Fundraising Efforts Escalate Ahead Of Pope's Visit To Philadelphia
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Fundraising efforts are escalating with about six months to go until the visit of Pope Francis and the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.
So far, corporate and community fundraising has netted more than $30 million of the $45 million goal.
Dan Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross, is co-chairman of the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia. He says a number of conversations are still going on with corporations, foundations and individuals at every level to get funding commitments to close the gap in the coming months.
"From my perspective, I'd love to see mid-summer to be able to say, 'okay, we're finished the fundraising and we're ready to go,'" Hilferty says. "I think it's difficult to put a firm time line on that."
Hilferty says there already is a lot of local corporate, civic and individual support for the pope's visit and the World Meeting congress.
He adds, however, he's amazed at the level of contributions and interest from across the U.S. and even from some overseas sources.
