All parishes are different and no campaign is the same.  This packet is based on the successes and failures of parishes and other not-for-profit organizations from across the country.  We hope this packet gives you a better understanding of what a capital campaign involves, as well as, providing a flexible structure for your parish's specific needs.  Once a parish decides to embark on a fundraising campaign, it is highly encouraged to contact the Office of Stewardship and Mission Advancement.  Our staff has extensive experience in capital campaign management and is more than willing to share our expertise with your parish. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us at, (843) 853-2130 ext. 7 or through our webpage www.catholic-doc.org/stewardship.

Sincerely,
 
 

The Office of Stewardship and Mission Advancement

 I.  Establishing the Case Statement of needs at the parish

•   What has brought the parish to this point to consider a campaign?
•   Does the parish have funds on hand?
•   Why does the parish need funds?
•   What will the funds be used for?
•   How quickly does the parish need the funds?
•   How long will the work take?  (If new construction, restoration, renovation)
•   Is money available for a loan?
•   Does the parish have the ability to pay off a loan?
•   If yes, how much and over what period of time?
•   Can the financial challenges ahead be addressed through regular Stewardship?
•   Has the parish made an analysis of the short term and long term needs of the community?
•   Is the parish changing in any way and has this been analyzed completely?
•   Has the parish had any past campaigns?
•   If yes, how much was raised, collected, etc?
•   Have the parishioners been involved with the decision making process in preparing for a campaign?
•   If needed, has an architect been hired and how was the selection process decided?
•   If construction is to take place, how was the decision made to determine who to retain?

II.  Determining the Financial Potential

•   Does the parish have an accurate census and is the parish roster updated including names, address, telephone numbers, etc?
•   How much is the regular offertory income annually?
•   How much are the Christmas and Easter collections?
•   How many Catholic households receive offertory envelopes?
•   How many Catholic households use the envelopes on a regular basis?
•   How many Catholic households use envelopes occasionally?
•   How many checks are received each week or monthly that are not put in the envelopes?
•   Does the parish keep track of those parishioners who contribute in this way?
•   What is the age breakdown of the parishioners?
•   Is the parish increasing or decreasing in size?
•   Are there any unique situations that have to be addressed?
•   Is there any positive or negative publicity taking place?
•   Does the parish have any special mini-campaigns, special fund raisers, etc. yearly?
•   Has the parish conducted any offertory programs within the past few years such as implementing Stewardship, Tithing or Sacrificial Giving?
•   If yes, how was it conducted, who ran it, are records available, literature, etc?
•   What does the parish leadership feel can be raised on a capital campaign?
•   How many Catholic households have the ability to consider gifts of $50,000 to $100,000 and above over a period of 3-5 years?
•   How many Catholic households support the offertory at a level of $1000 and above annually? 
•   $500 and above annually?
•   Are 20% of the parish households giving 80% of the total offertory revenue?
•   How about 30% giving 70% of the offertory?
•   How is the economy in the community, region and state?

III.  Campaign Leadership

•   How long has the pastor been at the parish?
•   Is the pastor a strong leader?
•   Has the pastor been involved with everything from the initial stages of discussion?
•   Is the pastor aware of the diocesan regulations, requirements, etc?
•   Is the pastor a strong administrator or financial person?
•   Does the pastor have experience in building, renovation, restoration, etc?
•   Does the pastor have experience in conducting capital campaigns successfully?
•   Can the pastor  ask for the gift ?
•   Can he encourage others to get involved, motivate the parish leadership and parishioners and challenge everyone to consider supporting this effort?
•   Will the pastor put in the time needed to achieve the campaign potential?
•   Will the pastor follow the campaign plan according to the time line and schedule?
•   Does the parish have the leadership necessary to implement a successful campaign?
•   Would you consider this parish quiet, some what active, active, or extremely active?
•   Are there a lot of programs, ministries and things taking place at the parish regularly?

IV.  Timetable

•   When would the parish like to conduct the campaign?
•   Is there a good or bad time in this area?
•   Are there any other campaigns in the community?
•   Do the leaders of the campaign have the time to put in this effort?

V.  AND FINALLY!!!

•  Do the pastor, leadership and the parishioners have a positive attitude?
•  Will you put in a 100% effort?
•  Are you ready to challenge parishioners to make a sacrificial gift?
•  Do not procrastinate-move forward!
•  Go for it and you will be surprised how generous parishioners will be if you ask and what you can accomplish together as a Catholic community

Presented by Guidance in Giving, Inc. 
Michael R. Cusack, President
Michael V. Goodwin, Executive Vice President 
National Catholic Stewardship Council
Region IV Meeting, June 4-5, 1998
Savannah, GA

Most capital campaigns have three stages:  Leadership or Major Gift Phase, General Phase and the Follow-Up Phase.

