Nobody goes to college to learn how to be a fundraiser. So many times, development professionals tend to end up in the field almost by accident.

Without that educational background, the best practices for raising substantial money for a nonprofit are not always obvious or intuitive.

Many ...

By Mary Walker, Petrus Blog Contributor

Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when advisors are many.  (Proverbs 15:22)

It’s a tough world out there, and our ministries need help to survive and grow. Questions arise. Which path should you pursue? How can you get from where ...

By Rhen Hoehn, Petrus Director of Marketing

A capital campaign is a targeted fundraising project meant to raise significant dollars in a relatively short period of time. 

Campaigns can be used to fund needed projects such as building repairs, or they can fund the expansion of a campus to m...

 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 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 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...

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...

By Matt Bond, Director of Development at St. John's Catholic Student Center at Oklahoma State University

As many people in our field, I fell into the profession of development by happenstance. A great priest walked into a classroom of my former student center where my sister-in-law just happ...

By Andrew N. Robison, Owner & President of Petrus

Have you ever thought about the similarities between babies and fundraising? Surely you have, right? Okay...maybe its just me, but let's play this out and see where it goes...

Two and a half weeks ago, my wife gave birth to our fourth chil...