Bucking a national trend in philanthropy, the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal received a record amount of donations in 2010. The Archdiocese of Baltimore is reporting that over 40,000 people donated more than $8.7 million to the campaign, an increase of more than 67 percent since 2006. The Archbishop’s Appeal, which began in 1992, is held each year in the parishes of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and raises funds for ministries and programs based in Catholic parishes and the communities where they are located.
“Ironically, the Appeal has seen its greatest growth since the downturn in the economy–a clear indication not only of the efforts of the Archbishop and pastors and pastoral life directors who promoted the appeal as a way of helping people in need, but also the extraordinary generosity of Catholics and others in the Archdiocese of Baltimore,” said Mr. Patrick Madden, Executive Director of the Department of Development for the Archdiocese.
Forty-six percent of funds raised in 2010 were returned to parishes to fund church operations and programs, 23 percent went to Catholic Charities, and the remaining 31 percent is funding ministries and outreach programs such as AIDS Ministry, Prison Ministry and the Interfaith Housing Alliance in Western Maryland.
“The reach of the Appeal is enormous. In fact, many of the programs the Appeal supports could not continue to operate without funding from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal,” Madden said.
The 2010 Appeal also provided over $1 million in aid to Catholic schools and students, including tuition assistance.
A 2009 report by The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University showed charitable giving in the United States down by 3.6 percent.