I received an email this past week from a long time parishioner inquiring about the Catholic Faith Appeal. He was curious as to what the CFA supports and more importantly how our assessment is derived. Many years ago I used to speak from the pulpit in great detail about the mechanics of the CFA, however, I discontinued doing so because I thought our parish was formally educated. I am dedicating my column this week to explaining what programs are supported by the CFA and the detail of how our assessment is derived and the benefits of exceeding our goal.
WHAT IS THE CATHOLIC FAITH APPEAL (CFA)?
The CFA funds the programs and ministries within the Diocese of Venice which include Social Services to the needy of our Diocese, Catholic Education through our schools and religious education programs and religious activities beyond the reach of individual parishes, such as respect life programs, peace and social justice, etc.
The Catholic Faith Appeal is NOT a discretionary fund for the Bishop, but instead a fund to support Diocesan programs and charitable works. By making a contribution to the CFA, your gift will benefit St. John the Evangelist and all gifts over and above our parish goal will be returned directly to our parish.
There are many people who do not understand why we have an annual appeal. Every parish is assessed their fair share of the expenses of running the programs and ministries of the Diocese. The annual Catholic Faith Appeal is an effort to ask every Catholic family in every parish in this Diocese to help their parish raise its share to help fund the pastoral, outreach, and social service efforts of our local Catholic Church that extend beyond individual parish boundaries. It also funds the administrative services that are available to our parish.
These area-wide efforts breakdown into five basic categories: (1) Religious activities (2) Education programs (3) Social Service for the poor (4) Support our missions and poor parishes (5) Administrative Services of the diocese
So, this year, your gifts are needed to feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, reach out to the least among us, spread our Catholic faith, shelter the homeless, welcome the stranger, protect and strengthen our Parishes and help our poorer parishes.
And now for the details of our assessment.
All income that is deemed assessable is subject to a “tax”, if you will, at the rate of 26%. This includes regular offertory, rental income, memorial garden income and any other gifts or donations which are not restricted. Sources of income that are not assessable include Jamaica Outreach, Habitat for Humanity, St. Vincent de Paul and any non-parochial collections (Peter’s Pence, Seminary Support, World Missions, etc.).
Our current assessment of $485,000.00 is based on the assessable income from the prior fiscal year. Therefore, assessable income from the 2012/2013 fiscal year was used to arrive at the aforementioned calculation. Using round numbers, you would assume that our assessable income for this period was somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.9 million. Actually is was substantially higher than this, however, we receive credits for certain entities. These include gifts to Catholic Schools for tuition subsidy and gifts or outreach to parishes at the rate of 30%. Because we strongly support Catholic Education, we recognized a substantial credit to offset our assessment.
It can also be looked at in this way. When you contribute $1 to the regular offertory, we are basically receiving 74 cents as the remaining 26 cents of every dollar is assessable. When you contribute to the CFA, we are receiving the full $1 dollar. 100% of every dollar of your contribution to the CFA will be used to offset our assessment. This is why it is imperative that we support the CFA. As I have mentioned on countless occasions, once we exceed our goal ($485,000.00 for this year) every penny of every dollar in excess will be returned to the parish free of assessment.
As you read a few weeks ago, our capital needs are great. We need to address numerous issues on campus that will need immediate attention in the next few years. I spoke with Fr. John and asked that we allocate this year’s overage from the CFA to be restricted for our capital needs on campus. Fr. John graciously agreed to this idea.
Now is where you, our parishioners, may assist greatly. I would urge you to prayerfully consider making a donation to the CFA before the end of the calendar year. We are currently at approximately 70% of our goal with $134,000.00 remaining to raise for the 2014 appeal. If we are able to raise an additional $234,000.00 by the end of the year, this would give us $100,000.00 of assessment free funds to be used for our capital needs on campus. I am well aware that this is a lofty goal, however, the benefit of doing so is great. Please prayerfully consider accommodating this request by making a gift to the CFA. You may donate online at www.dioceseofvenice.org by credit card or ACH or you may write a check and place it in your CFA envelope. You also have the option of making a pledge and donating over the remaining four months of the appeal. Another option is to use your required minimum distribution from your IRA as a tax deductible donation. Finally, you may donate appreciated stock by calling the Diocese of Venice at 941.484.9543 and asking for Deborah in the Development Office. This can really be a home run for the future of our buildings on campus. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
In His work together,
Scott Schlossberg, MBAGeneral Manager