The results of the 2019 Annual Catholic Appeal in the Diocese of Wilmington show 14,305 donors pledged $5,125,809, surpassing the campaign’s $4,775,000 goal by 7.34 percent.
Tallies were announced this week by the diocesan Office of Development, which noted collections total $5,009,463, representing $233,963 over the appeal goal, 104.9 percent of it.
“Once again, God’s people in the Diocese of Wilmington have exceeded the goal of the Annual Catholic Appeal with their generous contributions to help their neighbors in need,” Bishop Malooly said.
“Their gifts will help us continue more than three dozen diocesan ministries that include: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, counseling the afflicted, educating the young, sustaining pro-life efforts and more. My deepest thanks and prayers go to all who made the 2019 appeal a success.”
“This is the third straight year the Annual Catholic Appeal has topped $5 million in donations,” said Deborah Fols, director of the diocesan Office of Development.
Fols noted that the average gift to the appeal increased from $350.06 in the 2018 campaign to $358.32 in 2019. However, that average gift was from fewer donors this past year than in 2018 campaign. While there were 15,217 people participating in 2018, donations dropped to 14,305 in 2019.
Clergy gifts to the appeal amounted to $75,103 from 49 participants, representing a 42.6 percent response for an average gift of $1,532.73. That total was up from the 2018 campaign’s $69,396, also from 49 members of clergy.
The development office report shows that 48 parishes and the Korean Catholic Community reached or surpassed assigned goals in pledges with 45 surpassing goals in dollars collected. Those parishes will share in rebates totaling $251,720.
Parishes supporting a school receive 100 percent of over-goal collections; parishes that do not support a school receive 50 percent of the amount collected over their goal.
Some 60.2 percent of the 2019 appeal’s pledges came from solicitation of 3,227 “Circle of Honor” members, the development office’s report said. (Circle of Honor members have donated prior gifts of $500 or more.) The solicitation returned pledges of $3,085,982.
Also contacted were 501 potential Circle of Honor members, those with prior gifts of $350 to $499. That solicitation resulted in 415 gifts totaling $170,601 with 127 attaining Circle of Honor membership for 2020.
The development office said the 2019 appeal also drew 732 first-time donors, who pledged a total of $167,547.
