Parish Manual Overview Annual Catholic Appeal 2019 COME, FOLLOW ME and share the Word
TABLE OF CONTENTS Case for Support 3 Goals and Rebates 5 Roles and Responsibilities 6 Preparation 8 Announcement Weekend 10 Commitment Weekend Follow-up Weekend Closing 11 12 13 Processing 14 Tips for Success 17 This manual is available in English, Spanish and Polish at www.annualcatholicappeal.com Bannon Associates, Inc. and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago (2017)
CASE FOR SUPPORT Come Follow Me and share the Word We are all called by Jesus to share his word not only in our speech but in our actions. We share His word when we love our enemies, extend our generosity to those in need, and become sources of mercy and compassion for everyone. When you participate in the Annual Catholic Appeal, you support the life and mission of the Church and its outreach programs. You hold up our parishes, schools, and religious education programs. You promote efforts to eradicate violence, promote respect for life, and alleviate suffering around the world. When you give, you are following Jesus and sharing his word. Through the Annual Catholic Appeal, you can share his word in our parish communities, our Archdiocese, and across the globe Your generous gift of the Annual Catholic Appeal helps to support: Parish communities Parishes and Catholic schools serving financially challenged communities Parish rebates to fund the priorities of your local parish Ministry Testimonials: We depend on your generosity with over 76,000 students and 214 Catholic schools. We deliver an excellent education rooted in the faith. Dr. Jim Rigg, Superintendent of Catholic Schools We ve been able to really grow our Holiday Food Pantry one year we even gained two parishioners through our outreach we are so thankful. Betty Taylor, Ss. Peter and Paul
CASE FOR SUPPORT Our Archdiocesan ministries Evangelization efforts to spread the faith through youth ministries, parish vitality, and liturgy enhancement Religious Education for youth, young adult, campus, and adult faith formation Continuing education for priests, staff, and lay volunteers serving parish communities Human dignity and solidarity efforts that promote respect for life at all stages, peace and justice, support for immigrants, and Kolbe House prison ministry Family and community ministries such as Chicago Police and Fire chaplaincies, marriage support, and family ministries Ministry Testimonials: About a year ago I graduated from Mundelein Seminary and was formed as a priest there because of your generous contributions. Thank you for supporting vocations to the Archdiocese through the Annual Catholic Appeal. Father Radley Alcantara Your support enables us to provide formation, evangelization, and outreach ministries for thousands of people throughout Lake and Cook County Father Peter Wojcik, Director, Department of Parish Vitality and Mission We touch the hearts and minds of children and adults through every parish archdiocesan wide. We thank you and ask the Lord to abundantly grace you. Patricia Malinwoski, Catechetical Ministry The World Catholic Relief Services to assist the poor and vulnerable around the world Ministry Testimonials: Catholic Relief Services is one of the greatest relief service and development agencies of the Catholic community reaching out to 121 million people in 112 countries around the world bringing hope, love, and compassion on your behalf. Thomas Awiapo, Global Solidarity Coordinator No money donated to the Annual Catholic Appeal has been or will be used to defray expenses related to misconduct issues.
GOALS AND REBATES How are parish goals determined? With very few exceptions, parish goals are set at 6% of the parish offertory income (Sundays, Holy Days, Christmas and Easter) for the previous fiscal year. What happens when a parish exceeds its goal? 100% of payments in excess of a parish goal will be returned to the parish as a rebate. Parishes pay no Archdiocesan assessment on Annual Catholic Appeal rebates. Why is the in-pew solicitation process so important? Direct mail and on-line pledges/giving typically amount to 48% of the total number of pledges while in-pew pledges are about 52%. In the 2018 ACA, the split was 50-50. The In-Pew average is $220.16 and the direct mail/online giving average is $334.56. You can promote direct mail responses several weekends before the in-pew by using the bulletin announcements provided in the Parish Resources manual and online at annualcatholicappeal.com. By increasing the response to the direct mail promotions, a parish will substantially increase its average gift, bringing them closer to exceeding their goal. With a normal response to direct mail outreach, the average parish will find that about 25% of households attending Mass on Commitment Weekend have already given by mail. Conversely, 75% have not. This means more than half of the direct mail responses come from parishioners who heard about the Appeal through both direct mail and in-pew. This is why it is so important to conduct the in-pew process on both Commitment and Follow-Up weekends.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when counselors are many. - Proverbs 15:22 Teamwork They say it takes a village, and this holds true for the Annual Catholic Appeal. While the steps are manageable, they can become overwhelming without the proper support. Pastoral Leadership The pastor is at the forefront of the Annual Catholic Appeal. His spiritual leadership will serve as a guide and an example to other members of the leadership team as well as parishioners. The More, The Merrier Please refer to the following leadership chart and outlined responsibilities on page 7. We encourage parishes to expand this chart to best fit current leadership structures. Many hands make light work! Annual Catholic Appeal Leadership Team Pastor AoC Partner Parish Admin Lay Leader Lay Leader Key Donor Key Donor
