19.03.2004
A Successful Fund-Raising Year for Church of Sweden
Over USD 18 Million Raised in 2003In 2003, the Church of Sweden raised in total SEK 140 million (over USD 18.5 million), making it “a very successful year of fund-raising,” Church of Sweden Aid (Lutherhjälpen) reports. The amount was 9 percent higher than that for 2002.
A Lutherhjälpen press release quotes the organization’s fund-raising manager, Claes Anckarman, saying “these excellent results” were due to significant increases in parish collections throughout the year. He noted “the budgeted grants made by the parishes to [the church’s] work abroad have also increased significantly.”
In 2003, Church of Sweden Mission raised SEK 58.8 million (USD 7.8 million), 4 percent more than the previous year, while Church of Sweden Abroad reached SEK 15 million (USD 1.9 million), an increase of 10 percent. Lutherhjälpen, with over 40,000 active donors during the year, received generous individual donations. Church of Sweden Mission received twice as much as gifts stipulated in wills compared to the previous year, while memorial gifts and donations to Church of Sweden Abroad increased significantly in the same period.
Anckarman described parish representatives as “an enormously important resource” for fund-raising. Keeping new-found donors, he noted, also is important. Money raised will go mainly toward the church’s work worldwide including emergency response, education and health care in developing countries, and work on behalf of expatriate Swedes.
Lutherhjälpen carries out Church of Sweden emergency and development work in collaboration with other partners. It has supported people in need for over 50 years. The church is the largest LWF member church with a membership of 7.1 million, representing nearly 90 percent of the population. (269 words)
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