PROVIDENCE — With the first half of its two-year capital campaign drawing to a close, the Diocese of Providence has met more than 50 percent of its fundraising goal.
As of December 14, the campaign has received $25.6 million from a combination of early leadership gifts, planned gifts and pledges raised in the parishes. Of this amount, just over $17 million has been raised from about 7,100 donors from those parishes participating in the first two blocks of the campaign.
The Grateful for God’s Providence Campaign is a two-year endeavor to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Diocese of Providence in 2022 by raising $50 million to support the Church’s mission at the diocesan and parish levels.
“We’re just about at the midpoint of the campaign and we’re over the halfway point for the financial goal, so I’m very pleased,” Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said of the results so far.
“We have a lot of work ahead yet, we’re far from finished, but I think it’s progressing very nicely,” the bishop added, praising the efforts of parish pastors, the generosity of the faithful in the pews and campaign organizers for the strong beginning to the campaign.
While acknowledging the receipt of some very significant leadership gifts, the bishop said that the response in the parishes has been very impressive as well.
Of the $50 million the campaign seeks to raise, $30 million will be earmarked for the diocese. Of that, $8 million will be used to support seminarian education; $8 million will be used to support retired priests; $5 million will benefit Catholic school tuition assistance; $5 million will be used to bolster Catholic Charities and Social Services; and $4 million will be used to help pay for needed renovations to the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
About $20 million of campaign funds will be given to local parishes. Each parish has a campaign fundraising goal, and receives back 40 percent of the money collected toward that goal. If a parish exceeds its goal, it receives 60 percent of the amount pledged over goal.
Msgr. Anthony Mancini, rector of the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, said that a portion of the funds it receives back from the contributions of his parishioners will be used to fund some of the more minor improvements needed, as well as to help the less fortunate in the local area.
The cathedral is also using about $40,000 in proceeds this year to serve young people and families through its Christmas Giving Tree, which serves underprivileged pre-teens and teens.
Larger projects, such as the planned replacement of the cathedral’s roof and repairs to the clock tower, will be paid for through the diocesan component of the campaign.
Msgr. Mancini praised the giving spirit of his parishioners in making the cathedral parish’s overall pledge to the capital campaign such a success.
“They always have been generous — especially at Christmastime — and they’ve been generous with the campaign too,” he said.
Not only have parishioners in the pews been generous, but so have the priests who lead them in prayer.
Robert J. Corcoran Jr., director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development, said that so far, with half of the campaign still ahead, more than 120 clergy donors have pledged more than $1.13 million to Grateful for God’s Providence.
“They believe in the cause and they know that the vast majority of what we’re trying to do is to endow priestly support, either through seminarian education, defraying healthcare costs, or assisting elderly clergy by helping to augment their retirement, which is vital, because they gave their whole lives to us,” Corcoran said of the pastors’ support for the campaign.
Bishop Tobin is also very impressed with the support given by parish pastors to the campaign.
“The pastors have bought into this, not just by their pastoral leadership but by their own monetary gifts, and that’s remarkable,” the bishop said.
Corcoran said raising $50 million, a task that at first may seem daunting for some, quickly becomes an achievable goal when everyone works together.
“You have this great planning process with great planning partners. Trust the plan and then work the plan,” Corcoran said.
The diocese is working with Guidance in Giving to conduct the campaign, which has been established as a separate corporation. Monies raised through the Grateful for God’s Providence Campaign are restricted from being reallocated to fund lawsuits, settlements or any other areas. All campaign contributions will go directly to fund the case elements presented.
Corcoran said that donors have been incredibly generous, with the average gift being around $2,500, although all gifts are welcome.
Some donors have made a cash gift while also committing additional contributions to the campaign in their will.
“When they mention a specific amount we’re able to count that as a pledge,” Corcoran said.
Bishop Tobin said that the results of a recent survey listing Rhode Island as the second least charitable state in the country don’t hold up when compared with the generosity of many in the parishes who’ve made the first half of the diocesan capital campaign a success.
“We’re most edified by that and we’re most grateful for that,” he said.
It’s been 20 years since the Diocese of Providence last embarked on a capital campaign and Bishop Tobin feels it is a historic moment for the diocese to best position the local Church, its parishes and institutions to meet the challenges of the future.
“It’s really important for us to strengthen the work of the Church for years to come,” the bishop said. “Everything we have as Catholics in this diocese is because of the generations of our ancestors in the faith in this Church.”
“Our parishes, our schools, our buildings, our organizations, our endowments, everything we have is because of the generosity and sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Now it’s our time and it’s our turn to do something great for the life of the Church now and to leave something for our children and grandchildren so the work of the Church can carry on for decades and generations to come,” Bishop Tobin said.
Blocks 3 and 4 of the campaign will be conducted in 2019 for the remaining parishes in the Diocese of Providence.
For more information, visit https://dioceseofprovidence.org/grateful-for-gods-providence-capital-campaign, or call the Stewardship and Development Office at 401-277-2121.
