Development Directions
ISPD’s team writes a monthly newsletter on advancement, enrollment management, and strategic planning in Catholic schools and parishes.
The Warm Catholic Parish: What Happens After a New Family Walks In
Over decades of attending Mass at parishes across the country, ISPD's team has watched that five-minute test play out hundreds of times, and the pattern is consistent enough that we eventually wrote it down. Not as a checklist, but as a story about a young family visiting a parish for the first time and what happened next. We call it "The Warm Catholic Parish."
The Annual Fund’s First 30 Days: Setting the Table Before the Invitation
In Catholic school development, the Annual Fund isn't a one-time appeal — it's a yearly process that invites three gifts from your people: prayer, service, participation, and financial support. Here's the mistake most schools make: they treat the Annual Fund as "starting" the day the first letter goes out. By then, it's already too late. The real work happens in the 30 days before a single pledge card is mailed. That window quietly sets: Your case for support — why should people invest? Your organizational structure — who is inviting whom? Your leadership standard — what does participation look like...
Your Parents Aren’t Ignoring You. They’re Drowning.
Parents aren't ignoring your messages. They're triaging them. Three practices that turn scattered school communication into a system families actually read: a weekly newsletter on a fixed cadence, a pyramid that matches the channel to the weight of the message, and one app that finally holds every group.
Back-to-School Night Ideas for Catholic Schools 2026-27
Making Your Back-to-School Night a "WOW" Moment: Field-Tested Ideas for Catholic Schools Back-to-School Night is one of the most important first impression moments of your school year—especially for new families who are discerning whether a Catholic school is right for their child. Yet too often, schools repeat the same familiar routine: pull last year's agenda, change the date, and watch parents rush through classrooms in crowded hallways. The evening ends, the boxes are checked, but a major opportunity has been missed. This year, let's break the pattern. Why Back-to-School Night Matters More Than You...
2026 ISPD Circle of Catholic Champions
2026 ISPD Circle of Catholic Champions ISPD is announcing the third year of our Circle of Catholic Champions. This is a combination of individual Catholic leaders, parishes, schools, and (arch)dioceses that ISPD has worked with in the past 37 years. They represent the following traits that exhibit true Catholic Development – Advancement – Stewardship excellence: Commitment to engaging people Belonging leads to believing culture Proactive thinking Excellent stewardship of resources they have been given Collaborative leadership Ability to create and share an innovative and dynamic vision Mission-driven results Commitment to bringing people to Christ and Christ to people ...
37 Years of Catholic School and Parish Development: A Message from ISPD’s Founder
37 years in, the processes have evolved. The mission has never changed. “Through consulting, education, and coaching, we bring people, process, and ministry together to help build the Kingdom of God.” This June 2026 marks the beginning of our 37th year in business for the Institute for School and Parish Development (ISPD). Seven years ago, in these same pages, I wrote about thirty years being “quite a milestone.” Seven years later, I find myself even more grateful — and even more convinced that the work we set out to do in 1989 matters more today than ever. It continues to...
Magnifica Humanitas and Catholic Development: ISPD’s Response to Pope Leo XIV’s Encyclical on AI
Workers, Not Master Builders: Catholic Development in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Dear Friends and Colleagues in Catholic Development, It is a particular grace that I offer to gather with you this June in New Orleans. For three days (June 22 – June 24) at the Hilton Riverside, Catholic (arch)diocesan, parish, and school leaders from across the country will do together what our Holy Father has just asked the whole Church to do in Magnifica Humanitas, his landmark encyclical on artificial intelligence: engage one of the most consequential technologies of our lifetime with wisdom, intentionality, and moral clarity — grounded...
Staying Faithful and Effective: Professional Development as Ministry
The Value of Professional Development in Catholic Education and Parish Life In Catholic schools and parishes today, most of our leaders share a common experience: we were prepared well for ministry, but not always for the complex leadership, financial, and organizational realities we now face. Pastors are asked to be evangelists, sacramental ministers, building managers, and capital campaign leaders. Principals are expected to be instructional leaders, enrollment managers, advancement directors, and communications professionals. Advancement and admissions staff juggle donor relations, data, marketing, and technology—often as a team of one. The needs have grown. The pace has quickened. The expectations have...
The Warm Catholic Parish: What Happens After a New Family Walks In
September 20, 2026
9 min
Over decades of attending Mass at parishes across the country, ISPD's team has watched that five-minute test play out hundreds of times, and the pattern is consistent enough that we eventually wrote it down. Not as a checklist, but as a story about a young family visiting a parish for the first time and what happened next. We call it "The Warm Catholic Parish."
The Annual Fund’s First 30 Days: Setting the Table Before the Invitation
September 8, 2026
6 min
In Catholic school development, the Annual Fund isn't a one-time appeal — it's a yearly process that...
Your Parents Aren’t Ignoring You. They’re Drowning.
August 25, 2026
13 min
Parents aren't ignoring your messages. They're triaging them. Three practices that turn scattered school communication into a system families actually read: a weekly newsletter on a fixed cadence, a pyramid that matches the channel to the weight of the message, and one app that finally holds every group.
Back-to-School Night Ideas for Catholic Schools 2026-27
July 28, 2026
7 min
Making Your Back-to-School Night a "WOW" Moment: Field-Tested Ideas for Catholic Schools ...
2026 ISPD Circle of Catholic Champions
July 20, 2026
2 min
2026 ISPD Circle of Catholic Champions ISPD is announcing the third year of our Circle of...
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37 Years of Catholic School and Parish Development: A Message from ISPD’s Founder
June 17, 2026
8 min
37 years in, the processes have evolved. The mission has never changed. “Through consulting, education, and coaching,...
