By Marnie McAllister, Record Assistant Editor
The 2014 Catholic Services Appeal (CSA), which began in the fall, is nearing its completion with its $3 million goal in sight.
As of May 19, the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Office of Stewardship and Development reported total donations and pledges of $2,930,000 or 98 percent of its goal.
“The appeal has been successful this year and we’re very grateful for the generosity of the people of the archdiocese,” said Nicholas K. Eve, director of the stewardship office.
The annual appeal is the Archdiocese of Louisville’s primary fundraising effort. CSA donations support more than 100 ministries and services provided by the archdiocese.
This year’s goal of $3 million — an increase of $250,000 over last year’s goal — was a challenging one, Eve said.
“But we’re there,” he said. “The economy is recovering and people are finding themselves in a more stable position.”
Among this year’s successes, he noted, is the addition of 700 first-time donors.
“We’ve had donors who give and then may miss a year and then resume the following year,” he said, noting that he’s not counting those donors as new. “To have 700 new donors — who have never given before — is well above a typical year for us,” Eve said.
This year, a total of about 14,700 people contributed to the appeal, and Eve said the number of donors has grown annually in recent years.
He believes this year’s uptick is due, at least in part, to the way the CSA presented its case to parishioners. Organizers used the traditional campaign tools — brochures, media coverage in The Record, posters and a video. But the content of these materials focused on telling the stories of those assisted by the CSA — a pastor building a new parish school, clients of the Sister Visitor Center, seminarians and children involved in youth ministry.
“We’ve worked very hard the last couple of years to focus the appeal around these stories,” Eve said. “I think donors have a confidence that their gifts are making a difference in people’s lives.”
“And these dollars really are making a difference in people’s lives,” he said, adding that between 96 and 97 cents of each dollar donated to the annual appeal supports archdiocesan ministries and services while 3 to 4 cents of each donated dollar covers the cost of mailing and promotional materials.
When the appeal begins again this fall, a new face will help to tell appeal’s success stories — Matthew Schuhmann.
Schuhmann is the new coordinator of annual giving for the Archdiocese of Louisville. He graduated from Bellarmine University in 2013 with a degree in business administration and a minor in communications.
Before graduating, he served as an intern for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in downtown Louisville. After graduation, he said he worked in sales, but discovered his heart was in fundraising for a cause in which he believes.
“I grew up in an extremely Catholic environment. I feel the Catholic Church helped raise me,” he said during an interview at the Chancery May 19. “I have a passion for it.
“It’s a blessing for my career interest and my church interest to intertwine,” he added. “There’s a sense of fulfillment that just wasn’t there in my previous work. I love fundraising and I love the Catholic Church.”
