BishopAccountability.org
	Some Balk at Orlando Diocese's $150M Push By Jeff Kunerth Orlando Sentinel July 26, 2009 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-orlando-diocese-fundraising-072609,0,1590355.story Marty Lyons has decided against contributing to the Catholic Diocese of Orlando's Alive in Christ fundraising campaign. Loretta Murphy is thinking about rescinding her pledge. The diocese's $150 million fundraising drive is the largest, most ambitious campaign in its history during one of the deepest recessions ever. And the diocese is encountering some resistance among the estimated 800,000Catholics in its 92 parishes and missions. "I certainly do think they have an image problem on their hands — just pursuing the accumulation of wealth at this time," said Lyons, 33, who attends Nativity Catholic Church in Longwood. Murphy resents that $10 million is being spent to renovate St. James Cathedral in Orlando while her parish, St. Faustina, meets at Homer's Real Pick Barbecue restaurant in Clermont. "It's not right," said Murphy, 72, who pledged $1,000 a year for two years to the campaign. "I'm taking that money and it will go to the parish itself." 'Challenging time' It's hard to be asking for money when personal wealth is shrinking, unemployment is rising and home values are plunging, said Sandra Miniutti, vice president of marking for Charity Navigator, a New Jersey-based charity-evaluating organization. "This is definitely a challenging time to be embarking on that kind of massive endeavor," she said. Although the Alive in Christ campaign is on pace to achieve its goal — having secured $75 million in pledges halfway through the drive — the diocese already had to extend the time frame to meet its goal. Rolled out in "waves" of parishes starting in January 2008, the drive has been extended to December 2010 as the congregants are taking longer to commit to the campaign, said Marilyn Blanchette, president of the Catholic Foundation of Central Florida. "What we are finding is people from October 2008 to March 2009 were needing more time to make a big gift — whatever a big gift for them is," she said. The Catholic diocese is not alone in its challenge to raise money in a recession. Charitable giving throughout the nation declined 2 percent in 2008, according to a survey conducted by the Giving USA Foundation in Glenview, Ill. Religion was one of the few areas where charitable giving increased in 2008 — up 5.5 percent to an estimated $107 billion. Religion is both the largest single source of charity in the U.S. and the top priority among those who give, Miniutti said. The strong bond between the churchgoer and the church is why religious giving holds steady — or even increases — in hard economic times, said George Ruotolo, past chairman of Giving USA. "You have a spiritual connection, emotional connection and historical connections that exist between that individual and the church," he said. "That is one of the main reasons why religious giving has held up in these times." But there is a dichotomy of giving when it comes to Catholics, who are far more likely to give to their parish than to the diocese, Ruotolo said. One challenge for the Orlando diocese is to convince parishioners to shift some of that allegiance — and money — toward the greater good of the larger church, he said. Promises to parishes The Alive in Christ campaign promises to assist local parishes with construction, repair, renovation and expansion of church facilities while creating endowments to assist Catholic schools, students and social services. A well-funded foundation provides a stable source of money for the future needs of the parishes and the diocese, church officials said. At the same time, the recession has cost the diocese some of its wealth, reduced its ability to sell bonds and caused it to postpone some construction projects, said Sister Elizabeth Worley, diocese chancellor. A key to the diocese's success in asking parishioners to sacrifice in a time of hardship is to make sure they understand how their money will be spent, Miniutti said. It's no longer enough to solicit donations by saying this is a good cause, or it's the right thing to do, or it's your duty as a member of the church. "Gone is the day that you can trot out tragic photos and get people to part with their hard-earned money," Miniutti said. "Donors want to know what the return on investment is. They want to know details." Jeff Kunerth can be reached at jkunerth@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5392.
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