Project Advance set a new milestone in 2024, raising a record-breaking $7.7 million to support parish initiatives, Catholic education, and outreach efforts across the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, expressed his deep gratitude to donors whose generosity helped surpass previous fundraising efforts.
“Together, you have raised over $7 million to strengthen your parish while also growing our ministries and extending outreach to those in need,” he said. “Your generosity is helping build a vibrant community of faith that supports families across our Archdiocese.”
The achievement comes despite economic uncertainty as well as recent confusion surrounding charitable donation deadlines. The cost-of-living crisis, inflation, and financial uncertainty have led many Canadians to cut back on giving, making this year’s Project Advance total even more remarkable.
The Fraser Institute said in 2024 that the share of Canadians claiming charitable donations has been in decline, dropping from 19.4 per cent in 2018 to 17.1 per cent in 2022.
Further complicating matters, last year’s postal disruption led to a severe drop-off in year-end giving for many charities. As a result, the federal government extended the charitable donation deadline to Feb. 28, 2025, to allow additional time to make donations.
Then came the proroguing of government in early 2025, raising uncertainty about whether the extension would happen. To clarify the situation, the Department of Finance on Jan. 23 announced draft legislation supporting the extension while the Canada Revenue Agency confirmed it will proceed with administering the 2024 deadline extension.
Despite all these uncertainties, 13,758 donors helped Project Advance surpass all previous fundraising efforts.
With this year’s theme, “Building Our Parish Community,” Project Advance emphasized parish renewal and support. The campaign’s success means that $4.28 million will be returned to parishes through the rebate program, funding parish projects.
Project Advance 2024 will strengthen key ministries across the Archdiocese, including:
• Expanding Catholic education by building new secondary schools.
• Supporting spiritual care in hospitals and health-care facilities.
• Evangelizing through programs such as Alpha, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and PREP.
• Supporting youth and young adult ministries.
• Providing outreach to Indigenous, Hispanic, Filipino, and Chinese communities.
• Fighting human trafficking, supporting refugees, and assisting migrant workers.
• Extending marriage, parenting, and relationship enrichment programs.
• Supporting prison ministry and faith formation for former inmates.
• Providing grants to organizations such as Catholic Christian Outreach, Catholic Street Missionaries, and Catholic Addictions Recovery Ministries.
Archbishop Miller said parishioners’ gifts “will continue to bear fruit in your parish for years to come” by supporting education, youth initiatives, and care for the vulnerable.
Project Advance has been a cornerstone of Catholic generosity in Vancouver since it was launched over 40 years ago with an original goal of $3 million.
Vancouver Catholics donated more than $7.3 million to the 2023 annual campaign, at the time one of the largest totals in Project Advance history. Previous years saw similarly high contributions, with $7.2 million raised in 2022 and $7.3 million in 2021.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the forecast was that up to 25 per cent of usual donations would dry up, the campaign was scaled back to prioritize crisis relief. Donors still contributed $6.75 million, just 8.7 per cent lower than the year before.
The previous record was $7.6 million raised in 2016. Before that, the record had been set in 2008 with $7.4 million.
Despite the growth in giving, the number of donations has been dropping for years. A decade ago, an average of 20,000 donors contributed each year. In 2024, fewer than 14,000 made a contribution to Project Advance.
As Project Advance continues to grow, Archbishop Miller offered his thanks to donors for their commitment and continued support.
For more information or to contribute, visit projectadvance.ca.
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