The Catholic Foundation’s Giving in Faith & Thankfulness (GIFT) campaign is a rallying call to all Catholics in Singapore to support the vision of the archdiocese to be a more vibrant, missionary and evangelistic Church. Every individual is challenged to pledge a monthly monetary contribution for the archdiocese’s operational and building needs. Launched in Advent 2016, this regular giving campaign by the Catholic Foundation seeks to help raise $238.1 million for the needs of the archdiocese over the next seven years. This is where we are at today.
Since the launch of GIFT on 26 November 2016, a total of $4.5 million has been raised for the archdiocese, as at 31 March 2017. While this will go a long way in enabling the archdiocese to grow, it is still far from the $34 million annual fundraising needed, in order to raise $238.1 million for the Church by the end of 2023.
GIFT makes it convenient for Catholics to support the Church by offering multiple modes of giving, such as GIRO, Credit/Debit Card and Cash/Cheque for both ad hoc and regular contributions. GIRO and Credit/Debit Card contributions can be made online or through appeal envelopes. Cash and cheque in appeal envelopes can be dropped at the Catholic Centre or into parish collection bags.
As part of the GIFT campaign, a second collection has been introduced in every parish on the third weekend of each month for contributions to the archdiocese. Loose cash given on an ad hoc basis through these collection bags make up for a significant part of funds collected so far. However the amounts collected have also declined steadily over the months.
To raise what is needed for the growth of the archdiocese, every Catholic is challenged to pledge a monthly contribution. However, only 2,324 pledges which would result in a steady sum of $263,809.01 per month have been made since the launch of GIFT. That said, the Catholic Foundation recognises that many Catholics are giving on an ad hoc and on a regular basis without making an explicit pledge. However, monthly pledges will help the archdiocese know the level of funds coming and plan for its expenditures. Thus, we urge all Catholics to make a pledge and conveniently sign up online through GIRO or debit/credit cards to effect their contributions. Tracking the status of your contributions can also be done online.
For individuals who wish to support specific projects of the archdiocese, the Catholic Foundation has also set up the above restricted funds. You may send us a cheque payable to “Catholic Foundation” with the name of the fund written behind it.
