CCHD | Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Inc.

Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD)

CCHD is the Catholic Church's domestic anti-poverty program established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1969. The CCHD philosophy emphasizes empowerment and participation for low income people. By helping low income people to participate in the decisions and actions that affect their lives, CCHD empowers them to move beyond poverty.

National Web site: www.usccb.org/cchd

Local CCHD Information

Twenty-five percent of CCHD’s annual second collection in November is kept locally and administered (via local parish grants and local community grants) by the Parish & Social Justice Ministries Program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta with the local CCHD volunteer committee.

The Georgia Bulletin recently did an article on CCHD. You can read it HERE.

CCHD Grant Information

Local CCHD Parish Grants

Download the Parish Grant Application Packet

The purpose of a CCHD Parish Grant is to facilitate education programs rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and/or to offer financial assistance to parish based organizations in their efforts to improve the lives of low income and marginalized groups. Previous Parish Grants have been given to parishes to educate their parishioners in Catholic Social Teaching, create advocacy and community building projects within in Parish and to create projects that bring together marginalized and separated groups.

Grant awards in the Archdiocese of Atlanta (north Georgia) will range up to $1,000. Submissions are due October 30, 2009. Award decision will be communicated by November 27, 2009.

Local CCHD Community Grants

Download the Community Grant Application Packet

Community grants (up to $4,000) are awarded to smaller community organizations with 501-c3 status, or a fiscal agent with such status, to support projects which are created with leadership and input from low-income people and that are directed at changing the social and public policy systems that contribute to poverty. Projects must benefit a significant number of people in North Georgia, be consistent with Catholic Social Teaching, non-partisan and cannot focus on charitable services to individuals.

Community grant applications are available in the fall and must be submitted by January 5th.

National CCHD Grants

National CCHD grants (up to $50,000) are funded through CCHD’s annual national second collection for local projects which focus on the same empowerment and systemic change framework as the community grants described above. These grants are available through the national CCHD office. For more information, please visit http://www.usccb.org/cchd/grants/process.shtml.

Local Events

Annual Good Friday Pilgrimage on April 2, 2010

The pilgrimage has journeyed through downtown Atlanta for the last 30 years on the Friday before Easter. A multicultural and interfaith event with stops at 14 sites, the experience includes prayer, song and reflections that call to mind social injustices present in our world today and challenges us to reflect on how they connect with the sufferings Christ endured in his Passion and our call to compassion and action.

The pilgrimage on April 2, 2010 begins at the State Capitol at 9 a.m. and ends around 1 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Crypt. The pilgrimage will take place rain or shine. Its free of cost and open to the public.

The Good Friday Pilgrimage is a multi-lingual event.

Download 30th Annual Good Friday Pilgrimage Flyer

Download Language Specific information [English, Español (Spanish), tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), Français (French), or Portugues (Portuguese)]

Slideshow of the 28th Annual Good Friday Pilgrimage