Our 2022 Annual Report
Our diocesan ministries, education and outreach programs offer support, professional guidance, and direct delivery of services to and for our people, parishes, schools and communities. They do this while maintaining a very tight annual budget which relies on specific revenue sources, including interest earnings, donations and grants, bequests, parish assessment payments and direct donations to the Catholic Ministry Appeal.
68% of our diocesan ministry budget in 2021-2022 came from personal gifts from Catholics who keep Christ at the center of their lives, answering God’s call to reach out through the good works of our church. A majority of those gifts were made through the Catholic Ministry Appeal.
Our 2022 Annual Report includes not only a comprehensive overview of the 2021-2022 revenues and operational expenses associated with our traditional diocesan ministry and service areas, but also comparative year over year information and impact reporting. It also spotlights those who make our ministry possible: our donors and the Mater Dei Giving Society.
- Please click here to download a PDF of the full version of the 2022 Annual Report.
- To download the 2021-2022 Pastoral Center summary of operations for the ministries, programs and services of our diocese, click here.
- If you would like to view our audited financial statements for 2021-2022, please click here.
- Click here to view the ministries and services we funded.
- To learn more about the Mater Dei Giving Society, click here.
If you have trouble downloading the report or questions concerning the information provided, please contact the Office of Stewardship and Development at stewardship@dosp.org.
A New Funding Model and our Commitment
The ministries, programs, and services of our Diocese have always operated on a tight annual budget. For the past 20 years, most of that budget was funded through direct donations to our Annual Pastoral Appeal (APA) which reduced the amount each parish paid in assessment. This meant that all aspects of operations – from outreach to the administrative needs of our Diocese to accounting services for parishes – was funded by our people and our parishes.
Since his installation as shepherd of the Diocese of St. Petersburg six years ago, Bishop Parkes heard from donors, pastors, and parish leaders, who stated that their donations should fund ministry and outreach efforts only, and that the leadership and temporal services should be funded in another way.
Last year, with the unanimous support of a task force of 13 pastors and other priests, we faced that challenge head on:
- The old APA model was dismantled.
- Diocesan ministries are now funded through the new Catholic Ministry Appeal, and parishes are not required to pay the balance of their goal if not achieved. Our ministries will grow as support from our people allows.
- Diocesan leadership provided through the Offices of the Bishop, Vicar General, and Chancellor, necessary for shepherding our local Church, are now funded through a much-reduced assessment, or tax, equal to 2% of parish offertory and donations less K-8 elementary school support.
- Administrative functions that serve our parishes, schools, and ministries such as Human Resources, Accounting, and Information Technology are now supported through interest earnings from a trust fund.
This new model lessens the financial burden on parishes and allows 100% of donor contributions to go toward ministries instead of administrative costs.
Did the new funding model work? Yes! More than 22,000 households gave to the new Catholic Ministry Appeal by the end of 2022.
However, our reporting and auditing process works on a fiscal year. This means that between July 1 and December 31, 2021, our donors and parishes were operating under the Annual Pastoral Appeal/Assessment model, and from January 1 through June 30, 2022 the new Catholic Ministry Appeal was underway.
Therefore, the 2022 Annual Report includes an overview of all 2021-2022 revenues broken out by type source and operational expenses associated with our traditional diocesan ministry and service areas. It also includes comparative year over year information and impact reporting.
Our Diocese also participates in annual financial statement audits, performed by independent certified public accountants. For any who wish to review the 2022 audited financial statements, please click here.
A Closer Look at Our Faith Family
The Diocese of St. Petersburg is comprised of almost 300,000 Catholics as well as all non-Catholics within our five counties area: Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas.
The purpose of and goal in reporting to our people each year is to provide transparent financial reporting. However, we also believe it is imperative to provide a closer look at the ministries and services annual donations support. Our ministries serve more than 3 million people. Below is a snapshot highlighting our Catholic community in 2021-2022.
A Closer Look at Those Who Make Our Ministry Possible
Making a Difference Together: One Donor’s Story
We have been parishioners at St. Matthew Catholic Church for one and a half years. Our children are altar servers and involved with music for Mass. We also participate in parish service activities (such as meal preparation for Pinellas Hope).
The world is in need of hope and good works and we are very blessed to have a wonderful and supportive community at St. Matthew’s. We believe it is our responsibility to share our gifts and blessings with others in the world.
In a world that assaults us with so much content but so little depth or meaning, the Catholic Ministry Appeal engages us in something foundational to our existence as humans and Catholics. Sometimes the simplest path to peace is through focusing on the service of others.
