Southern Nebraska Register
In its second year, the Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving increased the amount of money donated thanks to the generosity of Catholics across the state.
The joint fundraising effort by the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, the Catholic Diocese of Grand Island and the Archdiocese of Omaha once again raised more than $1 million for Catholic parishes, schools and ministries across the state.
The Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving took place May 7. An early giving period began about two weeks earlier and donations were accepted for a week after the official day ended. Organizations from each diocese were encouraged to register for the day, which allows donors from any of the dioceses to contribute to them.
The 2025 Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving raised more than $1.14 million compared with $1.04 million in 2024, the inaugural year of the fundraiser. Across all three dioceses, 195 organizations participated in 2025, attracting 3,497 donations from 2, 421 donors. The number of donations and the number of donors both decreased slightly from last year.
In the Diocese of Lincoln, 57 organizations participated in the Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving, including 22 parishes, 20 schools and 15 ministries. Those entities in the diocese raised a total of $618,998. Schools received about $294,000 in donations, followed by ministries with nearly $259,000 and parishes with more than $66,000. In all, 1,323 people in the Diocese of Lincoln made donations, with 567 contributing to ministries, 549 to schools and 207 to parishes.
The leaderboard for the Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving showed Lincoln Diocese organizations in six of the top 10 spots for total money raised. Pius X High School in Lincoln led all organizations with nearly $155,000 raised from 221 donors. Cathedral of the Risen Christ School was in second place, with $100,605 in donations. The St. Thomas Aquinas Church – Newman Center in Lincoln was third with more than $82,000. Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska ($67,940), the Emmaus Institute for Biblical Studies ($52,423) and North American Martyrs School and Parish ($46,029) also finished in the overall top 10 in total funds raised.
“These donations reflect the true generosity of Catholics in our diocese and across Nebraska,” said Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln. “These funds will enable us to continue the good work our schools, parishes and ministries are doing to grow our faith and serve our communities. Thank you to everyone who donated.”
The Nebraska Catholic Day of Giving is a unique fundraising effort that allows people to donate to organizations in any of the three dioceses regardless of where they may currently live. A steering committee with development and communications representatives from each Catholic diocese in the state spends about nine months planning and promoting the annual event.
