Parish Generosity Activities

• During Mass, the priest is the first person to put his envelope into the offertory basket.
  
• Conduct a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Seminar for parishioners.
• Send each parishioner a year-end contribution statement for taxes.
• Parish tithing – Some parishes eliminate second collections and tithe a portion of their weekly offering. Additionally, some parishes have tithing committees to designate where money will go on an annual basis.
• Add personal tithing information to weekly bulletin (archstl.org/stewardship)
  
• Annual Catholic Appeal – Mass held in the gym, as parishioners exit they walk right to ACA commitment card tables.
• Contact Michael Weisbrod, Planned Giving Officer at the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri, at 314.918.2893 or [email protected] to schedule a Legacy Planning Seminar.
  
• Annual review of parish offertory envelope: graphics update, dollar grid update, annual usage, and number of envelopes sent annually
• Promote tithing and sacrificial giving – equal sacrifice, not equal gifts.
• Send a monthly statement as a reminder for parishioners of their giving relative to their covenant.
• Pass the collection basket to each individual, do not use long-pole baskets.
• Start a children’s envelope giving program to help train future generous givers.
• Stewardship covenant cards – use a stair-step level of giving to show the number of people at each level within your parish. Encourage people to increase their percentage of giving each year.
• Help parishioners to be better stewards of all their money, not just the money they give to the Church and charities.
• Catholic Values Investing – investing money in companies that adhere to Catholic values. In August 2015 the Dow Jones announced the start of the S&P 500 Catholic Values Index. The index excludes companies not consistent with Catholic values. This is the link to the USCCB’s Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines: https://www.catholicinvestments.com/catholic- investing/usccb-socially-responsible-guidelines/
  
• Parish grade school “Tithing Friday” – school Mass held once a month. A collection is taken at Mass and each grade has the opportunity to collect and bring the offering to the altar. The dollar amount isn’t important, rather it’s a lesson in developing a routine of giving.
• Encourage parishioners to plan their giving on an annual basis by using the My Catholic Giving Guide (see pages 62-65).
• Send year-end statements to all parishioners and have the pastor add a personal note for contributors above a certain level.