Yeomans Family, Parishioners
St. Matthew Catholic Church, Largo
Thanking Those Who Have Given So Much
All of the successes we experience and share through diocesan ministry and outreach stems from the love and support of parishioners within the Diocese of St. Petersburg. To offer special thanks to those who have given so much, Bishop Parkes established the Mater Dei Giving Society in 2020.
Named in honor of the Blessed Mother, the society recognizes four distinct types of generosity to diocesan ministries, Catholic Charities, Spirit FM 90.5 and the Catholic Foundation through giving circles. Since its formation two years ago, Bishop Parkes has invited members to gatherings, special Masses and virtual events.
One of the events for current members, as well as those who will be honored as members in the next year, is a special prayer service. This year, more than 250 members participated in an afternoon of prayer, thanks and celebration. “You have made a commitment to the mission of our diocese and spreading the good news,” shared Bishop Parkes. “I am so very grateful for what you have done.”
Click here for more information about the Mater Dei Giving Society and a complete list of our current members.
Featured Ministries and Initiatives
The 2022 Annual Report cannot completely list all points of impact as some efforts have effects we cannot track. For example, how do you track moments of personal encounter with Jesus Christ fostered by a diocesan training for RCIA leaders? However, we are dedicated to shedding light on various ministries, outreach efforts and programs supported through direct donor gifts throughout the year. Below are three featured ministries and initiatives for 2021-2022.
Catholic Schools
The mission of Catholic Schools and Centers is to provide a faith-filled community where students can grow spiritually, academically, and socially. They reflect the richness, diversity, and strength of our Catholic Church.
As one of our largest evangelical ministries, Catholic schools are vital to our Church, providing an excellent education rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To ensure that our schools remain available and affordable to all who wish to attend, we dedicate funds each year to our tuition assistance program. This program allows us to invest in the faith and future of our students and their families.
Learn more about our Catholic Schools and Centers.
“We put God first in everything we do. That is why it is so important for our kids to have a Catholic school education. Those who support tuition assistance programs need to know they have made a difference in the life of our family by making the Catholic education of my three children affordable.”
— Nicole, Catholic School Parent
Transformational Parish Growth Summit
Pastors and parish leaders from across the Diocese of St. Petersburg participated in a full immersion, three-day, sun-up to sun-down Transformational Parish Growth Summit April 25-27, 2022. The Summit, held at the Bethany Center, provided 32 hours of praying, learning, dreaming, and envisioning plans for filling our churches.
The purpose of this first-ever event was to focus on the spiritual and practical ways to grow discipleship and the Church. Based on the feedback from participants, the purpose was met. “This was one of the best diocesan events I have attended. It was educational and it touched my heart,” said Kathy Brasseur, Office Manager at St. Scholastica Parish, Lecanto. “This experience moves me to do more than what I’ve been doing and to overcome my fears. It starts with me. I have to be more prayerful and more formational to be an example to others.”
As an initiative of Courageously Living the Gospel, the Transformational Parish Growth Summit fulfilled the diocesan vision calling us to proclaim the Gospel and invite all to encounter the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
Learn more about our Courageously Living the Gospel initiatives!
“It’s good to be reminded and to get fired back up about evangelization. It reaffirmed my views that evangelization needs to be relational, and it involves walking with small groups of people.”
— Father Jonathan Emery, Pastor
St. Matthew Parish, Largo
Spirit FM 90.5
The broadcast ministry of WBVM has been a part of our diocesan outreach since Memorial Day, 1986. For almost 37 years, Spirit FM 90.5 has been sharing the love of Christ and the beauty of the Catholic faith. Our award-winning radio broadcast ministry can be heard loud and clear 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year throughout most of the greater Tampa Bay area, including Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, and most of Polk and Hardee Counties. It can also be accessed worldwide online!
In addition to inspiring praise music and prayer time for submitted intentions, 61,000 listeners also tune in each week for a variety of uplifting programming. Each day, the station broadcasts Scripture reflections, the Holy Mass from the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, and teachings from Bishop Gregory Parkes in a series titled, Proclaim, Invite, Encounter.
Spirit FM 90.5 has something for everyone. And the dedicated staff members lend their talents to the parishes, schools, and the community by sharing local events four times a day and offering remote broadcasting on-site.
Live with Spirit – click here to start listening!
“Spirit FM is a great opportunity to escape the noise, hear the music, and feel the peace and joy it brings.”
— Matthew Noyes, Listener
Clearwater
