Archdiocese of Cincinnati
. . . . .leading the way
The Cunneen Company wishes to congratulate Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati, Michael Vanderburgh, Director of Stewardship, Brian Doyle, Associate Director of Stewardship, and members of the Pastor’s Advisory Council for boldly deciding to launch an Archdiocesan-wide Parish Stewardship Initiative in the Fall of 2010.
Beginning in September of 2010, the first of 218 parish stewardship initiatives will commence. The goals of the effort are to deepen parishioner understanding of Stewardship of Treasure. Parishioners will be encouraged to increase their regular giving, to use offertory envelopes, to consider electronic giving, and to be intentional, reflective and prayerful in their support of their parish. All 175,000 families will have access to a three-year subscription of Stewardship in Motion a newsletter which explores all aspects of parish stewardship-Time, Talent, and Treasure.
Leading the way among Catholic Dioceses across the United States, parishes in the Archdiocese will benefit from parish initiatives, which will be funded by the Archdiocese. Each program will be customized to meet specific parish needs, parish timetables, and will reflect the conversation that individual parishes and pastors have already had with their parishioners about Stewardship.
Cunneen welcomes the Archdiocese to its family of clients and applauds its bold leadership. We look forward to our Fall 2010 launch!
Showing posts with label clients. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clients. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Happy New Year
SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT 2009
. . . . .BUT BORING IT WAS NOT!
Tasked with running our company in the midst of the greatest recession in seventy years, my brother and I have found the experience has left us with conflicting emotions. Over the past fourteen months, we’ve experienced great disappointment as well as extraordinary stress and pressure. This has been tempered, however, with many instances of our entire team pulling together in a spirit of collective sacrifice to help each other, to assist our clients, and to help the firm endure the hard times. As a company, we have never worked harder, better, more efficiently and dare I say, joyfully then we have over these past months. Hardship and sacrifice have brought out the best in us all.
As I proudly write this letter, I can’t help but think that every one of our client pastors could say the exact same things about their staff, about their volunteers, and about their parishioners. We have witnessed tens of thousands of families digging a bit deeper each weekend to help support their parish in these difficult times; the work of the church has never seemed more important! We have stood in awe as thousands of pledge cards from capital campaigns all across the country arrived in our office; each completed card giving witness to the importance of Church, Faith, Sacrifice and Hope.
We have witnessed the courage of pastors and lay leaders as they boldly made the difficult decisions that were necessary to keep their parishes operating and to maintain the services that their parishioners needed more than ever. We have seen those parishioners respond. Throughout one hundred fifty-seven appeals this fall and approximately three hundred over the course of the year, in dozens of dioceses, in almost thirty states; we have not seen a single instance where the faithful didn’t respond abundantly. It has been humbling.
Looking back, this has been the most difficult year in my professional life; it has also been the most rewarding. I have never felt more proud of the work that our firm does, of our staff, and of the clients we serve. What we do is important because what you do is essential. This year has been humbling and empowering; difficult, yet, wonderful. I look to the future with a renewed spirit of optimism and a deeper belief in the work that we do.
Thank you for permitting Cunneen to assist your parishes, your dioceses and the people who you serve. Your work is important; it is essential! It remains a privilege to serve our Church.
. . . . .BUT BORING IT WAS NOT!
Tasked with running our company in the midst of the greatest recession in seventy years, my brother and I have found the experience has left us with conflicting emotions. Over the past fourteen months, we’ve experienced great disappointment as well as extraordinary stress and pressure. This has been tempered, however, with many instances of our entire team pulling together in a spirit of collective sacrifice to help each other, to assist our clients, and to help the firm endure the hard times. As a company, we have never worked harder, better, more efficiently and dare I say, joyfully then we have over these past months. Hardship and sacrifice have brought out the best in us all.
As I proudly write this letter, I can’t help but think that every one of our client pastors could say the exact same things about their staff, about their volunteers, and about their parishioners. We have witnessed tens of thousands of families digging a bit deeper each weekend to help support their parish in these difficult times; the work of the church has never seemed more important! We have stood in awe as thousands of pledge cards from capital campaigns all across the country arrived in our office; each completed card giving witness to the importance of Church, Faith, Sacrifice and Hope.
We have witnessed the courage of pastors and lay leaders as they boldly made the difficult decisions that were necessary to keep their parishes operating and to maintain the services that their parishioners needed more than ever. We have seen those parishioners respond. Throughout one hundred fifty-seven appeals this fall and approximately three hundred over the course of the year, in dozens of dioceses, in almost thirty states; we have not seen a single instance where the faithful didn’t respond abundantly. It has been humbling.
