of $102,000. 

It’s impressive as director to see so many people giving from the heart throughout the diocese. I believe we are experiencing a new positive energy in the life of our appeal. It is quite evident that our pastors and lay volunteers are recruiting and inviting new individual donors. We want to continue to reach younger Catholics by meeting them where they are, which many of them are in the public social media arena. Thus, our revamped Partners in Charity website makes it easy to access information on ways to give. The web site also shares the difference each gift positively makes. Our diocesan communications office, specifically Mr. Steve Kaufman, recently produced a variety of Partners in Charity appeal video clips. These testimonials will hopefully engage and inform viewers about the importance of making a gift. To view these clips, visit our Vimeo Channel or our YouTube Channel. We also have a Partners in Charity Facebook page and we invite you to like our page to receive our updates. Our appeal office is committed to utilizing all present and new tools of engagement, specifically social media so to broaden our reach and to grow our donor list.

Parish update

• 20 parishes have now exceeded their goal.
• 10 parishes are between 90% and 99% of their goal.
• 21 parishes are between 80% and 89% of their goal.
• 50 parishes remain below the 80% threshold.

Parish	$Goal	$Raised
Christ the King, Worcester	$116,500	$151,270
O/L of Rosary, Worcester  (parish campaign)	$75,000	$75,000
O/L of Immaculate/St. Francis, Athol	$25,000	$25,000
St. Mary of the Hills, Boylston	$50,000	$50,950
St. Joseph, Charlton	$55,000	$66,177
St. Denis, Douglas	$32,037	$37,420
St. Anthony, Dudley	$37,280	$37,787
St. John, E. Brookfield	$18,640	$19,547
St. Joseph, Fitchburg	$32,000	$32,985
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hopedale (parish campaign)	$45,435	$45,435
Immaculate, Lancaster	$40,000	$41,548
St. Aloysius/St. Jude, Leicester	$30,000	$32,910
St. Augustine, Millville	$19,222	$19,235
St. Rose of Lima, Northboro	$119,995	$145,665
St. Peter, Northbridge	$33,639	$36,756
Prince of Peace, Princeton	$34,000	$36,756
St. Matthew, Southboro	$51,260	$66,487
St. Richard Chichester, Sterling	$30,000	$34,060
O/L Lady of Sacred Heart of Jesus, W. Brookfield	$30,000	$33,843
St. Louis, Webster	$53,590	$53,777

 Full Parish Update Report - May 15, 2013

Campaign update — May 1, 2013

The Annual Partners in Charity Appeal has raised 75% of its diocesan goal of $5 million and 14 parishes have now exceeded their goals! As of April 29, 2013, $3,710,469 has been received in pledges and cash. The average gift is $289.00, which means we are seeing a lot of participation - so thank you to all who have given. A note of interest is that our Online gifts have now exceeded $220,000, so this is continuing to be a popular way to give.

At this time last year, 2012, we were at 70% of goal, so we are seeing great momentum this year and we hope to complete the 2013 appeal as early as July! But to do this we need to raise $1,289,531 more, and this will take the support of every parish.



have now exceeded their goal! Congratulations and thank you for all of your hard work.

Parish	$Goal	$Raised
Christ the King, Worcester	$116,500	$148,575
O/L of Rosary, Worcester  (parish campaign)	$75,000	$75,000
O/L of Immaculate/St. Francis, Athol	$25,000	$26,300
St. Joseph, Charlton	$55,000	$66,112
St. Denis, Douglas	$32,037	$36,570
St. John, E. Brookfield	$18,640	$18,797
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hopedale (parish campaign)	$45,435	$45,435
St. Aloysius/St. Jude, Leicester	$30,000	$30,160
St. Rose of Lima, Northboro	$119,995	$123,992
Prince of Peace, Princeton	$34,000	$34,206
St. Matthew, Southboro	$51,260	$66,050
St. Richard Chichester, Sterling	$30,000	$33,960
O/L Lady of Sacred Heart of Jesus, W. Brookfield	$30,000	$33,293
St. Louis, Webster	$53,590	$53,627

Other Parishes

• 11 parishes are between 90% and 99% of their goals
• 13 parishes are between 80% and 89% of their goals
• 63 parishes remain below 80% of goal 

The Saint Paul Society

• 79 St. Paul Society donors have now raised a total of $625,250 in contributions to date.

Campaign update — April 23, 2013

On May 4 and May 5th - the majority of our parishes are choosing to have a follow-up In Pew Solicitation. Many pastors and lay chair people have shared optimistically that with this additional solicitation they will reach and surpass their goal. Please give generously to help make this happen. Together, we still need to raise  $1,613,109 to reach our goal so that we can help those in need throughout Worcester County. 

