Petrus Blog

By Sarah Rose, Petrus Director of Communications

Recently, I was invited to watch one of OSV talks titled “AI and the Future of Generosity” by Nathan Chappell, Senior Vice President of DonorSearch Aristotle.

The OSV Talks are a “series of topics from Catholic leaders to spark discussion, explore new, or re-explore old approaches, and inspire creative thinking, all from the heart of the church.”

In the talk “AI and the Future of Generosity,” Nathan Chappell answers the question “How do you solve the world’s most pressing issues?” in 18 minutes or less.

The simplified conclusion is INCREASE GENEROSITY. Now we’re talking! 

Nathan leads the research and development division at DonorSearch Artistotle. In other words, he is a data man. 

According to Nathan, the data shows that last year 56% of Americans made donations. And the average American gave about 2% of their income to charity. 

If Americans...

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

What Development Means to Me

I was blessed with generous parents. At a very young age, I learned that development is a family project that requires planning and commitment.

When I was kid, before paychecks were automatically deposited, my dad would cash his check at the bank every other week, and bring a stack of money home. My mom would divide the cash into piles: for food, utilities, mortgage, kids’ allowances, savings, and the parish pew collection. At the time, I didn’t realize I was absorbing a lesson that has shaped my own giving. 

You are more likely to give to a ministry, others, or to a good cause if you PLAN ahead and are committed.

My parents also “made” us put some of our allowance in the collection basket. The message was clear, “YOU are part of this Church, and YOU have a FINANCIAL obligation toward her mission.”

One day when I was complaining about...

In this episode, Andrew visits with Gabe Cooper. Gabe is the Founder of Virtuous, a responsive fundraising platform designed to help nonprofit teams build better donor relationships and increase impact with confidence. Andrew and Gabe discuss the power of data and automation and how the ultimate goal is to be able to treat every donor as if they were a major gift donor. They also discuss how Virtuous came to be and their thoughts on the Church as a leader of innovation. 

Show Notes:

Welcome to Episode 79 of the Petrus Development Show. As a liberal arts major and a little more of a right brain thinker, I certainly appreciate stories, connections, imagination and things like that more than the analytical aspects of life. I have always said that I am so thankful for the engineers and mathematicians of the world because if I was in charge of building bridges or calculating long formulas or designing computer software, we would all be in big trouble. I kind of feel the...

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

March Madness and Fundraising

March Madness is upon us! I love basketball and I love this time of year. Winning teams have different strategies, and I can’t help comparing them to fundraising practices.

Big Star Strategy in Basketball

Over the past two years, a team I followed recruited a REALLY GREAT player. The coaches designed their game strategy around this player. Other players tried to get him the ball and let him score. The team enjoyed a level of success for a while. Then the players who wanted a more active role transferred to other teams. Also, at times, the star player had an off game, or got injured. The rest of the team had trouble stepping up to win.

Big Star Strategy in Fundraising

What can this teach us about fundraising? Big Stars in fundraising have the means and interest in making gifts that can jumpstart or transform your ministry. Focusing on them is a great...

St. Benedict of Nursia

July 11, 480 - March 21, 547

When it comes to the virtue of temperance, there are few people throughout history that more clearly embody this than Saint Benedict of Nursia. The author of the Rule of St. Benedict and the “Father of Western Monasticism”, Saint Benedict was a monk who lived 1,500 years ago and yet still influences millions of people every day through his words and instruction on wisdom, moderation and humility. 

So who was Saint Benedict of Nursia?

Born in A.D. 480 to a wealthy Roman nobleman, Benedict spent his early years living in comfort with his parents and his twin sister, Scholastica. In his early teens, Benedict was sent to Rome to formally begin his studies. Disgusted by the immoral standards of Romans, Benedict left his studies in 500 and sought a life of solitude. He lived for three years in a cave on the side of a mountain outside of Subiaco, Italy. 

During this time, he spent his days...

In this episode, the first of our Holy Donor Series, Andrew visits with Greg and Julie Stevens. Greg and Julie live in Lincoln, Nebraska. They both attended University of Nebraska-Lincoln and were very involved at St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. This young couple has an approach to tithing and charity that is remarkable and a little counter-cultural, even among faithful Catholics. Through this conversation, Andrew was inspired to evaluate his attitude towards giving, even with over 15 years in the development industry. Hopefully you will walk away inspired as well.

Show Notes:

Background

Greg is a Physician’s Assistant in dermatology and Julie is a stay at home mom to baby Isaac. They are both are cradle Catholics and they both went to Catholic school and University of Nebraska Lincoln. And Greg continued on to University of Nebraska Medical School. 

Growing up, they both remember seeing their parents involved in the church and give every Sunday...

In this episode, Andrew visits with Caitlyn Kano, Executive Director of Compass Catholic. They discuss how we can be generous to our specific capacity and not a perceived capacity of giving. They talk about how even though 10% tithing is a fantastic goal, we are still called be to be stewards of the other 90%. And that once we unite our financials and our faith, we can answer yes to what God calls us to without hesitation.

Show Notes:

Caitlyn Kano is the Executive Director of Compass Catholic Ministries. She is local to Las Vegas, a military spouse of 17 years, mother of 4 children. When her oldest was 1 year, she was ready to do something more and began to volunteer with a non-profit. Over the years, she began to feel a disconnect between her work and her faith and felt called to tie the two together. Two years ago she reached out to Compass Catholic and began working on a money coaching ministry. In March of 2020 she was invited to become the Executive Director. 

Compass...

by Andrew N. Robison, President of Petrus Development 

Fundraising, at least the way we used to do it, is OVER.

Let me explain. Before the world shut down due to COVID-19, I was training for the grueling Texas Half Ironman. I was dedicating hours of my life to running, biking, swimming and trying not to die in the Texas heat. And then the race organizers canceled the race. I was disappointed - no I was crushed - but in hindsight it gave me an opportunity to hyper focus on Petrus and more importantly, our clients. Adjusting to quarantine, helping to homeschool young children, planning our Virtual Summit and Virtual Conference, and lamenting a canceled race sapped all of my time and motivation and my training came to an abrupt halt.

One day off led to a week, then a couple of weeks, and eventually I realized I needed to get out and exercise again. When I strapped on my shoes and stepped outside, it started raining but I wasn’t having it. I threw open the door and ran,...