Development Directions

(Although updated for this upcoming school year, this newsletter on “Back to School Night,” is back by popular demand). All across the country, Catholic schools will open the doors on the 2023 – 2024 school year, either before or right after Labor Day. What a wonderful time for marketing and for Catholic leaders to step up their efforts and make a difference. These can be teachable and/or impressionable moments – with many different audiences. It all adds up to whether or not we want to change the narrative. Let’s look at the infamous “Back to School Night.” This is one...

In June of 1989, the Institute for School and Parish Development opened for business. This month, as we begin our 34th year of working with Catholic schools, parishes, and (arch) dioceses throughout the country, we are hosting our annual ISPD Development School right here in New Orleans from June 26th thru June 28th. The conference will be a celebration of many years of service, as ISPD associates crisscrossed the country consulting with thousands of Catholic leaders in strategic planning, enrollment management, feasibility studies, capital campaigns, annual funds, new parishioner welcome, total stewardship, development--advancement office set-up, and so much more. It has been...

With the 2022-23 fiscal year coming to a close, there is a question that many Catholic leaders face in the months of May and June: how are we going to improve our operational vitality (advancement/development, enrollment management, communications, etc.) and stewardship efforts in 2023-24? For some, it is a burning question, especially if there are new demands and new goals that are being set by boards, councils, supervisors, administrators, and others. New enrollment numbers? New annual fund numbers? More money to be raised in the development/advancement area? Need for an increase in Stewardship of Finance in the parish? Need to...

Happy New Year! We hope the Christmas Holidays were a wonderful and blessed time for you and your family to grow closer, share stories, worship together, and get that well deserved “down time” that all of us need in order to charge the battery. Here’s wishing that 2023 may be a healthy, prosperous and joy-filled year for you, both personally and professionally. Here at ISPD, we find it beneficial if we use the month of January as a way to take a look at what resolutions are worthwhile considering in order to grow and enhance our Catholic Development efforts. Every...

As the end of 2022 nears its end, now is a great time to check in on your Annual Fund and see how things are going. We have often said that a Catholic school/parish Annual Fund is the single most important Development $$$ effort that you can implement. Simply because it is not “buy and sell” like fund-raisers; it is inviting people to invest in the future of your Catholic institution with their Gift of Prayer, Gift of Service, and Gift of Financial Participation. To clarify, the Annual Fund can work in any Catholic institution. You can create, organize and...

Note: Before the start of each school year, ISPD has shared this newsletter for the past 10+ years with Catholic leaders across the country. It is also one of the chapters in the “25 Lessons Learned” publication. Again, we hope it will spark some creative ideas as you begin the 2022-23 school year. All across the country, Catholic schools will open the doors on the 2022 – 2023 school year either before or right after Labor Day. What a wonderful time for marketing and for Catholic Development personnel and efforts to step up and make a difference. These can be...

In a four-count rhythm, with the tip of the rod at 12 o'clock, and the right-hand wrist doing all of the action, I sat in a chair out in the front yard and learned how to use a fly rod. I was ten years old, and the black inner tube lying out in the grass was my make-believe oak tree that I was trying to lay the fly up against. Both my mother and father were my instructors, and timing, grace, and coordination were the keys to success. I used a fly without a hook attached to the leader which...

Catholic Parish Development/Stewardship Crisis in 2022: How Many Catholic Parishes Are Simply Running Out of Time? There Are Answers! 2021-22 Sample Headlines “Seattle Archdiocese plan to close churches stirs sadness, anger, and resistance” “In Cincinnati, the number of priests is projected to drop by 20% in five years. Participation in Catholic sacraments was also in decline. There were 23% fewer baptisms, first communions, confirmations and weddings, and the average Sunday Mass was about one-third full.” “More church closings, mergers announced by Archdiocese of Chicago.” “Ohio Dioceses Dealing with Closing Parishes” “117-year-old Polish Roman Catholic Church closing this month in New...