Campaign facts:

• We are now at 68% of goal
• Nine parishes have met or surpassed their goals
• We need $1,613,109 to reach our campaign goal 

Campaign update — April 17, 2013

We are now at 66% of goal!  Due to generous donations we have raised $3,279,586 that will be used to help those in need throughout Worcester County.  We are pleased to report that eight parishes have reached or exceeded their goal.  Thank you to all who have given!

The Parish Update Report, as of April 17, lists the details for each Parish and the campaign details.

 Parish Update Report - April 17, 2013

Together we need to raise $1,720,4 more to reach our goal.

Campaign update — April 10, 2013

Due to generous donations we have raised 52% of our goal!

$2,386,111 is still needed to reach our goal. Out of 104 parishes/missions 6 have exceeded their goals - thank you!  

Many pastors and our advisory board have expressed that they would like a shorter appeal period, but to make this happen we need the remaining parishes/missions to meet their goals. Lets make a collective push in promoting and inviting donors so that we can shorten the campaign and raise the funds we will need to support the 28 charitable, pastoral and educational ministries so important to the people of Worcester County. 

These parishes have now exceeded their goals:

Parish	Goal	Amount Raised	Percent of Goal
Christ the King Parish, Worcester	116,500	141,250	121
St. Matthew, Southborough	51,260	58,335	114
Our Lady of Sacred Heart, W. Brookfield	30,000	32,668	109
St. Richard of Chichester, Sterling	30,000	31,185	104
St. Denis, Douglas	32,037	33,020	103
St. Joseph, Charlton	55,000	55,000	100

 Parish Update Report - April 10, 2013

Campaign facts

• 6 parishes have reached or surpassed their goals
• 5 parishes are between 90% and 99% of their goals
• 1 parish is between 80% to 89% of their goals
• 16 parishes are between 70% to 79% of their goals
• 76 parishes are between 1% and 69% of their goals

Campaign update — April 4, 2013

Due to generous donations we have raised 42% of our goal!

Over the last month, close to 5,823 Catholics, and some non-Catholics, throughout Worcester County and beyond have responded with a most generous heart by pledging and donating $2,124,023 to the Annual Partners in Charity Campaign.

We are noticing a growing trend of new donors in 2013 that are reconnecting in supporting the annual appeal with a gift. Thank you your donation and reconnecting with Partners in Charity. 

Online giving continues to be a popular way to donate; close to $100,000 has been raised in online gifts. We are very excited that our donors have embraced online giving. 

We want to remind donors that to make your gift go further please see if your donation is eligible for a matching donation. Many companies participate in gift matching programs. Some companies will even match gifts made by retirees and spouses of employees. The impact of a single gift can at times be doubled or possibly tripled! A complete list of matching gift companies can be located on our website and all parishes were provided matching gift cards a few months back.

With all of this good news we still need your help to meet our goal so that we can continue to help those in need. We are optimistic that we will meet our goal as a majority of our parishes are now just starting to solicit gifts for the appeal.
 
I want to personally express my deepest gratitude and appreciation to all pastors and lay committees for the leadership that you so willingly provide for this important appeal. How true it is, "many hands make the burden light," and with your help we can ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in 2013.
 
To reach and surpass our goal we really need the collaboration of every parish community in the Diocese! Together we can assure the success of Partners in Charity in your parish.

Campaign Resources

Please visit our Resources page for Campaign materials.

Campaign Theme and Patroness Announced

"Our Faith in Action" is the Partners in Charity 2013 Appeal theme, and it is based on our ongoing commitment to serve all the needy throughout Central Massachusetts. This campaign embraces the charitable, pastoral and educational needs of tens of thousands of individuals and families, young and old. It does so in a special way through its support of 28 vital diocesan agencies and programs and helps to unite us into one diocesan family, which bears a special responsibility for others simply because God is love.

 
Sharing the vision of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American woman to be declared a saint by the Church, is sure to inspire you. This extraordinary young woman, our 2013 campaign patroness, was called by Pope Blessed John Paul II, God's "bountiful gift" to His Church and a "sweet, frail, yet strong, figure of a young woman who died when she was only twenty-four years old: St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the 'Lily of the Mohawks.'"  The daughter of a Mohawk chief and a Roman Catholic mother, Kateri was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980 and canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. Like Kateri, we strive each day to serve our Lord in the poor wherever we find them. Read More about Kateri Tekakwitha >>

Campaign Video