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	Catholic Fundraising Suffers Rare Drop The 12 Percent Slip Was Offset for the Denver Archdiocese by Parish Giving. Competition with Other Causes Is Blamed By Eric Gorski Denver Post [Denver CO] January 23, 2007 http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_5071814 Donations to the Denver Roman Catholic Archdiocese's major fundraising campaign dropped more than 12 percent last year, only the second time in a decade the appeal hasn't built on the previous year's figure, church officials said Tuesday. Despite challenges, the archdiocese is "fiscally sound," Archbishop Charles Chaput said in an annual financial report. Net contributions to Chaput's annual Catholic appeal were $6.1 million in the fiscal year that ended in June - down from $7 million the previous year. The decline was more than offset, however, by an uptick in parish collections from $4.9 million to $5.2 million, a nearly $1 million boost in investments and $2 million more in grants and contributions, mostly from wills and estate bequests. When a restructuring involving a Catholic foundation is taken out of the picture, the archdiocese's net assets fell by nearly $1 million, with schools a major reason. Most of $4.5 million in archdiocesan gifts and grants went to retiring construction debt on two high schools, spokeswoman Jeanette DeMelo said. The archdiocese spent nearly $6.7 million on "self insurance claims, premiums, settlements and other costs," up from $2.9 million the previous year. The 2006 figure includes $1.6 million to settle 15 clergy sex-abuse lawsuits, DeMelo said. Contributions to the annual appeal, which supports about 50 programs, have grown over the last decade except for one decline in 2001, DeMelo said. "We're particularly concerned about the archbishop's appeal, because from the appeal come many good works," DeMelo said. "We want to know why it's declined." A Georgetown University research center survey found the percentage of parishioners who donated to bishops' annual appeals declined from 38 to 29 percent from 2002 to 2006. Average gifts fell slightly from 2001 to 2005, then jumped 13 percent in 2006, according to the International Catholic Stewardship Council. While pledges to the Boston archdiocese fell by half after its clergy abuse scandal broke in 2002, little evidence suggests the scandal damaged giving nationally, said Mark Gray, a researcher at the Georgetown center. "Many people jumped to the conclusion it was sex abuse, but it was more related to people's personal financial well-being," he said. DeMelo said feedback to the archdiocese indicates personal or financial distress as well as giving to causes such as hurricane relief topped the list of reasons people didn't give, followed by concerns over the archdiocese's immigration stance. A few people cited concern about clergy sexual abuse, she said. A study by Giving USA found charitable donations nationally rose 6.2 percent in 2005 - and hurricane relief did not undermine giving to other charities. Another change to the Denver archdiocese's financial picture: Assets from the Catholic Foundation for the Roman Catholic Church in Northern Colorado - this year, $84 million - are no longer counted as an archdiocesan asset because of an internal restructuring at the foundation. Some dioceses have incorporated parishes and other entities separately to protect them from lawsuit damages, but Denver foundation officials say it always has been a separate entity. Staff writer Eric Gorski can be reached at 303-954-1698 or egorski@denverpost.com.
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