By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

The end of the year, that is. 

Did you know that about 1/3 of annual giving happens in December? The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a season that encourages generosity. As a result, nonprofits ramp up their “asks.” Also, in the United Stat...

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

Cecilia (not her real name, but everything else is true) is an energized Catholic. She aims to
attend daily Mass and give her time, talent, and treasure to help others. She owns and maintains
her own home, and her son is “launched,” earning his own way in t...

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

Latest Information on Giving Trends

Giving USA 2022: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2021 was released in June.  The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy researched and wrote the report. 

The following are highligh...

By Jamie Cappetta, President, USC Caruso Catholic Center and Petrus Consultant

Like many development professionals, I didn’t start my career aspiring to be a fundraiser, but rather my aspiration was that of a professional baseball player. However, when I did not get drafted my senior year in co...

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

Donor meetings can be intimidating to both new and experienced development professionals, but they also have the potential to be such fruitful blessings to our ministry.  In my years of fundraising, I've developed a series of steps that helps me prepare a...

In 2019, Andrew Robison spoke with Jason Simon of The Evangelical Catholic on The Petrus Development podcast.  (To listen, click here!)  Since then, we’ve had a few things happen, global pandemic and such, and we wanted to circle back to Jason and hear how things are going now.

Last time, we tal...

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

Clarence, the wingless angel: We don’t use money in heaven.

George Bailey: It comes in pretty handy down here, Bub.

From the movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

Note: I am not a lawyer, and the following is not legal advice—just my perspective and experien...

By Meghan Larsen-Reidy, Campus Minister, Diocese of Pittsburgh

My background is in ministry and not in development; however, the pandemic made it impossible to continue doing ministry without fundraising. There was a reduction in the funding source of my job’s budget, and in order for it to con...

 By Emily Ferril | Director of Development, Camp Wojtyla 

What’s in a conference? Working for a non-profit/mission-oriented organization, every dollar spent must be carefully thought about its potential ROI. Afterall, we must be good stewards of the resources our benefactors so generously sh...

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

One of my favorite Bible stores is that of Queen Esther. Her uncle urged her to go before her husband, the king, to plead for the lives of her people. Also, because she went to the king without being summoned, she risked being executed herself. Talk about...

By Bryan Wilburn, Director of Development, St. Paul’s Newman Center at NDSU

What can you do when you’re in a rut? 

I suppose one option would be to stay there. To act as if it’s not happening and try to power through on your own. Oftentimes though, the first step to getting better is admitt...

By Stephanie Mahoney, OSV Institute for Catholic Innovation
Originally published on www.osvinstitute.com on February 1, 2022

Describing the Catholic Church today, in this post-modern world of 2022, is to tell the story of the body of Christ being fully alive and under incredible adversity all...