Opened Envelopes, Opened Hearts: Interview with Stan Guimont on The Petrus Development Show
In this episode, Andrew speaks with Stan Guimont, Account Manager with Palmer Non-profit Communications, a commercial direct mail provider that works with the general non-profit world. Stan has been an account manager with Palmer since 2005. As an air force veteran, Stan began working in advertising in the mid eighties, then spent some time as a radio account executive. He then worked for a publishing company whose clients were mostly non-profits. Stan has found a fulfilling career with Palmer using his creativity and natural sales ability to help his clients. He demonstrates a deep and genuine care for his clients and their needs and provides a wealth of knowledge about direct mail best practices.
Show Notes:
Path to My Salvation: Interview with Jason Simon on The Petrus Development Show
Jason Simon, President of Evangelical Catholic
Evangelical Catholic has been forming missionary disciples since the early 1990s. The Evangelical Catholic works nationally to support dioceses parishes and university campus ministries to lead self-sustaining evangelization movements through their customized coaching service and online learning management system. Evangelical Catholic currently works with over 100 Catholic ministries across the nation. Jason Simon is the President of Evangelical Catholic. In this episode he discusses his journey through Evangelical Catholic, his faith journey, and how that relates not just to fundraising but to running an organization.
Show Notes:
From Wisconsin
Grew up protestant
His wife was Catholic and he tried to convert her when they were dating. Her efforts and the mentorship of the founder of Evangelical Catholic, Tim Cruz, made an impact on him and lead to his conversion.
Married for 21 years. He and his wife have 6 kids.
When Jason began...
PLC 2019: Donor Panel with Dennis & Marie Wierzbicki
Dennis and Marie Wierzbicki, Donor Panel, 2019 Petrus Leadership Conference
In this episode, Dennis and Marie Wierzbicki, benefactors to the “One Church, Many Disciples” Capital Campaign for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City sat down with Peter de Keratry at the 2019 Petrus Leadership Conference to share about their experience as donors. Dennis is the president of Ditch Witch and Marie is a volunteer for many nonprofit organizations in and around Oklahoma City. Dennis and Marie shared lessons they have learned along their philanthropic journey, how they have encouraged their children to be philanthropic and what their experience getting involved and giving to the “One Church, Many Disciples” campaign was like. The Wierzbicki’s honestly answer questions from Peter and the audience to share a donor’s perspective regarding invitation, engagement, recognition, and more!
Giving to religious causes vastly exceeds any other category in the...
The Visit that Taught me Three Basic Principles of Development
By Andrew Robison, President of Petrus Development
This post is an excerpt from the Fundraising Focus series presented by the Catholic Campus Ministry Association (CCMA).
Many years ago, I was sitting in a donor meeting with my boss at the time, Greg Gorman, and a major benefactor for St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University. Pat and her husband had recently made a $50,000 gift to the Foundations in Faith capital campaign so this was a stewardship visit to bring her up to speed on the progress of the campaign. I remember Greg asked Pat a question, or maybe it was more of a statement to the effect of, “Pat, for you to make a gift of this size, you must have had a really wonderful experience at St. Mary’s when you were in school at A&M.”
Her response has stayed with me for many years and I still share it with development directors and chaplains today. Pat looked directly at Greg and said, “No, I really didn’t. I...
Selling the Sizzle: Interview with Frank Shannon on The Petrus Development Show
Frank Shannon, Executive Director of Development at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University
In this episode, Andrew visits with Frank Shannon, Executive Director of Development at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University. Frank and Andrew covered a variety of topics, including Frank’s career before St. Mary’s, how he transitioned from 25 years in higher ed to a Catholic ministry and how the current campaign at St. Mary’s is going.
Show Notes:
- Frank’s first job out of college was as a loan officer for the Stephenville Savings and Loan but left the S&L business to became a development officer at Texas A&M after a call from Bob Walker, Vice President for Development at the Texas A&M Foundation.
