Catholic Charities of Buffalo The State of the Appeal

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Catholic Charities of BuffaloThe State of the
Appeal

• Board of Directors Meeting
• July 20, 2006

Presented by Alfred F. Luhr, III 2006 Appeal
Chair David J. Uba - 2007 Appeal Chair Rev.
Joseph J. Sicari Diocesan Director
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Presentation Outline

• The State of the Appeal
• Challenges and Opportunities
• Appeal Goals
• Potential Strategies and Tactics

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The 2006 Appeal, and those that have come before
  it, have achieved astonishing success

Appeal Totals (as of June 30th)
United Way Campaign Results
Goal

• The 2006 Appeal reached a record high total of
  over 11M, while other agencies struggled
• Having a goal is critical!

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The Appeal has persevered and grown despite
  severe external challenges

• A shrinking and aging population

• Increased demand

50 increase
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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The Appeal has persevered and grown despite
  severe external challenges

• Economic stagnation in WNY

• Competition for dollars (e.g. natural disasters,
  United Way, other growing denominations)
• Other issues

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The Catholic Charities product and brand are
  very strong
• Telling the Story is inspirational and
  motivating
• Visibility and exposure of staff and clients is
  extremely effective in product promotion

ProjecTruth Announces Free Parent Advisory Group
Neighborhood Safety Workshop Brainstorming
Session Set July 12
2006 Appeal for Catholic Charities Exceeds 10.9
Million Goal
Blues Cruise to Benefit Catholic Charities
Pantries Planned for June 28
Relatives Caring for ChildrenTopic of Free
Kinship Caregiver Summit on June 7
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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The commitment of Appeal volunteers is extremely
  high, but limited to the current Appeal
  timeframes (December April)
• Appeal leadership
• Parish chairs and volunteers
• Corporate Gifts Committee
• Community Division
• A strong legacy and tradition propel the Appeal
  each year
• The Appeal is a machine
• Established and repeatable processes, systems,
  methods, and schedules have helped past Appeals
  succeed

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The Appeal is vital to the future of Catholic
  Charities
• The Bishops Fund for the Faith is also an
  important revenue source for the Diocese
• Future budget cuts at both the regional and state
  levels are sure to negatively impact Catholic
  Charities, as will changes in corporate giving
  practices

Revenue Sources (July 2004 June 2005)
Source Catholic Charities 2005 Annual Report
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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• Despite the Appeals past successes, some
  concerning trends demonstrate the need for
  continuous improvement and change
• The Appeal has lost 25 of its donors over the
  past 10 years
• Continuous increases in per capita giving have
  enabled the Appeal to reach its goals

Donors
Per Capita Gift Amounts
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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• June 30th totals have exceeded Appeal goals by a
  smaller and smaller amount over the past decade

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• Projecting these trends forward suggests that
  Appeal 2007 may have difficulty meeting its goal,
  even by June 30th

Appeal Projections (at current trends) 2006
2010 (as of June 30th)

• Assumptions
• Based on trending exhibited over the last 5 years
• Average annual loss of donors of 3,534

• Average annual increase in per capita gift of
  5.38
• Average annual increase of Appeal goal of 2.2

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• The impact of the Journey in Faith and Grace is
  unknown but must be planned for
• Large Gift and Corporate lapsed donors threaten
  the sustainability of the Appeal
• Almost 250,000 in gifts gt 2,500 lost over the
  last several years

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The State of the Appeal General Observations

• Catholic Charities is vital to the WNY community
  the annual Appeal is a critical component of the
  agencys vibrancy
• Past Appeals, including 2006, have been
  monumentally successful for many reasons
• Some concerning trends, however, have heightened
  awareness of the need for continuous improvement
  and change
• Catholic Charities Leadership (Board of
  Directors, Management Team, Appeal Team) must
  make the necessary changes for the Appeal to
  continue its impressive track record of success
• The Appeal will succeed, because it MUST succeed!

