Dear Friends of the Archdiocese,

Please let me extend my thanks to you for your interest in the Archdiocese and our web site. This portion of our web site, "Making Contributions to the Church," has been recently added and I hope it will provide helpful information to you as you consider a gift to the Archdiocese or your Parish.   As you might already know, gifts to the Church make many programs possible – programs that provide vital assistance to constituencies within our Archdiocese and Parishes.    Without the generous support of persons like yourselves, a number of the Church's programs simply would not be possible.

The allocation of contributed funds is multi-faceted.  There are many services that our Archdiocesan Church provides in the name of all our people -- needs and concerns which individual parishes simply cannot address by themselves.    Generous contributors to the Archdiocese have been supporting ministry formation, continuing education for the clergy, Catholic schools, scholarships for our K-12 Catholic school students, vocations ministry, ethnic ministries, campus ministry and youth ministry, to name only a few.  Yet each one of these groups reminds me again and again that the support they currently receive is not truly adequate for the needs and opportunities they meet each day.    Our greatest need, however, is for unrestricted gifts – gifts that we can direct to the programs with the largest immediate needs.    Please consider making your gift "unrestricted" so that we can assist programs with these unmet needs.

As you know, some ways of giving to the Archdiocese or to a Parish might present considerable financial advantages for the contributor – by creating a life income program and/or by creating possible tax savings.  The professionals in our Office of Resource Development are available to discuss possible opportunities with you and/or your estate advisors.

We have been blessed in that some of our parishioners have very generously remembered the Church in their wills.  To those who have placed the Church in their wills, we hope that you will let us know of your intentions so that we may thank you personally.

Please consider giving to the Church as you engage in estate planning.    Our development staff in the Archdiocese is ready and willing to assist you in your planning efforts.   Please do not hesitate to call upon them for confidential assistance.

As we move forward with our efforts to do the Lord's work, I ask His special blessings on you.

      Sincerely Yours in the Lord,
      Most Reverend John G. Vlazny
      Archbishop of Portland in Oregon