Development Directions
ISPD’s team writes a monthly newsletter on advancement, enrollment management, and strategic planning in Catholic schools and parishes.
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...
Annual Fund vs. Capital Campaign: Why Catholic Schools Need Both
Annual Funds and Capital Campaigns Is your school or parish ready for a Capital Campaign? Final Part of a Three Part Series This month, we're exploring the two development efforts that matter most: the Annual Fund and the Capital Campaign. Both are essential. Both invite generosity. But they serve different purposes, operate by different rules, and require different things from your leadership. Two weeks ago, we discussed the Annual Fund — what it is, what it funds, and why Catholic communities can't afford to neglect it. Last week, we turned to the Capital Campaign and what it takes...
The Capital Campaign — Building the Future
Annual Funds and Capital Campaigns Is your school or parish ready for a Capital Campaign? Part Two in a Three Part Series We're exploring the two development efforts that matter most: the Annual Fund and the Capital Campaign. Both are essential. Both invite generosity. But they serve different purposes, operate by different rules, and require different things from your leadership. Last week, we discussed the Annual Fund — what it is, what it funds, and why Catholic communities can't afford to neglect it. This week, we'll turn to the Capital Campaign and what it...
The Annual Fund – Why Every Year Matters
Annual Funds & Capital Campaigns Understanding the Difference and Why Both Matter A Three-Part Series Over the next three weeks, we're exploring the two development efforts that matter most: the Annual Fund and the Capital Campaign. Both are essential. Both invite generosity. But they serve different purposes, operate by different rules, and require different things from your leadership. We'll start this week with the Annual Fund — what it is, what it funds, and why Catholic communities can't afford to neglect it. Next week we'll turn to the Capital Campaign and what it takes...
New Year’s Resolutions for 2026: The Best Direction on Your Development Compass
As we turn the calendar to 01/01/2026, many Catholic schools and parishes are asking, “Where do we point our development compass this year?” Budgets, enrollment, facilities, and staffing all demand attention. Yet beneath all of that is a deeper question: How will we more meaningfully involve people in our mission and vision for the future in 2026?
The Education Freedom Tax Credit: What Your Catholic School Should Do Before the New Year
October 4, 2026
7 min
The federal scholarship tax credit begins January 1, 2027, creating a new opportunity to support Catholic...
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...