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES PASTOR Provides spiritual leadership by encouraging sacrificial giving and active participation Customize homilies and other communication pieces to accommodate parish audience Enlists the Leadership Team for the ACA and delegates tasks to team members Communicates with AOC partner and ensures all ACA steps are executed fully AOC PARTNER Liaise between the Archdiocese of Chicago and the parish Collaborates with pastor and parish leadership to ensure the smooth execution of the Appeal Provides resources, materials, information, and any additional assistance needed to parishes Assists in the customization of all ACA communication and marketing materials PARISH ADMININISTRATION Oversees all record keeping, labeling, and the transmittal process Provides anupdated parish mailing list to the ACA team Corresponds with AOC partner regularly to confirm that the parish has sufficient resources LAY LEADERS Assists with orientating, training, and recruiting additional volunteers Collaborates with the pastor and the AOC partner to review and edit all communication materials Assists with the processing, transmittal, and monitoring ofpledges PARISH VOLUNTEERS Oversees all record keeping and the transmittal process Ensures all Commitment Weekend and Follow-up materials are prepared prior to all Masses Helps to coordinate the in-pew process for Commitment Weekend and Follow-up Weekend
PREPARATION Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you. - Ezekiel 38:7 Please take full advantage of the resources provided, especially your assigned AOC partner. Remember these important steps to properly prepare for the Annual Catholic Appeal. Attend an ACA Webinar The webinar is a convenient way for parishes to obtain vital information about the 2019 ACA.To ensure that everyone is receiving the same information about the ACA, we encourage every ACA leadership team member to attend. Meet with AOC Partner Your assigned AOC partner will reach out to you and your leadership team to schedule an opportunity to meet. Your partner will be able to assist with any inquiries or suggestions about theaca. This is an opportunity for a member of thearchdiocesan team to hear any concerns or ideas for your parish s appeal process. Lastly, your AOC partner can assist with brainstorming personalized communication oroutreach initiatives. Some of these approaches may include: Draft customized speaking notes for your parish Provide additionalphysical communication materials as well as technologicalresources notcurrently present at the parish Additional outreach events
PREPARATION Update parish mailing list Providing an accurate mailing list ensures the accuracy of parishioner information and an easier appeal process for the parish. Parishioners have entrusted their personal information to their church and will expect to receive a donation confirmation. Thus, we want to maintain a standard of integrity and trust with our generous parishioners by ensuring their contact information is as accurate and up to date as possible. Labeling is the easiest, fastest, and most effective way to credit a pledge to the right parishioner. By providing an accurate mailing list, the parish will receive the optimal amount of accurate labels. Gather volunteers and delegate More hands make light work! TheACAis inherently a team effort. No pastor can do it alone! Plenty of volunteers with assigned roles will ease the process and demonstrate to parishioners how key lay leaders believe in the initiative. In turn, this will encourage participation among parishioners. Ensure quantity and quality TheACAteam will provide your parish with ACAposters, brochures, envelopes, and labels. Please inform your AOC partner if you have an insufficient amount of the appropriate material in the correct language(s).
ANNOUNCEMENT WEEKEND Why do we need an Announcement Weekend? Announcement Weekend is the opportunity to inform and educate the parish about the purpose of theannual Catholic Appeal. Parishioners will hear from beneficiaries, receive reading material, and understand the theological purpose of sacrificialgiving and theannualcatholicappeal. Pastoral leadership will be crucial for this event. How do I conduct Announcement Weekend? Stuff weekly bulletins with ACAbrochures. NOTE: TheACA brochures provide an accurate overview of the purpose of the ACA. Do not hesitate to alert your AOC/CCS partner if you will require extra brochures. Putup ACA posters intheparish Prepare bulletin and altar announcements Prepare 1-2 speakers to talk about ACA Finalize homily speaking notes
COMMITMENT WEEKEND Why do we have Commitment Weekend when parishioners give via mail? DID YOUKNOW? Online 3% 1 2 All parishes across the Archdiocese of Chicago will participate simultaneously and unite as one, holy, Catholic and apostolic church. This is a moment to celebrate all the great works of the church of Chicago: past, present, and future. No amount of follow-up mailings is as effective as the advance promotion of the initial mailing and its thorough performance of the in-pew solicitation process. Pastoral leadership, as well as lay leadership, will be crucial for this moment. Direct Mail 45% In-pew 52% In-pew pledges make up about 52% of ACA giving What are the most important steps? Place golf pencils in pledge envelopes and distribute them to each family Play the Cardinal s homily Explain the aim of the 2019 ACAand thank parishioners for their past generosity Prepare ushers and volunteers for in-pew process Verbalize instructions to pledge envelope with provided speaking notes Encourage sacrificial giving Confirm all envelopes have been collected Celebrate! Approximately 75% of Commitment Weekend attendees have not yet given to the ACA via mail
FOLLOW-UP WEEKEND If we do Commitment Weekend properly, why do a Follow-Up Weekend? An invitation for all The Annual Catholic Appeal is about the participation of every member of the Church of Chicago. Follow-Up Weekend is an opportunity for parishioners who were not able to make a pledge during Commitment Weekend. It is important that every parishioner is included and given the opportunity to support their church. An opportunity for our parish If a parish has not achieved their participation goal, this is an opportunity to achieve it together. Pastoral and lay leadership will once again, be crucial. Should I repeat the same steps from last week? Yes, for the most part! The homily will be very different for Follow-up Weekend. Your AOC/CCS partner can help to finalize the homily for Follow-Up Weekend. Please make the homily brief and focus on participation; the homily doesnot need to beabout thecampaign.
