Catholics in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington were praised for their record-breaking generosity in 2022 toward the #iGiveCatholic campaign centered around #GivingTuesday, a national day of giving to charitable causes on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

Through the #iGiveCatholic campaign during the Thanksgiving season, Catholics had the opportunity to show thanks for their blessings by donating to a variety of causes, including parishes, schools and ministries, 

“The more than $920,000 of record-breaking support from 2,300 donors provided through #iGiveCatholic locally for 130 Catholic causes from Nov. 14 to Nov. 29 (#GivingTuesday) once again reinforces the fact that the generosity of the faithful is nothing short of extraordinary – no matter the myriad of challenges over the last three years,” said Joseph Gillmer, the Executive Director of Development for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

That total amount raised locally through #iGiveCatholic includes donations to entities in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and also to The Catholic University of America and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, which are located in Washington, D.C. In the 2022 #iGiveCatholic campaign, Catholics in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington donated $770,036 toward 128 local Catholic ministries.

Gillmer noted that a special web page for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington promoting iGiveCatholic locally ranked #1 nationally among Catholic dioceses and entities for page views for that drive, and the effort was promoted extensively in the archdiocese through emails, text reminders, mail and Facebook posts.

He added, “We are blessed to have so many vibrant Catholic parishes, schools, ministries, and institutions strengthening our communities throughout the region and improving the lives of untold tens of thousands every day. It is an honor to support these incredible Catholic causes annually through #iGiveCatholic on #GivingTuesday.”

As the drive was underway, Gilmer said participating in the #iGiveCatholic campaign offers Catholics “an easy way to support the good works of the Church and to make a difference in the lives of countless people throughout our area.”

Last year, nearly 2,000 donors in the Archdiocese of Washington provided $455,000 to Catholic institutions in the greater Washington region. The archdiocese first participated in #iGiveCatholic in 2019, with local Catholics raising $109,519. In 2020, local Catholics nearly tripled that amount in donations to #iGiveCatholic, donating $323,814 to 106 participating Catholic entities.

In the 2022 #iGiveCatholic campaign, more than $18.5 million was raised nationwide for parishes, schools and nonprofit ministries located in 42 participating dioceses during the U.S. Catholic Church’s giving day on #GivingTuesday, Nov. 29.

“The faith and charity of our Catholic communities leaves me speechless,” said Cory J. Howat, president of #iGiveCatholic. “The results of the giving day are a testament to the generosity and passion Catholics across the country have for their respective communities and Catholic organizations. A huge thank you to all who ‘Gave Catholic’ on #GivingTuesday. What an amazing day for our Church!”

The number of donors who donated to Catholic organizations through the 2022 #iGiveCatholic campaign totaled 42,284 nationwide, making 46,851 donations. Gifts came from donors in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., as well as 19 countries outside of the United States and spanning the globe.

Gillmer noted that eight different ministries in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington ranked among the top 100 nationally in donations or in the number of donors through the #iGiveCatholic campaign in 2022, among 1,561 participating Catholic ministries nationwide. Those included: 

• The Consortium of Catholic Academies, which ranked sixth in the amount raised nationally, with $299,200 in donations.
• The 2022 Annual Appeal, which ranked 24^th nationally in the amount raised ($92,268) and 18^th in the number of donors (222).
• The Archdiocese’s Community Food Security Program, which ranked 55^th nationally in the amount raised ($55,174) and 79^th in donors (108).
• The Archdiocese’s Retired Priests Collection, which ranked 63^rd nationally in the amount raised ($52,148) and 9^th in donors (274).
• St. Dominic’s Parish in Washington, D.C., which ranked 74^th nationally in the amount raised ($47,850) and 75^th in donors (114).
• Kidane-Mehret Ge’ez Rite Ethiopian Catholic Parish in Washington, D.C., which ranked 91^st nationally in the amount raised ($37,445) from 94 donors.
• The University of Maryland Catholic Student Center, which ranked 48^th nationally in donors (146) and received $18,547 in donations.
• The Archdiocese’s Catholic Schools Office ranked 47^th nationally in the number of donors.

 Other parishes in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington that received strong support in the #iGiveCatholic campaign included St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which ranked 11^th among archdiocesan entities with $10,711 in donations and third among parishes in funds raised; St. Paul’s Parish in Damascus which ranked 13^th among archdiocesan entities with $9,290 in donations and fourth among parishes in funds raised; Jesus the Divine Word Parish in Huntingtown which ranked 18^th among archdiocesan entities with $4,975 in donations; and Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish in Owings which ranked 24^th among archdiocesan entities with $2,520 in donations.

Catholic schools in the archdiocese that did well in the #iGiveCatholic campaign included Mother of God School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that ranked seventh among archdiocesan entities with $22,480 in donations and finished #1 among individual schools; St. Mary’s School of Piscataway in Clinton ranked 16^th among archdiocesan entities with $5,600 in donations and ranked second among individual schools, doubling the amount of donations from 2021; Little Flower School in Great Mills, which ranked 23^rd among archdiocesan entities with $3,470 in donations; and the Cardinal Hickey Academy in Owings which ranked 25^th among archdiocesan entities with $2,364 in donations.

In addition to the Catholic Student Center at the University of Maryland, other Catholic campus ministry programs that received strong support in the #iGiveCatholic campaign included HU Bison Catholic, the campus ministry program at Howard University in Washington, D.C., which ranked 14^th among archdiocesan entities with $6,665 in donations; and GW Catholics of the Newman Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., which ranked 29^th among archdiocesan entities with $1,645 in donations.

Independent Catholic organizations with the archdiocese that received significant support in the 2022 #iGiveCatholic campaign included Life Giving Wounds, an outreach to adult children from divorced families, which ranked 21^st among entities in the archdiocese with $4,395 in donations. Theological College, the national seminary at The Catholic University of America, ranked 19^th among entities in the archdiocese with $4,825 in donations.