Thank you for your generosity to the Cathedral of Saint Paul! We are pleased to provide information about how our collections work and the several ways that you can support us and our mission in Downtown Birmingham financially. And please never hesitate to contact the Office or the Rector with any particular inquiries or concerns!
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HOW GIVING WORKS AT THE CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL
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Besides our first collection, which is for regular Offertory and into which may be placed gifts for Flowers, Memorials (e.g. All Souls), Visitor Envelopes, and other seasonal items, there are also occasional second collections each month.
FIRST SUNDAY: The second collection is for Capital Campaign. Whether you have made a pledge or are simply making a free donation, thank you for supporting our Capital Campaign!
SECOND SUNDAY: The second collection is for Seminarian Education Fund. Funds collected in this collection are remitted to the Diocese, to help pay for the cost of educating our diocesan seminarians (currently: about $45,000/year per seminarian). Thank you for sharing in this important cost!
THIRD/FOURTH SUNDAY: There may be a second collection on a third or fourth Sunday for something that is mandated by the Diocese or the Bishops’ Conference. These are only about five or six times a year and are things like the Mission Cooperative, Catholic Relief Services, Propagation of the Faith, etc.
For those contributing by cash or check in the collection basket: please fill out giving envelopes and also use the memo lines on your checks to indicate clearly what your intention is. We always want to respect donor intent! Our collection counters appreciate the clarity you provide in how you prepare your gift, so that we may keep accurate records and direct funds appropriately. Thank you!
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WAYS TO GIVE
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CHECK OR CASH, ENVELOPES
To donate by check (by mail or in-person at our office/during Mass) or by cash (in-person at our office or during Mass, please), please note our physical address:
Cathedral of Saint Paul
2120 3rd Ave N
Birmingham, AL 35203
More information about our location/parking/hours.
Giving envelopes are available to registered parishioners upon request to the Office. Please note, if giving by check, there is no need to put it in a giving envelope. Giving envelopes are primarily meant for cash donations. We do also have giving envelope packets available upon request for children, if you wish to help them learn about stewardship in that way.
ONLINE GIVING (E-GIVING)
If you would like to make a one-time gift or set up a recurring donation, the WeShare service is fast, easy, and secure. WeShare can draft your bank account or most major credit. There are options to give to our regular offertory and all of our special collections, or to make a special one-time gift. All donations will be recorded on your year-end giving statement. Click the following icon and follow the instructions on the site to log in with your existing account or set up a new one:
VENMO
Scan the QR code below to open the Venmo app on your device, or navigate to http://venmo.com/stpaulsbhm in order to make a donation to the Cathedral using this convenient service! Please note: if you wish to designate your gift for something in particular, you must indicate that in the comments, or else we will assume that it is for regular offertory.
DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS
Donor Advised Funds are the fastest-growing giving method and tax-efficient way to manage charitable donations. Clients of Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon may easily make a designation through the DAF Direct service, by clicking on the icon below:
For any questions with regard to Donor-Advised Fund giving, or for help with a Fund that is not supported by DAF Direct, please do not hesitate to contact the Rector.
SECURITIES GIFTS
We are able to receive donations of stocks or certain other securities via our brokerage account with UBS Securities. Please contact our Office for complete instructions on how to send such a donation to our account.
QUALIFIED CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTIONS (QCDs)
Those who are aged 70.5 or greater and have an IRA or an inherited IRA may be able to gain a tax benefit by having a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to the Cathedral taken out of their annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). For those especially whose giving does not exceed their Standard Deduction, this is a great way to reduce one’s taxable income and so benefit from a donation when otherwise it would not be possible. If you meet the age range requirement and have an IRA or an inherited IRA, speak to your financial or tax advisor about whether this method of giving would be of benefit to you. And do not hesitate to contact the Rector if you would like to make a gift in this way and need any more information.
EMPLOYEE/CORPORATE MATCH GIFTS
Many corporations are willing to make charitable gifts to the charity of their employees’ choice, especially around year-end. If your employer offers such a benefit, please contact the Rector for any information needed to complete a request for corporate charitable giving with them.
LEGACY GIFTS & BEQUESTS
If you would like to leave the Cathedral in your will, please contact the Rector for further guidance. Please note, we plan to start a Legacy Society soon, to help build up a fund for the long-term capital needs of the Cathedral.
CATHEDRAL MUSIC FUND/DOWNTOWN CONCERT SERIES
To support our sacred music initiatives, particularly by sponsoring in whole or in part a segment of the Downtown Concert Series at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, please contact the Director of Music for more information. Please note also that we have a giving link (via WeShare) for the Music Fund, specifically.
The Cathedral of Saint Paul 