It Isn't About the Money? - Final

With the completion of the 2007-08 Catholic Ministries Appeal we can take a last look at the differences between those parishes whose associated schools are scheduled for closure and those whose schools will be staying open.

In terms of CMA goals, the parishes where schools are staying open were tasked with raising, on average, 76% more money than those whose schools will be closed. The total dollar difference between the two groups was almost $357,000.

But in terms of actual CMA pledges the differences were even more striking. Parishes where schools are staying open pledged an average of 98% more than those whose schools will be closed. Here the total dollar difference between the two groups was almost $444,000.

The last 10 weeks of the CMA drive also provided an interesting - and not unexpected - glimpse at the difference in parishioner generosity toward the diocese between the two groups of parishes. In the final 70 days of the drive parishioners at parishes where the schools are closing pledged an additional total of $12,143 - with $10,000 of that amount coming from a single pledge at Corpus Christi - while parishioners at parishes where the schools are staying open pledged an additional $15,856. Also, pledges at 3 parishes where schools are closing actually fell by a total of $810 and another 3 parishes pledged no new money, while every parish where schools are staying open saw an increase.

While this year's CMA results may have set a record, these last bits of data would seem to be saying that DOR is going to have a much more difficult time getting money out of many parishes next fall.

6/15/2008 Update: I got a request for 4/3/2008 CMA pledge total for a particular parish. Here's a spreadsheet showing all the 4/3 and 6/11 pledge data and the differences between the two.



10/8/2008 Update and Correction: A reader has pointed out that Blessed Sacrament Parish was the actual home of Corpus Cristi School. The first spreadsheet has been corrected to reflect this reality. Also, information has been added related to whether a parish met or did not meet its CMA goal for 2007-08.