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February 9, 2023What an amazing year! 2022 was a banner year for philanthropic support from the Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
With a goal to raise $3,750,000 million, the 2022 Annual Catholic Appeal raised $3,963,104 (106%), from 8,122 families. Thirty-five parishes exceeded their goal and 22 raised more than 80% of their goal.
One of the highlights of the Annual Catholic Appeal is that 1,137 families now give monthly, recurring gifts. This means that as we begin the 2023 appeal year, those families have already committed to more than $750,000 in gifts for the coming year.
Another highlight of the appeal was the support from members of the Archbishop’s Circle. These are families who give $1,200 per year ($100 per month) or more to the appeal each year. In 2022, 820 families were part of the Archbishop Circle contributing $2,013,158 to the appeal. This represents 51% of the total raised.
Funds raised in the Annual Catholic Appeal will provide better training for catechists, more support for those using archdiocesan training, meeting and retreat facilities. The appeal also will help provide formation for the next class of permanent deacons, and much more.
In a recent meeting about the impact of the Annual Catholic Appeal, the archdiocesan director of youth, young adult and campus ministry mentioned that the appeal helped provide buses for colleges students from the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma to attend the recent SEEK conference in St. Louis. Joining 17,000 other college students for Mass in the convention center, hearing some of the best Catholic speakers in the country and joining in fellowship with so many other college kids encountering Christ was a profound experience. What a great step toward engaging young people in the life of the Church for the long term!
Also in 2022, the Sooner Catholic Communications appeal raised $112,690. This appeal helps with the cost of producing the “Sooner Catholic” newspaper, websites, social media, videos, live streams for special events, and much more. The appeal also tithes 10% of its proceeds to support Oklahoma Catholic Radio.
The Seminarian Education appeal in November raised $238,604. These funds directly impact the seminarians preparing for service in the parishes of the archdiocese. Other support for seminarians comes from the Saint John Vianney Endowment at the Catholic Foundation. The endowment received an additional $462,142 in contributions in 2022, bringing its current value to nearly $2 million.
The Tax Credit Scholarship program is a state Scholarship Granting Organization providing needs-based scholarships to children from financially struggling families who seek to attend Catholic school. The program had a wonderful year, topping $2 million. Based on the average scholarship award for the 2022-23 school year, we expect to provide 600 or more scholarships for the coming year. An amazing part of this effort is that the 459 companies and families who made gifts will receive $1.5 million in Oklahoma state Income tax credits back when they file their 2022 taxes.
With the coming dedication of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine, it is worthwhile to note the progress of the One Church, Many Disciples campaign. It saw $7,839,910 in gift payments made on pledges in 2022, bringing the pledge payments total to $72,824,099 to date. With this, we have been able to return $19 million to parishes for local projects and transfer nearly $48 million for the construction of the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. Also, $2 million was distributed to the Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma for endowments for religious education, schools, seminarians, the shrine and other ministries.
Support for the Annual Catholic Appeal, Sooner Catholic Communications Appeal, Seminarian Education Appeal and One Church Many Disciples campaign are just a portion of the philanthropic giving by the Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. On top of these programs are the massive support for the ministries of Catholic Charities, the Catholic Foundation of Oklahoma, the Center of Family Love and numerous other ministries, hospitals and schools.
My favorite quote from Saint John Paul II is “Let sacrifice, not convenience, be the measure of your generosity.” For many people in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, sacrificial giving is a way of life. I’m grateful to each and every one of the generous people who have allowed the Church to thrive and grow.
If you would like to learn more about giving, or how you can consider your philanthropic legacy, please feel free to contact me at stewardship@archokc.org or visit our website archokc.org/stewardship.
