New online donation site provides more than 800 options for charitable giving
 |
| Picture courtesy Archdiocese of Toronto Blog |
TORONTO (14 December 2011) - At a time of year when the
joy of giving is top of mind, Catholics in the GTA now have more ways to make a
charitable gift than ever before.
The Archdiocese of Toronto has launched a centralized
online donation portal for Catholics in its region, the first service of its
kind in North America. Through the donation portal (www.archtoronto.org),
donors at 225 parishes can make a gift to their parish weekly collection, to
building funds or to their church capital campaign. Gifts can also be made
through the website to a number of other Catholic charities.
"With more and more people making charitable
contributions online, we are happy to offer this opportunity to Catholics
throughout our archdiocese, whether their parish is large or small, urban or
rural," said His Grace, Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto. "The
Internet allows us to extend our parish communities in creative new ways -
including this option to make an offertory or other charitable gift
online."
Churches throughout North America of all denominations
have been accepting online donations for years but this is the first time
centralized giving has been offered for all parishes in a diocese. Visitors to
the online portal have upwards of 800 donation options.
"Donors are becoming more comfortable in the online
environment and it is important that we strive to interact with them in that
space," said Arthur Peters, director of development for the Archdiocese of
Toronto. "Though the rate of online giving continues to rise in Canada,
not all of our parishes have the resources or technical support required to
offer online giving options. By undertaking this initiative on their behalf, we
hope everyone will benefit."
At present, the new online giving portal is set to accept
credit card gifts for the following charitable options: gifts to a parish
(offertory, building fund, capital campaign); ShareLife, the annual charitable
appeal of the diocese; St. Augustine's Seminary; the Archdiocese of Toronto;
St. Michael's Choir School; tribute gifts (living gifts, in memoriam gifts);
humanitarian relief (as of January 1, 2012); Sunday TV Mass; and the Our Faith
Our Future planned giving and estate planning options.
As one of the most diverse dioceses in the world, the
Archdiocese of Toronto is home to 1.9 million Catholics who celebrate Mass each
week in over 30 different languages. More than 800 diocesan and religious
priests serve the Catholic community in 225 parishes.
-30-
Media Contact
Bill Steinburg
Communications Manager
Archdiocese of Toronto
Phone: (416) 934-3400 x 558
Cell: (416) 708-9655
bills@archtoronto.org
www.archtoronto.org
Bill Steinburg
Communications Manager
Archdiocese of Toronto
Phone: (416) 934-3400 x 558
Cell: (416) 708-9655
bills@archtoronto.org
www.archtoronto.org
