Give Catholic on Giving Tuesday — parishes, schools and organizations prepare their campaigns for fundraising

Maura Baker

Staff Writer

This year, the Diocese of Covington is introducing the community to a new way to give in preparation for the upcoming holidays. Give Catholic NKY — a campaign for “Giving Tuesday,” which occurs annually the Tuesday after Thanksgiving  — allows for individual schools, parishes and community ministries to set fundraising goals through Give Catholic NKY’s website. This process off-loads the work of fundraising from these organizations and presents the different options to donors via leaderboards and a “shopping cart” system of giving.

Already, different organizations fundraising through Give Catholic have begun uploading information about their campaigns to the website — public and visible for anyone to start looking for fundraisers to support. These campaigns support many different ministries and needs, from general upkeep to scholarships to much needed improvements and repairs.

One such project comes out of St. Mary School, Alexandria, whose hopes are to raise money for a STEM enrichment program for the school’s students. This program will cultivate the interests of the students in modern technology from robotics to coding, according to Jennifer Geiman, principal.

“This market would be amazing to give those kids who have a passion in pursuing not only careers, but enrichment in the STEM area,” said Mrs. Geiman, who cites the availability of these programs rising in public schools. “We’re very limited with funding in that area, so any contribution would help us be competitive in that way — and hopefully give our kids who want to continue their Catholic education that type of opportunity.”

Another project, belonging to St. Paul Parish, Florence, is aiming to replace the parish’s 20-year-old bell system, whose outdated system and speakers have fallen into disrepair.

“The bells are an important part of the parish,” said Father Jason Bertke, pastor. “It’s easy to forget that the bells are calling us to worship. They call us to Mass, they call us to prayer. They sanctify the time.” With a projected goal of $17,000 — these funds would allow bells to ring from the Parish once more, returning to their important mission of “calling people to worship.”

With less than a month until Giving Tuesday, individuals are encouraged to consider “giving Catholic,” according to Jim Hess, diocesan director of Stewardship and Mission Services. “It presents a beautiful opportunity for the entire diocese to come together and to prioritize giving Catholic on Giving Tuesday.”

Information regarding the Give Catholic NKY campaign, including access to donating on Dec. 2, is available on the Give Catholic NKY webpage, https://www.givecentral.org/leaderboard/Give-Catholic-NKY-Giving-Tuesday-2025.