CV NEWS FEED // The Diocese of Cleveland received $3.4 million in donations last week when parishioners came together to support the #weGiveCatholic campaign.
November 28 is known as ‘Giving Tuesday,’ a global movement focused on “radical generosity,” according to the Giving Tuesday website. The diocese’s Giving Tuesday campaign, #weGiveCatholic, “supports Catholic organizations that serve people of all faiths, races and backgrounds in the eight-county diocese,” according to an announcement on the diocese’s website.
Bishop Edward Malesic of the Diocese of Cleveland released a statement after the record-setting day of giving expressing his gratitude:
Yesterday, the faithful of this diocese came together, and through their generosity, showed great compassion for the charitable, educational and spiritual mission of their organizations. I am deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s #weGiveCatholic effort. May God bless you all for supporting the great Catholic organizations serving our Northeast Ohio community.
The diocese also accepted early gifts and donations from November 19 through the 28. Over 235 organizations and 11,056 donors provided charitable gifts to the diocese. “The total raised represents a 7% increase over 2022 and is the most raised in the event’s eight-year history,” the diocese announced:
Of the 235 organizations participating in WGC, 19 participants raised more than $50,000 and five organizations raised more than $100,000. Assumption Church and St. Albert the Great at Assumption Academy in Broadview Heights topped the leaderboard by raising $425,921. Click here to see how others fared with their fundraising, including Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Euclid, which surpassed its goal to install new steps to the candle house and to continue with repairs to the Trinitarian Sisters’ convent. Bishop Malesic visited the shrine during the fundraising event to learn about its project.
“The great success of the 2023 #weGiveCatholic event highlights the incredible spirit of philanthropy that exists within the Diocese of Cleveland,” said Patrick Grace, executive director of the Catholic Community Foundation:
Heartfelt thanks go out to each of the 11,056 donors and devoted volunteers, pastoral leaders and staff of nonprofits, ministries, schools, Catholic Charities and parishes — all of whom spent a great deal of time planning to raise awareness and funds that culminated in this extraordinary day. We feel immense gratitude for our benefactors and the gifts they have shared with Northeast Ohio.
Participating organizations took part in a “friendly competition” to gain the most supporters in order to “win awards from a $65,000 prize pool raised in advance by the Catholic Community Foundation and generous donors,” the diocesean statement explained.
The Catholic Community Foundation is a non profit organization that was founded in 2000 that works with donors to serve the Church in Northeast Ohio. Since 2001 the foundation has raised more than $465 million to support various ministries in the diocese.