CLOSING How do we wrap up? Apply labels to pledge envelopes from Follow-Up Weekend. Complete the ledger to assess how much has been raised. Send the pledge envelopes to Letter Concepts, Inc. Contact your AOC partner to ask any remaining questions and provide any helpful feedback. Discuss additional steps to achieve parish and participation goals. What if we haven't met our goal yet? While following up with your AOC/CCS partner, express your concerns aboutmeeting your goal. Together, with your leadership team present, you may brainstorm some strategies to achieve your parish goal. Some of these strategies could include: Host a follow-up phone-a-thon Conduct another Commitment Weekend in March Launch a friendly competition amongst parish groups Organize a reception When does the Appeal officially end? Technically, annual appeal activity occurs all year round. Parishioners can still make a commitment to the appeal well after Commitment Weekend. Please see the operations manual for bulletin inserts and announcement speaking notes for themonths thereafter. Note the change in theme, as the focus will shift toward updating the parish on their progress and thanking generous parishioners.
PROCESSING FAST FACTS Forward gift envelopes to Letter Concepts for processing weekly. Holding gifts delays processing for those who return their envelopes early. Preferably, gift envelopes should remain unopened. Donor name and ID labels are important! Please place the appropriate donor name and ID label in the upper left corner of the pledge envelope. Labeled envelopes are processed faster as there is no need to search for donors in the database. Make name and/or address corrections where appropriate. Envelopes with labels: processed within 15 business days of receipt Envelopes without labels: processed within 45 business days of receipt Using the ledger provided, keep track of donations, including donation method (check, cash, credit card), before sending envelopes for processing. If donor or processing questions arise we will reach out to parishes for more information. All donation packets sent to Letter Concepts MUST include a Record of Subscription (ROS) form. The ROS form includes the name of the donor, address, gift amount, payment method and any notes required for the processor. Ship packages via Federal Express or UPS to ensure you are able to track your gifts when sending for processing. If sending via USPS, please use a trackable method such as Priority Mail.
PROCESSING What is the labeling process? Your parish will receive a set of labels and a ledger. The information on the labels is based on the updated parish mailing list submitted by your parish. Please double check with your AOC partner to confirm that themost up-to-date mailing list was submitted. The labels are critical to crediting the gift to the corresponding donor and ensuring gifts are processed quickly. The ledger is a resource for the parishes as it serves to track the progress to goal and is a record of every gift. Please fill in the relevant information in the spaces provided on the ledger sheet. This ensures that parishes don't have to wait until the conclusion of processing to have an idea of your community's progress to goal. Please apply the correct label to the pledge envelope. If there is a mistake on the label, please correct thewrong informationdirectly onthelabelwith blackink. What if a family doesn't have a label? New donors are always welcome! Please include the unlabeled envelopes with the shipment of labeled envelopes. If the information on the envelope is correct, the parishioners will be credited and receive a confirmation for their donation. To increase the likelihood of correct information completed on the envelope, please follow the exact speaking notes for Commitment Weekend, paying close attention to the portion in which the parish completes the envelopes together. How do we account for cash donations? If you opened the envelopes and found cash, please place a C in the bottom right corner of the pledge envelope. Deposit the all cash donations (anonymous and from pledge envelopes) into the parish bank account. Then, write a check for the total amount of cash donations, payable to "Annual CatholicAppeal." On the transmittal form, include the cash donations from known donors in the main total and use the separate line for anonymous cash donations titled "TotalAnonymous Cash to account for the anonymous donations in the basket.
