Nearly 20 parishes throughout the Diocese of Nashville are preparing for the kickoff of the second wave of A Legacy of Faith, Hope and Love Campaign the weekend of March 26-27.
Currently pastors are recruiting parish chairpersons and volunteers who will participate in orientation meetings to learn about the goals and priorities of the campaign, as well as their role in bringing the information to all parishioners throughout the upcoming eight weeks.
Additionally, at each kickoff weekend, parishioners will view a short video about the campaign and be able to ask questions of the parish volunteers at their parishes.
The $50 million A Legacy of Faith, Hope and Love Campaign is a diocesan-wide fundraising initiative to build up endowments to support in perpetuity parishes, schools, ministries and agencies of the diocese.
The historic campaign, with the assistance of Steier Group, is raising money to create new endowments or enhance existing endowments to provide future revenue for five key priorities: individual parish needs; Catholic education; vocations; parish growth and expansion; and outreach to those in need.
Money raised toward the campaign goal will be split up among the five key priorities as follows: 25 percent for parishes; 40 percent for Catholic education; 15 percent for vocations; 10 percent for parish growth and expansion; and 10 percent for outreach to those in need.
“Your support of A Legacy of Faith, Hope and Love Campaign will impact every aspect of Catholic life in the Diocese of Nashville,” said Bishop J. Mark Spalding. “From strengthening our parishes and schools to supporting priestly vocations to helping our neighbors in need, your generosity will touch the lives of those we serve – now and for years to come.”
The campaign is being rolled out at churches across the diocese in three waves, with a different group of churches in each wave. When the first wave of parishes began hosting a commitment weekend in January following an October kickoff, more than half of the $50 million goal had already been reached, with just more than $30 million raised as of Feb. 23.
Wave Two will try to replicate and build on that success, said Ashley Linville, director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development.
“It’s been really nice to see the excitement from our Wave One parishes, and I think, based on the success of what we’ve seen so far, Wave Two parishioners will be even more encouraged as we see that this is something that is possible,” Linville said. “We hope to continue to see people excited about leaving a legacy for future generations.”
Some of the parishes in Wave Two of the campaign include St. Henry Church and St. Vincent de Paul Church in Nashville; Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hendersonville; Sacred Heart Church in Loretto; Sacred Heart Church in Lawrenceburg; and St. Lawrence Church in Joelton.
Wave Three of the campaign will begin preparing in late spring followed by kick-off weekends beginning in late summer.
Steier Group, a capital campaign fundraising firm out of Omaha, Nebraska, has assisted dioceses in similar campaigns all around the country. Corporate donations have covered the fees for Steier Group to assist the diocese in managing the campaign.
For more information about the campaign, visit dioceseofnashville.com/legacy.