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Challenges and Opportunities Summary
Challenges
Opportunities

• Shrinking donor base
• Stagnant economy
• Competing needs, charities, disasters
• Technology and information
• Parish censuses and databases
• Donor tracking and gift posting
• Reliance on Diocesan resources
• Reporting and analysis
• Web-based tools real-time data sharing and
  parish communication
• Corporate/Community division databases
• Database administration
• Overlap/integration with other Diocesan
  activities/priorities
• Diocesan Foundation
• Journey in Faith and Grace
• Parish and Diocesan capital campaigns
• Parish incentives and responsiveness
• Pastor engagement and participation
• Aging parish volunteers
• Priest shortage

• Foundations
• Board of Directors and Past Chairs engagement
• Program specific funding opportunities
• Overall development and relationship building
  activities
• Communications, promotion, and positioning
• Centralization and consolidation
• Cultivation and growth of large gifts
• More active engagement and participation of the
  Appeal Team
• Corporate matching gifts
• Parish incentives and formal succession planning
• Engagement of the next generation of parish
  volunteers
• Process re-engineering

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Proposed Appeal Goals Short and Long Term
Increase the Total Number of Donors
Continueto increasePer CapitaGiving
DiversifyAppealRevenueSources
MaintainConsistentIncreasesin AppealGoals
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Potential Strategies and Tactics

• Given the identified challenges and
  opportunities, strategies and tactics should be
  focused in the following areas
• Technology and information
• Communication and public relations
• Process re-engineering
• Parish engagement and participation
• Development

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Potential Strategies and Tactics
Strategy A Fully Leverage Technology
and Information
3Q2006
1Q2007
2Q2007
3Q2007
4Q2007
4Q2006
Owner(s)

• Tactic 1 Upgrade Appeal cards (bar coding) for
  more efficient processing and better
  donor tracking
• Tactic 2 Explore the use of lock boxes to
  improve collection, tracking, and
  reporting processes
• Tactic 3 Purge, update and coordinate Corporate
  and Community division databases
• Tactic 4 Perform a comprehensive IT visioning
  assessment for the Appeal
• Tactic 5 Coordinate with the Diocese to explore
  the need for a Diocesan-wide census

M. Whipple
T. McCann
John SheriCiminelli
Rev. Sicari/D. Walczak
Rev. Sicari
Strategy B Refine Overall Communications
and Public Relations Activities
Tactic 1 Perform market research to determine
appropriate targeting and
messaging Tactic 2 Develop a 12-month media
plan to sell the product
year-round Tactic 3 Tightly integrate Appeal
communication activities with Journey
in Faith and Grace messaging Tactic 4
Consider delaying parish closing announce-
ments until after the Appeal
D. Mecca
R. Caldwell
R. Caldwell/K. Keenan/Travers Collins
BishopKmiec
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Potential Strategies and Tactics
Strategy C Re-Engineer Appeal Processes
and Timelines
3Q2006
1Q2007
2Q2007
3Q2007
4Q2007
4Q2006
Owner(s)

• Tactic 1 Centralize and automate Appeal
  mailings
• Tactic 2 Reconsider Appeal timeframes Expand
  fundraising efforts to 12 months
• Tactic 3 Redesign the county workshops and
  processes for parish Appeal preparation

M. Whipple
Rev. Sicari/D. Uba
Rev. Sicari/D. Uba
Strategy D Improve Parish Engagement and
Participation
Tactic 1 Explore stronger incentives for
parishes to reach and exceed Appeal
goals (e.g. assessment formula profit
sharing) Tactic 2 Develop formal training
programs for pastors and parish Appeal
volunteers including leadership
development and succession
planning Tactic 3 Update databases of parish
Appeal volunteers, leadership, key
contacts, etc. (via the web) Tactic 4 Continue
to communicate expectations and
accountabilities to pastors
D. Uba
Rev. Sicari/R. Caldwell
Appeal staff
BishopKmiec
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Potential Strategies and Tactics
Strategy E Formalize a Development Function
3Q2006
1Q2007
2Q2007
3Q2007
4Q2007
4Q2006
Owner(s)

• Tactic 1 Hire a development director to pursue
  foundation grants and cultivate large
  donors on an ongoing basis
• Tactic 2 Create and grow a top tier gift
  category
• Tactic 3 Expand program-specific funding
  opportunities and develop more flexibility
  in allocations
• Tactic 4 Actively engage Bishop Kmiec, the
  Board, and past chairs in the Appeal
• Tactic 5 Coordination and potential
  consolidation of development activities
  with the Diocese

Rev. Sicari/D. Walczak
D. Uba
Rev. Sicari
D. Uba/A. Luhr
Rev. Sicari
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The State of the Appeal

• Questions / Discussion