Bishop Larry Silva this month is bringing back The Bishop’s Circle, a targeted fundraising appeal started by Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario and put on hold in 2009 when the diocese launched the its With Grateful Hearts capital campaign.
The bishop will send an invitation letter to about 3,000 Catholics over the next few weeks, mostly people who have fulfilled their pledges to the With Grateful Hearts campaign, according to Mark Clark, the diocesan director of stewardship and development.
Also being invited to join the “circle” will be priests, deacons and diocesan employees, Clark said.
The diocesan Office for Stewardship and Development describes the appeal as a way of “honoring the Lord with the fruits of your stewardship of treasure.”
The Bishop’s Circle is primarily an appeal for large donations, although any amount will be accepted. Its five suggested donation levels, or “societies,” range from the $1,000 “Catholic Ohana Society” to the $20,000 or more “Our Lady of Peace Society.”
The Bishop’s Circle donation card explains that the donations will help with the “unexpected and emergency needs of our diocesan ministries,” in particular for clergy, youth and the needy.
The bishop’s invitation letter thanks those who participated in the capital campaign that helped fund the diocese’s 2008-2013 “Road Map” strategic planning programs.
“Much of the progress — made at both the parish level and throughout the diocese — has been powered by the success of the With Grateful Hearts campaign,” the letter states.
“As you may recall, The Bishop’s Circle appeal was started in the 1990s to help the diocese meet unexpected costs, emergency funding needs,” Bishop Silva says.
With the With Grateful Hearts campaign “in its final stages … I am re-launching The Bishop’s Circle and asking you to prayerfully consider a generous gift,” the bishop says.
“I assure you that your decision to join — or re-join — The Bishop’s Circle will make a difference in how we work to accomplish our mission,” the letter concludes.
According to Clark, this will be the first major diocesan appeal allowing donors to make a contribution over the Internet by going to the diocesan website: www.catholichawaii.org.
