The month of December is the time of year when charitable giving usually reaches its peak. Christians frequently mark the Advent and Christmas seasons by donating to various organizations in honor of God's most generous gift to us, his Son. In addition, Christians and non-Christians alike may be looking for worthy causes to support in order to make tax-deductible gifts before the end of the calendar year.
One of the marks of responsible giving - or good stewardship, as we Catholics like to call it - is to make sure the organizations we support do good work and are honest and transparent in their management of resources.
An organization call Charity Navigator provides an aid to the responsible charitable donor by publishing an annual rating 5,000 of the country's best known nonprofits. In its 2008 Holiday Giving Guide, Charity Navigator listed Catholic Charities USA as our country's top provider of social services.
In addition, The NonProfit Times annual Top 100 list of the country's largest charities rated Catholic Charities USA second overall, ranked by total revenue. And on top of that, The Chronicle of Philanthropy list Catholic Charities 11th in the most recent Philanthropy 400 ranking based on private contributions.
In 2007 Catholic Charities USA reported revenues of nearly $3.9 billion from private contributions and government grants for services. In all, 171 Catholic Charities agencies - including Catholic Charities of the Springfield diocese - serve 7.7 million people by providing food, clothing counseling, disaster relief, financial assistance and various community-based services.
Right here in our own diocese, close to half a million people in need received help from Catholic Charities during the past year. For instance, food pantries located in Alton, Carlinville, Decatur, Effingham, Mattoon, Quincy and Springfield serve more than 55,000 clients a year in need of food, household supplies and personal toiletry items. In Springfield, the St. John's Breadline serves over 200,000 free meals a year to individual and families, including more and more children every year.
All this is in addition to the foster care and adoption services, counseling, health assistance, senior outreach and other services provided by the seven area offices of Catholic Charities in the 28 counties of our diocese.
Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, said the recent rankings were "invigorating."
"They speak to the hard work and professionalism of Catholic Charities agencies' staff and volunteers around the country," he said. "It's my sincere hope that this encourages others to join us in our efforts to help those affected by the economic downturn, especially during the holiday season."
If you are looking for a suitable charitable organization for your year-end giving, or if you want to give thanks for the blessings received by you and your family during this past year, please remember Catholic Charities. To give a tax-deductible gift, visit the diocesan Catholic Charities' Web site at cc.dio.org/donations.htm or send your check or money order to: Catholic Charities, 1625 West Washington, Springfield IL, 62702.