CSA

Rethink how you support the church. The 2023 annual Catholic Services Appeal (CSA) is upon us and it runs from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

Over the last two years your generosity has simply amazed. Thanks to your incredible support and financial sacrifice, last year we received more than $150,000 back as a refund, all of which will not be assessed nor will it increase future CSA goals.  Each year more and more parishioners are realizing that CSA continues to be the best way to support our parish (see chart below). 

Many great initiatives that were started prior to the pandemic will continue so we can connect with each other in more impactful ways.  We can only do this with your support. 

The Archdiocese of Detroit has set our 2022 CSA goal at $183,262 (this is $11,000 less than our 2021 goal).  The crux of the CSA 2.0 campaign has been sharing the value of a dollar given to the campaign.  CSA remains the best way to support St. Isidore and the only channel where every cent of every dollar directly helps the parish unlike other channels such as offertory.

The best and easiest way to set up a one-time or recurring gift is through Pushpay.  Setup takes just a few minutes; simply go to stisidore.church/give/ and choose the “Give Today” button.  If you are more comfortable offering a check (payable to St. Isidore CSA) or cash, a CSA envelope is enclosed with this letter.  Please return it during the collection at Mass at some point in the month of May or simply mail it to the parish office. 

Have questions?

Have a question about the CSA? Check out these answers to frequently asked questions.

FAQ

The Catholic Services Appeal is an annual appeal to the parishes of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The Catholic Services Appeal benefits parishes and people in the AOD and beyond through the more than 100 ministries that it funds. No CSA dollars have ever been-or ever will be-used to settle claims of any nature against the Archdiocese, or to support projects outside of the Archdiocese, other than six specific national collections of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The archdiocesan lay Finance Council oversees the distribution of CSA funds to ensure all reach the ministries, programs, and services for which they are intended.

Over the last few years, this calculation has been simplified greatly by the AOD. The CSA target is now quite simple to calculate. The CSA target is calculated by taking a parish’s Offertory and Christmas calculation and applying a multiplier. Because St. Isidore is such a large parish, our multiplier is 14.5%.

The AOD now forms a budget using the historic data that drives the parish target. Using the tiered system based on parish size, the AOD’s operational budget is determined by adding up each parish’s offertory and Christmas collection and multiplying that figure by the respective parish tier. As stated in question #2 above, St. Isidore’s multiplier is 14.5%.

No, not in the least. Because the CSA target is actually a true assessment, or tax, the Archdiocese is unaffected on an individual withholding support for the campaign. The real result of withholding support for CSA is an increased operating liability at the parish level. If you want to show displeasure with the diocese, or to the bishop, the best way is through a thoughtful, direct letter to Archbishop Vigneron, detailing what your concerns are.

A parish must use operating income or savings to pay for any shortfall to the CSA target. This has significant financial consequences for the parish. Money used to pay the shortfall is money that has already been received as part of offertory or the Christmas collection, and has thus, already been taxed. If a CSA goal is hit directly, all extra money is returned to the parish without an assessment. Furthermore, the success of CSA has no implication in future CSA targets, as the calculation does not include the success of previous campaigns as part of the future calculation.

Yes, the majority of parishes hit their goal without using operational income. Because the CSA is essentially a tax, the AOD always receives the determined CSA target. This target serves as an operational budget for the Archdiocese.

The most obvious answer is administrative support for priests, lay leaders, and volunteers of the parish. A physical breakdown of the $18,500,000 CSA budget from 2019 shows that 20.6% of the funds were used to provide Mission Grants, 15.6% to support Sacred Heart Major Buildings and Facilities, 15.6% on Evangelization, Catechesis and Education, and 14.5% was used in support of Clergy, Vocations and Consecrated Life .  The CSA budget also funds the communications department, Stewardship and Development Programs, as well as the Metropolitan Tribunal. The Archdiocese is a critical structure in support of the parishes.