By Sarah Hanley • Posted June 28, 2022

This month, the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, an independent 501c3, is celebrating our ninth anniversary! It is, at times, hard to believe that nine years have passed since CFGP was established. CFGP was started by a group of dedicated Philadelphia Catholics who wanted to preserve the integrity and value that make up our faith. What started as an idea has transformed CFGP into a leading resource for Catholic philanthropy.

We are extremely appreciative to the community of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the greater Catholic community which has supported our efforts and mission these past nine years. Let’s look at some of the accomplishments.

The CFGP has established a total of 127 funds since 2013. These represent parishes, Catholic organizations and schools from across the Greater Philadelphia area. Currently, we have 9,843 donors actively participating in funds managed by CFGP. These funds help Catholic organizations and institutions across the archdiocese and beyond.

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Our nonprofit consulting services team eagerly works with over 100 parishes and Catholic organizations to help them grow and sustain their important work. In fact, since 2013 our nonprofit consulting services have raised over $140 million.

In addition to Catholic philanthropy, we sponsor special events and initiatives that contribute to the greater good of the community of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Two such initiatives are our Women in Philanthropy Forum and our Catholic Leadership Speaker Series.

Women in Philanthropy is a networking event for female business leaders, nonprofit professionals and philanthropists. This event provides a platform for women in the nonprofit sector to have stronger voices. The Catholic Leadership Speaker Series is an online event hosted by CFGP which invites speakers to share their unique experiences and knowledge as Catholic leaders with other Catholic professionals.

CFGP has also proudly partnered with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to bring several other philanthropic opportunities to our community. In April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we began the Parish Support Initiative which has raised over $320,000 for 136 parishes. Likewise, we started the Parish Stewardship Renewal program which helps parishes overcome the challenges of COVID-19 as it relates to lost income and decreased offertory collections.

Working with the archdiocese, CFGP was also instrumental in bringing #iGiveCatholic to our community over the last two years. Since 2020, parishes, schools and nonprofit organizations from across the Archdiocese of Philadelphia raised more than $2.8 million for their ministries through this initiative.

We are similarly honored to work directly with Archbishop Nelson Pérez on the Archbishop’s Ministry Support Fund, which provides financial assistance to ministries and initiatives identified by the archbishop as critical to the life of the local church — like the Culture Project and the Philadelphia Chapter of Young Catholic Professionals.

As we reflect on the years, we realize that we have accomplished so much since our humble beginnings in 2013 and we are grateful that we can be helping to invest in the future of our faith. To learn more about the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia visit our website at www.TheCFGP.org.

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Sarah Hanley is the president and CEO of the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia.