Petrus Blog

In this episode, Josh Whelan, Petrus Vice President, moderates the Career Counseling Panel with panelists: Frank Shannon, Valerie Pletcher and Dan Moraczewski. These three outstanding panelists have a combined 60 years experience in fundraising for the Catholic and non-profit sector and share great insights into the philanthropy world and the development career path. This interview originally took place during the Petrus Virtual Conference 2020.

Show Notes:

Introducing the Panelist -

Frank Shannon – Executive Director of Development at St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, TX

Valerie Pletcher – Sr. Philanthropy Officer, Mid-Atlantic and Europe at FOCUS

Dan Moraczewski – Sr. Consultant at Petrus Development

Josh Whelan – Vice President at Petrus Development, Moderator

Questions asked during the Career Counseling Panel:

• What is the difference between working for Catholic campus ministry development vs outside of Catholic campus ministry...

 By Mary P. Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor & Local Charity Board Member

Where I live, we can now attend Mass in a socially distant way. Attendance is less than half of what used to be “normal.” At the offertory, instead of a pew collection, the priest reminds us to please drop off our donations as we leave. 

Right now, pastors and directors of ministry are really loving their monthly donors. THIS summer is the PERFECT time to “share the love” through appeals to grow your base and ask your current monthly donors to prayerfully consider increasing their gifts.

Your benefactors understand that cash flow can be the difference between thriving, surviving, or dying. If they haven’t experienced a loss of income, they know people who have. They’ve seen businesses and nonprofits in their communities struggle and even close their doors. Your benefactors do not want that to happen to your ministry. So—it’s time to share...

108 Hours...

No, this isn’t an intro to how I got stuck hiking in a Utah canyon, rather, it’s about Petrus that went from 12 hours of digital content to 108 hours’ worth of Zoom calls in 3.5 months because of a worldwide pandemic!

So what else could you do in 108 hours??

• Drive coast to coast 2.4 times
• Play 31 rounds of golf
• Watch 72 Disney movies
• Ride 3,465 roller coasters...

When I say we did 108 hours of Zoom calls, that’s what we pulled off. Now, I love roller coasters, and I have two girls and a little boy who I watch my fair share of Disney movies with; but 108 hours is a lot of time. How did we pull it off? Why does it even matter? And weirdly what does it even mean?

Lesson 1: Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and attempt new ideas.

The first sign that things were going to be different came on March 11, 2020, when the Archdiocese of Seattle suspended all public Masses to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Many of the ministries...

In this episode, Josh Whelan, Petrus Vice President, visits with Matt Bond, Director of Development at St. John's Catholic Student Center at Oklahoma State University. They discuss the current Capital Campaign that is taking place at St. John's Catholic Center. They will discuss the $25 million campaign to build a new Church and Student Center, expand the campus ministry team and establish an endowment.  They have raised over $15 million in gifts and pledges and will launch the campaign to the public in September. In this interview, you will learn steps to launching a campaign and get insight into what to expect. This interview originally took place during the Petrus Virtual Conference 2020.

Show Notes:

This will be a broad overlay of the campaign along with Matt’s unique viewpoints.

Matt Bond

Matt graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in business administration and a minor in accounting. After graduation he spent 2-3 years flipping and selling...

In this episode, Andrew visits with John Cannon, Founder of SENT Ventures. They discuss the challenges that Catholic entrepreneurs face and how to find success in chaotic times. During this episode they talk about Saintly stories, fantastic failures, lasting legacies and divine inspiration. And even more deeply, new ways of serving the Church and the people of God. This interview originally took place during the Petrus Virtual Conference 2020.

Show Notes:

Before SENT, John worked in politics and different business management arenas. He experienced an intense conversion where he discerned the priestly life with the Carmalites and then continued on to studied theology. During his studies he recognized a spirit of entrepreneurship through Saints Benedict, Francis and other saints that ultimately led him to starting SENT.

What is SENT?

SENT contributes to Catholic Church renewal by fueling the next generation of leaders to meet their business, personal and spiritual goals with the...

In this episode, the Petrus Team recaps moments from the Petrus Virtual Conference 2020. From recalling their favorite quotes and stories from the speakers to epiphany moments, they unpack it all. Don't miss out for their take-aways and how you can continue to be "Always Forward" in your ministry, especially in these uncharted times.

In this episode, Andrew visits with Joe Hendrickx, Major Gifts Officer at St. Paul's Newman Center at NDSU and Frank Cummings, Director of Development at School of Faith. They discuss how to make calls and get appointments with donors and potential donors. They talk about the anatomy of a phone call and walk through different troubleshooting ideas when the donor says no. And how to deal with motivation versus action. Frank and Joe presented this talk at the Petrus Virtual Conference 2020.

Show Notes:

Frank: You need to love your cause. When you get on a call, you have to lean into why you love your organization. And when you are having a bad day at work, you lean into how to help those find joy in giving. 

Cold calling is a formation of virtue. It's building mental toughness. 

Set an activity call. Frank sets 2 visits per week and keeps calling until he fills his calendar for the month. You need accountability set up for you in your organization and separate from...

By Matt Aujero, Campus Minister at The Catholic Student Center at University of Maryland

This past week I attended a three-day virtual conference on fundraising put on by Petrus Development.  Watching hours of online webinars one would think it would leave me exhausted and “zoomed-out”.  Instead I felt energized and renewed.  More importantly, I cannot deny that the content was striking my soul.

On day three, in the middle of the conference, I “left” to go to a virtual orientation for freshmen at University of Maryland to represent our Catholic Student Center.  On that call were two other Christian ministers.  One asked me (divinely timed?) how I go about fundraising.  I found I couldn’t shut up!  This inner joy in me came out of me like an open fire hydrant.  In a half hour,  I was sharing as much advice and stories as I could about our fundraising efforts at the CSC for the past four years.  I...

You asked and we have responded. 

As the Petrus Virtual Conference rapidly approaches on June 8-10, we have heard from more and more parish pastors, deacons and ministry leaders about how they are struggling to address parish financing, tithing and budgeting during (and following) covid-19. In order to help address those concerns and open up more fruitful conversations, we have added four new sessions specifically for parish pastors and leaders plus an open discussion hour to the PVC agenda. 

These sessions will be led by Tara Troy Doyon and Fr. Patrick Hyde, O.P. For the past five years, Tara has served as a Petrus consultant in addition to working with Fr. Patrick at the St. Paul Catholic Center at Indiana University. During her ten+ years as Director of Stewardship and Development at St. Paul's, Tara has built a strong development program from scratch, has led the ministry in completing a capital campaign (significantly exceeding the initial goal) and has...

In this episode, Tara Troy Doyon, Petrus Development Consultant, engages us with 10 tips for Donor Zoom Calls. This Petrus Lunch and Learn session is so helpful in wading through all the changes we are dealing with in this new time for fundraising. Tara breaks the process down so easily and makes it achievable. Let us know what tips you try.

Show Notes:

Tara's 10 Tips:

1. Outline what you want to say

• Have cue cards
• Have a compelling story
• Make sure you are clear on the ask project & amount

2. Practice your session

• Talk through different scenarios, be prepared to totally shift if they   deliver bad news
• Test computer audio & video
• Redirect your eye to the computer camera

3. Create an appropriate environment

• Be aware of background and surroundings, including lightening.  Play   around with different settings
• Minimize noise distractions such as children or pets, or cell phones

4. Dress professionally

• Wear muted color clothing, no...