By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

When we think of fundraising events, we may picture galas with sponsorships, lots of guests, food, drink, auctions, and entertainment. 

Smaller events are a way to raise funds that let you connect with benefactors at a personal level. These events ar...

One of the non-profits I worked for didn’t have a database; they had an Excel spreadsheet for their donor information. It wasn’t very organized, and I had no idea how accurate it was. 

There was information everywhere - on spreadsheets, in the executive director’s notebooks, and in the heads ...

By Chris Scroggin, Petrus Consultant

Herb Brooks was the 1980 Olympic Ice Hockey coach that, against all odds, beat the Russian National team and then went on to win the gold medal. 

It really was a “David vs. Goliath” tale that no one expected. 

Herb had taken a bunch of college amateurs...

 By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

A group of people are sitting around a table. There are probably some snacks. A leader speaks with passion about some great need in the parish, Church, or community. The leader shares her vision of how major change can come about. She invites those arou...

By Andrew Robinson, Petrus President

Recently, my family and I stayed in an Airbnb. I had an interesting encounter with an appliance that illustrates a problem that a lot of nonprofit leaders struggle with.

Your dishwasher can actually dry your dishes...



You’re probably wondering why this w...

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 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...

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...

The other day someone relatively new to development reached out to discuss his career trajectory and it gave me a great chance to reflect on my own career. In Part 1 of this 3 part story, I will share the story of my first job in development and why I left a great work environment and moved across t...