Looking back, this has been the most difficult year in my professional life; it has also been the most rewarding. I have never felt more proud of the work that our firm does, of our staff, and of the clients we serve. What we do is important because what you do is essential. This year has been humbling and empowering; difficult, yet, wonderful. I look to the future with a renewed spirit of optimism and a deeper belief in the work that we do.
Thank you for permitting Cunneen to assist your parishes, your dioceses and the people who you serve. Your work is important; it is essential! It remains a privilege to serve our Church.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My favorite case letter of the season.
This letter inspired by the words of our client-the pastor at Saint Francis-but credit for the writing belongs to Harry Colin of the Cunneen team.
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish is blessed in so many ways! We are an active, vibrant parish that accepts with great eagerness Christ's call to evangelization. We center our worship on the Eucharistic Liturgy and from this wellspring all of our ministries flow. It is sometimes instructive for all of us to review just how far and in what directions our outreach extends, so permit me to briefly review just some of the highlights of our parish life and to discuss some exciting plans for our future.
Our celebrations of the liturgy are infused with energy, passion and prayerfulness. Our music ministry is superb and in the words of Saint Augustine, “ one who sings prays twice.” To strengthen this integral component of our parish life we want to appoint a Worship Ministry Coordinator to make our celebrations even more powerful and consistent.
We educate children from Pre-K age all the way through the elementary, middles school and high school years. This process is critical to our future and requires adequate resources to insure our children are properly catechized to go forth into a challenging world. Our RCIA and adult education programs also are important to us.
Effective and Gospel- inspired social action is an important ministry for us here also. Among the most prominent programs are Americares, the Christmas toy collection, our food drive and our ongoing care and outreach to our sick. We also sponsor a number of social gatherings that are important to sustain and buildupon our fellowship here at Saint Francis.
Communication that is far-reaching and effective is required to link all of our people and ministries together. We want to revive the parish newsletter and strengthen our presence on the website to further this aim.
We have now reached an important, exciting yet critical point in our parish life. We must take the opportunity presented to us now to insure these ministries survive and prosper. All of these ministries require resources to operate. Our parish offertory collection is the lifeblood that nourishes the heart from which our actions draw their inspiration. That is why I am asking each one of you to prayerfully consider making a modest increase in your weekly giving.
The members of the parish finance committee and I understand these are challenging times. Such times, however, require more from our parish ministries, not less and a strengthened collection is the only way for this to occur. By making every effort to be a regular and consistent user of your envelopes, and by making the commitment to nudge your weekly gift upward a bit, we can survive and flourish in our parish life.
Please pray over this important request I have presented you and respond as best you can. We are good stewards of what you have given us and we ask that you in turn practice good stewardship with your blessings. As Sacred Scripture tells us, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Hebrews 13:16) Whatever your decision, I ask for your prayers and assure you of mine on your behalf.
This parish has recorded a 25% increase in weekly giving-the message worked!
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish is blessed in so many ways! We are an active, vibrant parish that accepts with great eagerness Christ's call to evangelization. We center our worship on the Eucharistic Liturgy and from this wellspring all of our ministries flow. It is sometimes instructive for all of us to review just how far and in what directions our outreach extends, so permit me to briefly review just some of the highlights of our parish life and to discuss some exciting plans for our future.
Our celebrations of the liturgy are infused with energy, passion and prayerfulness. Our music ministry is superb and in the words of Saint Augustine, “ one who sings prays twice.” To strengthen this integral component of our parish life we want to appoint a Worship Ministry Coordinator to make our celebrations even more powerful and consistent.
We educate children from Pre-K age all the way through the elementary, middles school and high school years. This process is critical to our future and requires adequate resources to insure our children are properly catechized to go forth into a challenging world. Our RCIA and adult education programs also are important to us.
Effective and Gospel- inspired social action is an important ministry for us here also. Among the most prominent programs are Americares, the Christmas toy collection, our food drive and our ongoing care and outreach to our sick. We also sponsor a number of social gatherings that are important to sustain and buildupon our fellowship here at Saint Francis.
Communication that is far-reaching and effective is required to link all of our people and ministries together. We want to revive the parish newsletter and strengthen our presence on the website to further this aim.
