Catholic Ministries Appeal 2024

Funds contributed through the 2024 Catholic Ministries Appeal are donations made directly to the Catholic Ministries Appeal and cannot be used for any other purpose. The Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota manages the Catholic Ministries Appeal and the Foundation is wholly independent of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and has been since its founding in 1991.

Donations are considered donor-restricted to the purposes described in the appeal materials.

As noted on the Catholic Ministries Appeal pledge card, “All gifts will be used solely for the restricted purposes of the 2024 Catholic Ministries Appeal. The Appeal supports specific ministries and programs of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.”

The Catholic Ministries Appeal is one of the major efforts of the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota in fulfilling its mission to financially support spiritual, educational and social needs of the Catholic community in southern Minnesota. The Foundation is an independent Minnesota nonprofit corporation that is tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). An independent board of directors stewards all funds and ensures they are only distributed according to the donor’s intent.

The formula to calculate parish goals is based on two factors: church support and registered families.

The formula takes into consideration the ability of the parish to raise money based on the number of registered families and the actual amount of money the parish generates from church support. Gifts, bequests and special fundraising are not included in church support. However, 50% of gambling revenues are included as church support.

Church support from the most recently completed fiscal year is calculated for each parish. If a parish financially subsidizes a Catholic school, then the amount of church support is reduced by 50% of the amount of subsidy paid to the school in the most recently completed fiscal year. The net amount of church support for a parish is then divided by the total church support for all parishes in the Diocese. The result of this calculation is the church-support percentage.

The second factor is the number of Registered Families in the parish. This number is taken from the most recent calendar year-end census report. The number of registered families in a given parish is divided by the total registered families in the Diocese. The result of this calculation is the registered families’ percentage.

The two percentages are then averaged (added together and divided by two). The average of the two factors is the percentage of the Appeal goal that the parish is targeted to achieve.

As in previous years, 100% of every dollar exceeding the goal will be returned to the parish. Parishes must return a Parish Project Registration form designating how the funds will be used. Parishes are to return their completed Parish Project Registration form by May 31, 2024.

For the 2024 Catholic Ministries Appeal, any parish previously scheduled to go into oratory status will have a $0 goal. However, we encourage financial support from the entire Catholic community to fund ministries and programs across southern Minnesota. Parishioners of churches scheduled for oratory status will still receive direct mail soliciting their support.