By Gina Christian • Posted November 16, 2021

Area Catholics can get a head start on their holiday giving while putting their faith into action, thanks to a just-launched archdiocesan initiative.

For the second year in a row, the Philadelphia Archdiocese will participate in the nationally recognized #iGiveCatholic campaign.

The effort, made in partnership with the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, provides a secure digital platform through which donors can contribute to dozens of area parishes, schools and nonprofit ministries.

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The portal, supported by philanthropy software vendor GiveGab, enables visitors to search by parish or institution name, area of ministry and location. Several organizations offer detailed narratives and video testimonials of the outreaches donoro contributions will benefit.

Last year, #iGiveCatholic raised more than $1.1 million in one day for 101 organizations in the five-county archdiocesan area, and over $12.7 million for some 2,600 nonprofits across the country.

The campaign –  led by Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson, Miss. and Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. —  was originally established seven years ago in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The crowdfunding project celebrates Catholic heritage and encourages donations to Catholic ministries on Giving Tuesday, the global day of philanthropy celebrated the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

#iGiveCatholic builds on the momentum of the highly successful Giving Tuesday initiative, which was created in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y, a community center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and the United Nations Foundation to counterbalance the frenetic holiday shopping that marks the Thanksgiving weekend’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

This year, the Philadelphia Archdiocese has added an Advance Giving Phase to #iGiveCatholic that will run from Nov. 15 to Nov. 29 – and that extra time is projected to translate into much-needed assistance, as nonprofits across the nation still grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a recent study by the nonprofit coalition Independent Sector, 40% of nonprofits experienced declines in revenue last year, with 57% cutting overall expenses, 64% suspending services and 47% serving fewer people in 2020 – even as the nonprofit sector’s 2020 contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to 5.9%.

Yet hope is on the horizon for outreaches doing more with less, as the Giving USA Foundation reported Americans hit an all-time high for philanthropy in 2020, donating an estimated $471.44 billion to nonprofits.

Responding to last year’s archdiocesan #iGiveCatholic results, Archbishop Nelson Pérez thanked contributors for their “overwhelming generosity.”

To make a gift to archdiocesan area ministries through #iGiveCatholic, visit philadelphia.igivecatholic.org. For more information on #iGiveCatholic, visit igivecatholic.org.