Quiet Phase

In the Quiet Phase the object is to raise approximately 40% to 50% of your entire campaign goal from the wealthiest 5% to 10% of your parishioners.  In this phase, campaign efforts must be made to identify those parishioners who have the means and the inclination to make “A Leadership Pledge” to get the campaign off the ground. 

One way to identify leadership gift prospects is to organize a Prospect Rating Committee.  This committee should consist of approximately ten people who know the wealth potential of members of your parish community.  The committee may consist of a bank president, a local stock broker, the CEO of a corporation, a local real estate agent, etc.  A good starting point for developing a list of your leadership prospects is to look first at the names of your top offertory givers.  The Quiet Phase of the campaign serves three important functions.
 

1. It helps secure major gifts from a relatively small percentage of your parish.
2. It serves as an emotional and psychological springboard for the General   Phase of the capital campaign.  If through a successful leadership phase  you are able to announce to the parish at large that 50% of your parish goal   has already been achieved from 5% of parishioners, it makes raising the balance of your goal more attainable. 
3. It sets the tone of generosity that will be needed from the rest of your parishioners in the general phase.

General Phase

In the General Phase the object is to personally contact all parishioners to ask them for a pledge, over a three year period.  A suggested or recommended pledge should be established and publicized.  The suggested pledge must be an amount that a majority of parishioners can afford to pledge.  For example, a suggested pledge of $1,500 may be realistic in a predominately middle class parish, but a $600 pledge would be a struggle for parishioners in less affluent parishes.  Remember also that in the general phase of the campaign the real pool of potential givers will not all be registered parishioners, but predominantly only those who attend church on a regular basis.  In many parishes that figure is less than 50% of registered parishioners.
 

Follow-Up Phase

The third and final stage of the capital campaign is the Follow-Up Phase.  If a determined effort has been made to reach all parishioners in the Leadership and General Phases of the campaign, Follow-Up will simply be an effort to reach those who, for one reason or another, have not responded by stating their intentions regarding the campaign.
 

Conclusion

If conducted properly, a capital campaign should have accomplished a number of important objectives and purposes, some more obvious that others.  Hopefully, the campaign has raised the necessary funds to complete the project.  In addition, it will have built a sense of community and brought satisfaction to the parish campaign workers.  Parishioners themselves will have a sense of pride in what they have accomplished together.  Finally, a successful capital campaign will be an affirmation of the ministry of all those who serve in pastoral roles in the parish.

Addendum

Many parishes use the capital improvement project as an opportunity for a renewal of stewardship in the parish.  Lay witnesses and several mailings are part of the process.  Parishioners are asked to commit to give a percentage of the charity portion of their gift of treasure to the new building project over 3 to 5 years.  A special intention card is used and ongoing progress reports are communicated regularly to parishioners.  Several parishes in Florida and Kansas have been quite successful with this approach.
 

Administrative requirements:
 

• Permission: A letter should be written by the pastor or parish life faciltator to the     Bishop requesting conceptual approval for the project. The letter should     describe the project and request permission to conduct the campaign.

• Exemption:  Exemption from asessment may be granted upon request to the Bishop.      The request is normally part of the project approval letter. Please state in     the request when you would like the period of exemption to begin and     end.  Exemption determinations are based on the size and complexity of the    project. The maximum exemption period is three years.  It is suggested that    you copy the chairman of the Building and Renovation Commission, the     Chief Financial Officer and the Dean of the appropriate deanery on all     correspondence related to the project. 

Case Statement

• Who you are, your strengths, where you need improvement, how you are going to improve
• Blend the past, present and future
• This is the single most essential component of the campaign
• Serves as the background to why you are asking for campaign support

Committed Leadership

• Campaign leadership (either staff, volunteer or consultant)
• Campaign Organizational Structure of Volunteers

Volunteers

• Diverse membership
• Adequately trained
• Ambassadors of the project and parish

Prospects

• Parish Giving Records
• Community Giving records
• Gut feeling

Infrastructure

• Data Processing - Pledge reminders, financial reports, budgeting
• Word Processing - Mail merges
• Point person on staff to organize meetings and committee correspondence.

STAGE 1

• Develop the case statement of the project
• Decide on promotional needs and design print materials
• Develop campaign calendar/schedule of events
• Consider named gift opportunities
• Research parish/school database (rank prospects) - Quiet Phase
• Develop volunteer structure and recruit/train volunteers

STAGE 2

• Print all promotional ideas 
• Conduct private receptions for major donors - Quiet Phase
• Involve large donors in the decision making process
• Solicit named gift and other major gift opportunities to major donors

STAGE 3

• Hold a town hall meeting(s) open to all members of the parish/school to discuss the project
• Conduct a Commissioning Sunday
• Direct Mail Drop - General Phase
• Volunteers begin contacting prospects- General Phase

STAGE 4

• Commitment Sunday
• Continued Solicitation -  General Phase
• Follow-ups/Gift acknowledgments - Follow-up Phase
• Volunteer "thank you" 

Campaign Organization
 

Honorary Chairman (Pastor)

 

Ambassadors

Team Captain - 2

Ambassadors

Team Captain - 3

Ambassadors 

Team Captain - 4

Ambassadors

The Campaign Cabinet will function as the planning body for the campaign.
 