PROCESSING How do we ship our envelopes? Please bundle all of the envelopes, the transmittal form, and any parish checks into an envelope or box. To assure proper delivery, we recommend you ship packages via UPS or FedEx to ensure tracking for delivery. Ship UP and FedEx packages to: Letter Concepts, Inc. 33 Massirio Drive Kensington, CT 06037 Attention: AOC Account Manager, Carolyn Drew carolynd@letterconcepts.com Telephone Number: 800-525-4963 If you must send the envelopes via UPS or your have a small batch to send, please send Priority Mail to ensure it can be tracked. Ship USPS Packages to: Archdiocese of Chicago Annual Catholic Appeal PO Box 7256 Kensington, CT 06037-7256 I don t think I can do any labeling until a week after Follow-Up Weekend. We're really busy this time of year. What do we do? That's alright! While we understand how busy parishes can get, the longer it takes for envelopes to beshipped, thelonger theprocessing will take. Good donor stewardship requires prompt processing of gifts. Therefore, it iscrucialthat every ACA envelope is shipped to Letter Concepts Inc. within a week of receiving the pledge. Please contact your AOC partner if your parish will require assistance with the labeling process. Your partner can physically assist your parish with the labeling process to ensure timely processing of your parishioner's generous gifts to the ACA.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS When in doubt Plan, Lead, Unite Plan Evaluate successes and challenges from past ACAs Develop a plan and customize to parish culture Verify accuracy and functionality of ACA materials Prepare parish for the ACA by giving advance notice via pulpit and bulletin announcements Lead Engage leadership team, delegate tasks, ensure execution Understand the good works funded by the ACA and celebrate impact Challenge families to pray and reflect upon stewardship and sacrificial giving Unite Remind families that we belong to the Universal Church and encourage them to think about the need outside of the parish Encourage participation, as it is a chance to unite together as a diocese Urge parishioners to fill out their commitment card in the pews together Thank everyone for their contribution and their impact on the lives of others
distribution of funds HOW YOUR GIFT WAS USED 2017 Annual Catholic Appeal $9,511,345 $1,358,737 $564,730 Parish and School Funding Parish Life Religious Education Funds raised in excess of parish goals as well as support for parishes and schools serving financially challenged communities. Programs to support parish vitality - evangelization initiatives, liturgy enhancements Support for youth, young adult, campus and adult religious education ministries This chart shows how your Annual Catholic Appeal funds were used in 2017 to support these many initiatives and programs. $503,667 $640,000 $499,915 $483,552 $275,000 $397,942 Lay Formation Catholic Relief Services Human Dignity and Solidarity Priest Education Parish Transformation Family Ministries Continuing education for lay volunteers and staff serving parish communities Assisting the poor and vulnerable overseas Activities promoting respect for life at all stages, immigration, Kolbe House prison ministry and Peace & Justice initiatives Continuing education for seminarians and priests ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago Programs to revitalize local parish communities Programs for marriage preparation, marriage support and family ministry The Annual Catholic Appeal supports the work of the Church in the Archdiocese of Chicago. No money donated to the Annual Catholic Appeal has been, or will be, used to defray expenses related to misconduct issues. $14,234,890 MINISTRIES TOTAL $1,217,478 Cost of Appeal Design, printing, postage, production, staff and vendors for the Annual Catholic Appeal $15,452,368 TOTAL Parish and School Funding 62% Cost of Appeal 8% Family Ministries 3% Parish Transformation 2% Priest Education 3% Human Dignity and Solidarity 3% Catholic Relief Services 4% Lay Formation 3% Parish Life 9% Religious Education 4%
Thank You! Annual CatholicAppeal Staff Archdiocese of Chicago 835 North Rush Street Chicago, Illinois60611-2030 Phone: 312.534.7959 Fax: 312.534.7354 WWW.ANNUALCATHOLICAPPEAL.COM Brendan Keating Interim Chief Development Officer Phone: 312.534.5271 BKEATING@ARCHCHICAGO.ORG Barbara Shea Collins Director of the Annual Catholic Appeal Phone: 312.534.7944 BCOLLINS@ARCHCHICAGO.ORG TeresaBattaglia Donor Relations Manager Phone: 312.534.7461 TBATTAGLIA@ARCHCHICAGO.ORG Deborah Kozak Lumen Cordium Society Coordinator Phone: 312.534.7615 DKOZAK@ARCHCHICAGO.ORG RosaAguilar Gift Fulfillment Coordinator Spanish Speaking Phone: 312.534.5395 ROAGUILAR@ARCHCHICAGO.ORG Diane DeCampos Carolyn Drew Account Manager Processing Manager Letter Concepts, Inc. 33 Massirio Drive, Berlin, Connecticut 06037 P.O.Box 436, Kensington,Connecticut 06037 Phone: (800) 525-4963 DIANED@LETTERCONCEPTS.COM CAROLYND@LETTERCONCEPTS.COM