The charitable activities of the Knights of Columbus include the time and money which are donated to charitable causes by the Supreme, state, and local councils of the Order of the Knights of Columbus. Charity is the foremost principle of the Knights of Columbus. At its 2019 convention, the supreme knight reported the Knights had donated $185 million and 76 million volunteer hours to charitable projects the previous year.
United in Charity, a general, unrestricted endowment fund, was introduced at the 2004 Supreme Council meeting to support and ensure the overall long-term charitable and philanthropic goals of the order. The fund is wholly managed, maintained, and operated by Knights of Columbus Charities, Inc., a 501(c)(8) charitable organization. Before United in Charity was formed, all requests for funds were met with the general funds of the order or in combination with specific appeals.
The reach and ability to give large sums of money has caused some to worry that it can influence the ecclesiology and governance of the church itself.
Employment
At its 1897 convention, Supreme Knight John J. Phelan spoke of the need to assist fellow knights who were in distress as a result of the economic depression in the United States. This led to the establishment of charitable funds within local councils. During the early 20th century, local councils often functioned as agencies for social welfare to support Catholics. Councils occasionally established unemployment bureaus to find jobs for Catholics (including non-members).
When Supreme Knight Martin Carmody assumed office in 1927, on the eve of the Great Depression in the United States, he urged knights to cherish the virtue of charity. When President Herbert Hoover established the President's Organization for Unemployment Relief in 1931, Carmody wrote to him pledging the services of the Order. Carmody had already encouraged the 2,600 councils to have "strong and active employment committees." Some, such as the 20 councils in Saint Louis, joined together to establish full-time employment agencies throughout the 1920s.
The Order also established a Bureau of Employment at their headquarters in New Haven to coordinate efforts among councils. Peter Collins, who ran the effort for returning servicemen after World War I, ran the new Bureau. By the end of July 1931, a total a 43,128 unemployed people had been placed into jobs. In less than two years, the Order would provide more than 100,000 jobs. In October of that year, Hoover appointed Carmody to the Organization.
People with disabilities
The Knights have a tradition of supporting those with physical and developmental disabilities. Charles P. Greco was largely responsible for engagement of the Order in this area. One of the largest recipients has been the Special Olympics. The Order's support goes back to the first games in 1968.
Disaster relief
Giving to those in need of natural disasters dates back to the earliest days of the Order. After a flood in Kansas in 1903, the Order raised US$5,000 to be distributed to parishes and local councils, and it collected over US$100,000 after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. In 1927, the order gave US$50,000 for flood relief.
The Knights of Columbus also gave significant charitable contributions to the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2010. The order also donated 1,000 wheelchairs to the people of Haiti in partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission. The Knights also partnered with Project Medishare for an initiative entitled, "Healing Haiti's Children." The initiative, backed by a more than US$2.5 million commitment from the Knights of Columbus provided free prosthetic limbs and a minimum of two years of rehab to every child.
In 2015, the order donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to victims of typhoons and other natural disasters.
Housing
In 1967, the Massachusetts State Council voted to establish a non-profit corporation to construct affordable housing. The Boston Redevelopment Authority selected the Knights to develop a parcel, but the Supreme Council did not like the idea. The Massachusetts State Council constructed Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park in Boston's North End instead.
The Order donates money and volunteer hours to Habitat for Humanity.
Health initiatives
The Order set up its first national blood drive in 1938.
The Knights believe that showing pregnant women ultrasound images of their fetuses will make them less likely to go through with an abortion; by 2019, they had donated over 1,000 machines to centers throughout the United States and Canada.