We have now reached an important, exciting yet critical point in our parish life. We must take the opportunity presented to us now to insure these ministries survive and prosper. All of these ministries require resources to operate. Our parish offertory collection is the lifeblood that nourishes the heart from which our actions draw their inspiration. That is why I am asking each one of you to prayerfully consider making a modest increase in your weekly giving.
The members of the parish finance committee and I understand these are challenging times. Such times, however, require more from our parish ministries, not less and a strengthened collection is the only way for this to occur. By making every effort to be a regular and consistent user of your envelopes, and by making the commitment to nudge your weekly gift upward a bit, we can survive and flourish in our parish life.
Please pray over this important request I have presented you and respond as best you can. We are good stewards of what you have given us and we ask that you in turn practice good stewardship with your blessings. As Sacred Scripture tells us, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Hebrews 13:16) Whatever your decision, I ask for your prayers and assure you of mine on your behalf.
This parish has recorded a 25% increase in weekly giving-the message worked!
Monday, July 28, 2008
When the joy is absent from giving.
As someone who owns a fundraising consulting firm, has managed many capital campaigns and annual appeals,trained hundreds of volunteers and as a donor to many worthy organizations in my community I firmly subscribe to the old adage about the "joy of giving"! I teach it, I write about it, it's in my proposals and in this particular case I really do think giving, when done properly, is fantastic - A true joy!
However there is a form of giving that I am forced to participate in that lacks any real joy. This is that neato solicitation from my clients!
Yes those wonderful clients who you've taught so well, trained on building a case, trained on the proper ask, trained on the proper timing of the ask-who invite you to lunch (that I ultimately pay for)and somewhere between the lobster bisque and the healthy fish of the day they slide a "really neat sponsorship" "worthy raffle" "great anniversary book" "incredible golf tournament flag sponsorship" "high profile advertisement in informative directory" "lunch sponsor at their event which they refuse to let me speak at" giving opportunity!
This solicitation, of course, comes with almost no explanation, no discussion of what the money is being used for, no pitch on the case. No head fake in my direction to pretend that I might be interested in the actual project. Just that sorta half smile, slightly awkward yet expectant slide across the table of the important information!
I know this comes off as another half rant/complaint and it is meant to! I am after all whining rather vigorously. However I do believe there is a lesson here. A lesson for me as a fundraising professional, a lesson for me as a business owner and an important lesson for my clients. Never take your relationships for granted. It doesn't matter how much you've done for a client, or they've done for you, how much you as the school or church have done for the donor-how many favors, extra effort or special exceptions you may have made.
At the end of the day giving is a deeply personal and emotional experience. When someone signs that check they want to feel good, they want to feel appreciated, they want to feel that their gift was needed. Appreciate your donors (all of them, even those that "should" give) always make your case, always approach the ask as if this were a first time solicitation.
As I said NO to a major sponsorship today it was as if a small light popped on in the deep recesses of my fundraising/business/emotional brain. "No mas!" Do it right, ask properly or "No mas!"
However there is a form of giving that I am forced to participate in that lacks any real joy. This is that neato solicitation from my clients!
Yes those wonderful clients who you've taught so well, trained on building a case, trained on the proper ask, trained on the proper timing of the ask-who invite you to lunch (that I ultimately pay for)and somewhere between the lobster bisque and the healthy fish of the day they slide a "really neat sponsorship" "worthy raffle" "great anniversary book" "incredible golf tournament flag sponsorship" "high profile advertisement in informative directory" "lunch sponsor at their event which they refuse to let me speak at" giving opportunity!
This solicitation, of course, comes with almost no explanation, no discussion of what the money is being used for, no pitch on the case. No head fake in my direction to pretend that I might be interested in the actual project. Just that sorta half smile, slightly awkward yet expectant slide across the table of the important information!
I know this comes off as another half rant/complaint and it is meant to! I am after all whining rather vigorously. However I do believe there is a lesson here. A lesson for me as a fundraising professional, a lesson for me as a business owner and an important lesson for my clients. Never take your relationships for granted. It doesn't matter how much you've done for a client, or they've done for you, how much you as the school or church have done for the donor-how many favors, extra effort or special exceptions you may have made.
At the end of the day giving is a deeply personal and emotional experience. When someone signs that check they want to feel good, they want to feel appreciated, they want to feel that their gift was needed. Appreciate your donors (all of them, even those that "should" give) always make your case, always approach the ask as if this were a first time solicitation.
As I said NO to a major sponsorship today it was as if a small light popped on in the deep recesses of my fundraising/business/emotional brain. "No mas!" Do it right, ask properly or "No mas!"
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