- Frank’s training at Texas A&M mostly came from going on donor calls with Bob Walker and other senior development officers. It was during a meeting with Pat Zachry, long-time donor for A&M,...
The Glorious Arena of Fundraising: Interview with Mike Perkins on The Petrus Development Show
Mike Perkins, President and CEO of Heroic Media
In this episode, Andrew visits with Mike Perkins, President and CEO of Heroic Media about his career, what he has learned about fundraising and ministry along the way and how he came into his current role with Heroic Media.
Show Notes:
- Mike began his career as a youth minister but was asked to help with fundraising projects along the way. When he was discerning how to support his growing family and remain in ministry, he received two invitations in the same day to consider working as a development officer.
- Mike considers that his passion for ministry and his ability to articulate the needs and opportunities well were characteristics that other people saw in him and made them think he would succeed.
- People sometimes equate philanthropy and sales but Mike believes they are very different. He never “pitches” prospective donors on giving to an organization, but he presents opportunities to support. Mike...
Fundraising in a Church in Crisis
By Tara Doyon, Director of Stewardship and Development at St. Paul Catholic Newman Center and Parish at Indiana University and Fr. Patrick Hyde, OP Campus Minister
When I tell people about my job, the response is almost always a bemused look followed by the statement, “I could never ask people for money.” Awkward as it is, this provides a wonderful opportunity to tell the person that fundraising for the Church is not about asking people for money. Rather, it is about forming relationships and sharing a mission, a vital mission. I love my job. I love connecting people to projects. I love sharing a vision with a community working hard to realize a goal. I love talking about my own faith and my duty in building the Kingdom of God. As a byproduct of these relationships and collaborative projects, I help to find the resources to make hopes and dreams come true. By no means is it without challenges or roadblocks, but nothing worthwhile ever is.
...
10 Strategies to Capture and Re-engage Alumni
By Andrew Robison, President of Petrus Development
Ministries and nonprofit organizations are always trying to grow their database of donors. For organizations who have students or program participants, alumni will typically be the largest and most connected segment of their donor population. Many of our campus ministry and Newman Center partners have hundreds or even thousands of new alumni every year but struggle with how to get them into their database and then engage them in meaningful way. Many ministries also struggle with a mailing list full of older alumni who have no connection to the ministry because nobody has communicated with them regularly for some time.
These are challenges that many Catholic ministries, and especially Newman Centers face. In order to help organizations overcome this problem, we’ve created a list of 10 ideas and initiatives that can help you capture and re-engage alumni. This list is by no means complete because I am constantly hearing of...
Moves Management and Donor Visits
By Andrew Robison, President of Petrus Development
The key ingredient in every great development officers recipe for success is the same…a relentless focus on face-to-face visits. There are certainly a number of other annual targets and goals, but if you can get in front of donors and prospects at least 180-200 times per year (or even more), all the rest of the goals will fall into line.
So why are face-to-face visits so important for successful development efforts? It all comes down to a process called Moves Management. There are four types of visits which constitute the process of Moves Management: Qualification, Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship. Regularly meeting with donors and prospects for visits is what allows development officers to intentionally develop strategies to move them closer to a major gift to the organization. That may sound a little complicated (or to some, calculating) but it’s really quite simple. Getting to know your donors and learning...
A Year-End Fundraising Checklist
By Mark Randall, CFRE, Executive Director of Pontifical North American College (Rome)
As we approach the end of the calendar year, development teams are in full swing. With estimates of 30% of all annual giving taking place in December (and 12% in the last three days of the year!), we have reason to be active. But no matter how things are going, don’t relax just yet. Here are ten donor-centric ideas you should consider to maximize revenue and relationships.
- Know when your major donors give to your organization. Run reports, check your data. Why wait to contact lapsed donors until January? Get in touch now and invite their renewal before 12/31. Many donors are busy and appreciate the reminder. Remember to let them know what you will do with their gift (mission impact!).
- Don’t rely solely on your year-end direct mail appeal. People give to people – not paper. Even major donors set aside appeal packages and wait for a personal ask. Never assume the check will...