• Develops and approves overall Campaign plan.
• Sets Capital Campaign Goal.
• Develops and approves all Campaign materials.
• Assists in the recruitment of Team Captains.
• In general, acts in advisory capacity to General Campaign Chairperson.

Honorary Chairperson (Pastor)

This person will be responsible for:

1. Recruiting the General Campaign Chairperson
2. Assisting in the recruiting of the Campaign Cabinet, Captains and Ambassadors
3. Attending all Campaign related meetings
4. Preparing a homily for the Kickoff weekend
5. Writing a letter for the Campaign brochure
6. Being available to solicit major donors to the campaign

General Campaign Chairperson

This person will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the Campaign process.  She/he will implement the Campaign plan adopted by the Campaign Cabinet.

Primary responsibilities are:

1. Overall management of the Campaign
2. Identifying and recruiting potential Campaign volunteers and team members
3. Recruit 5 General Gift Team Captains
4. Identification, cultivation and solicitation of major donors to the Campaign
5. Assisting the PR Committee in preparation of Ambassadors Kits
6. Following up with Captains during solicitation phase to assure contacts made
7. Providing general assistance to Team Captains as needed
8. Serving as the public spokesperson for the Campaign

Team Captain

The Team Captain will be the focal point of the direct solicitation effort.  There should be a minimum of four (4) Team Captains each of whom will be responsible for recruiting 5 Ambassadors/Couples.

Primary responsibilities include:

1. Recruiting approximately 5 Ambassadors/Couples in coordination with other Team Captains
2. Assuring that all Ambassadors attend 1 Kick-Off/Training meeting and 3 report meetings
3. Following-up with Ambassadors during direct solicitation effort
4. Assuring that all pledges are reported
5. Reporting results along with Ambassadors at 3 Campaign report meetings
6. Providing general assistance to Ambassadors as needed

Ambassadors

Each Builder will be responsible for approximately 10 home visits during a 3 week solicitation period.

Primary responsibilities include:

1. Attending 1 training and 3 report meetings
2. Becoming familiar with all Campaign materials
3. Scheduling appointments with all prospects
4. Reporting problems promptly to Team Captains
5. Finishing work and reporting results in a timely fashion

Develop plans for all meetings; i.e. Cabinet, Training, Kickoff, Report and other.  These include minutes, agendas, reporting procedures, special fun events, awards and refreshments.

Develop week by week promotional schedule detailing the need for and progress of the Campaign.  Develop campaign materials such as pledge card, brochure with sketch of new facility and kits.  Develop plans for thanking volunteers and donors.

To be completed by:

WEEK ONE 
 

• Campaign Chairman recruited
• Campaign Cabinet recruited
• Meeting of Campaign Cabinet to discuss and approve overall Campaign Plan

WEEK TWO
 

• Recruitment of Meetings and Publicity Committees completed

WEEK THREE
 

• First meeting of Publicity Committee to begin planning including beginning work on the pledge card, brochure, work on Ambassadors' packets and a week by week publicity schedule

WEEK FOUR

• Meeting of Campaign Cabinet to identify possible Team Captains and Ambassadors

WEEK FIVE
 

• Recruitment of Captains begins
• Meeting of Meetings and Publicity Committees to continue work

WEEK SIX
 

• Recruitment of Captains completed

WEEK SEVEN
 

• Meeting of Publicity Committee to approve final drafts of pledge card and brochure

WEEK EIGHT
 

• Drafts of pledge card and brochure to printer
• Training session for Captains
• Recruitment of Ambassadors begins

WEEK NINE
 

• Meeting of Meetings and Publicity Committees to further develop and finalize plans for meetings and publicity
• Continue Recruitment of Ambassadors

WEEK TEN
 

• Individual pledge cards typed for prospects
• Recruitment of Ambassadors completed
• Begin general publicity (posters, bulletins, pulpit)
• Special mailing to all parishioners late in the week (w/o pledge cards)
• Records developed for follow-up
• Ambassadors' packets completed

WEEK ELEVEN
 

• Special message and commissioning at all weekend Masses
• Personal contact by Captains with all Ambassadors on attendance at Kickoff

WEEK TWELVE
 

• Kickoff including training presentation for all Ambassadors.  Question and answer period.  Distribution of packets
• SOLICITATION BEGINS