2018 Parish Leadership Guide
Transcript of 2018 Parish Leadership Guide
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
2018 Parish
Leadership Guide
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
12805 Highway 55, Suite 210
Plymouth, MN 55441
Phone: 612-294-6622
2 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Table of Contents………………..………………………………………………………………………2
A Letter from the Executive Director of the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation……….……..3
Where the Money Will Go…………………………………………………………………….………..4
Part 1— Pre Appeal Preparation….………………………………………………………….………..5
Part 2—The Appeal ………..………………………………………………………………….………..6
Part 3—Follow-up to the Appeal..…………………………………………………………….………7
2018 Calendar for the Appeal…………………………………….…………………….……………...8
Common Reasons People Don’t Give…………………………………………………...…..………..9
Prayers of the Faithful…………………...…………………………………………………….……...10
Bulletin Announcement for January 6/7…………....……………………………………...……….11
Bulletin Announcement for January 13/14 and 20/21...…………………………………………....12
Bulletin Announcement for January 27/28 and February 3/4…………………………….……….13
Bulletin Announcement for February 10/11…………………………...…………………..………..14
Bulletin Announcement for February 24/25…………...………………………………….….……..15
In-Pew Pastor Script for Commitment Weekend (Feb 10/11)………...……….……….……….....16
In-Pew Script for Follow-up Weekend (Feb 24/25)..……………………………………………….19
Continuing Campaign Management ………….…………………………………………………….22
CSAF Gift Processing at a Glance…………………….. ……………………...……………....……..24
Parish Transmittal Form………………………………..…………………………………………….25
In-Pew Envelope Sample…………………………………………………………………….……….26
Sending Your Transmittals………….……………….…………………………..………….…….….27
FedEx Pickup Instructions…….……………………………………………………………….…….28
Sample Parish Follow-up Letter.…………………….………………………………………..……..29
Sample Telephone Follow-up Script.………………………………………………………………..30
018 Catholic Services Appeal Parish Leadership Guide Table of Contents
3 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
A Letter from the Executive director of the
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Dear Pastor and Administrator:
Thank you for all your past support of the Catholic Services Appeal. Due to your efforts, we
reached the 2017 goal of $9.3 million.
This instruction booklet provides step by step guidance on conducting the 2018 Appeal for
your parish. We work with you and for you, so please call us with concerns and questions.
On the next page, page 4 you will see “Where the Money Goes” listing the budgeted
contribution goals for each of the 18 ministries. For the 2018 campaign we have added Rachel’s
Vineyard Twin Cities as one of our designated ministries. Please go to our website www.csafspm.org
for complete information about the ministries, the foundation and the Appeal.
For the 2018 campaign we have also increased the goal slightly to $9.8 million. We will be
working hard to reach that goal and collect the dollars we need to see that the ministries are fully
funded.
Keys to the success of the Appeal are:
1. SHOWING THE VIDEO
2. Conducting the “in-pew” ask (this is how we can reach people not on our mailing list)
3. The Pastor delivering a Homily on CSA
4. Parish Follow-up with Donors
We have prepared the instructions on a step by step basis, divided into 3 parts: Preparation before the
Appeal, the Appeal and Follow-up. Each part is divided into steps, with description of the task and
date for completion.
Again, Thank You! We look forward to being your partner again in the 2018 campaign.
Sincerely,
Executive Director -Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
4 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
ACCW(Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women) $25,585
Campus Ministry—Newman Center $264,000
Campus Ministry—St Paul Outreach $11,000
Catholic Charities $1,100,000
Archdiocesan Office of Deaf Ministry $39,733
Elementary School Subsidies & Scholarships $1,703,125
Archdiocesan Office of Evangelization $150,000
Catholic High School Scholarships $800,000
Archdiocesan Hospital Chaplains $600,000
Archdiocesan Office of American Indian Ministry $200,000
Archdiocesan Office of Latino Ministry $350,000
Archdiocesan Office of Marriage, Family & Life $430,174
Parishes $1,900,000
Archdiocesan Prison Chaplains $45,345
The Saint Paul Seminary $650,000
St John Vianney College Seminary $300,000
Archdiocesan Venezuelan Mission $204,163
Rachel’s Vineyard Twin Cities $26,875
Total Ministries $8,800,000
Expenses $1,000,000
Total Amount $9,800,000
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation-
Where the Money Will Go
5 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Part —Pre Appeal Preparation
Step 1– December 27—Insert first Parish Bulletin for January 6/7 bulletin and
utilize Prayer of the Faithful
Step 2—January 2—Insert second bulletin announcement for use in January 13/14 & 20/21 bulletin
Step 3—Week of January 8—Receive CSAF materials at individual parishes
Vinyl pop up poster (Note: please use last year’s poster as we created it to be used multiple
years)
2018 CSAF video and audio only version
In-pew envelopes
English and Spanish Bulletin Insert Brochures
Golf pencils
Leadership Guide
Transmittal Form
CSAF Office Contact Sheet
CSAF Calendar
FedEx Labels and Instructions
Video Scripts
Step 4—January 17 -Ask Letters are mailed from the CSAF office to all responders for last 4 years
and all newly registered parishioners. (Note it includes a postage prepaid envelope that
can be used to mail in the pledge)
Step 5 –January 17—Insert third bulletin announcement for use in January 27/28 and February 3/4
bulletins.
Step 6—January 22—send out email or put on parish website that the 2018 CSAF will be starting
Step 7—January 22-24—Prepare for upcoming Announcement Weekend
Display CSA retractable stand up vinyl banner
Display CSA posters
Put new bulletin insert brochures in bulletins or use at the end of pews
Make sure DVD or audio work
Step 8—January 22—Ensure that the CSAF dashboard is working for your parish
6 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Part —The Appeal
Step 1—January 27/28 or February 3/4—Announcement Weekend
Show the CSAF video or play the audio
Insert bulletin insert brochure in the pews or in the bulletins for people to take home
Pastor should ask for financial support of the CSAF
Step 2—January 29—Insert fourth Bulletin announcement for Commitment weekend
Step 3—Week of February 5-7—Prepare for commitment weekend and in-pew ask
Insert pencils in in-pew envelopes
Make sure pastor has a copy of the in-pew ask script
Make sure the ushers have instructions on what to do
Make sure Pastor has Homily concerning the CSAF ready
Step 4—February 10/11—Execute Commitment Weekend
Have envelopes and pencils ready
Have Pastor do the homily concerning the 2018 CSAF
Have Pastor conduct the in-pew process
Have ushers collect the envelopes
Step 5—February 15/16—Parishes should prepare first transmittals to send in for processing
Step 6– February 12—Insert fifth bulletin announcement concerning follow-up to CSAF
Step 7—February 24/25—Execute Follow-up Weekend
Have someone do the in-pew process again in your parish
Step 8—March 1/2—Parish should send in Second Transmittal
Step 9—March 15/16—Parish should send in Third Transmittal
7 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Part —Follow-up to the Appeal
Step 1—Ongoing—Check the CSAF dashboard for updates to the success of the Appeal in your
parish
Step 2—Ongoing—Continue utilizing bulletin and pulpit announcements to give feedback on
progress
Step 3—March 19-April 16—Parish should do follow-up with non donors via phone and letter
Step 4—May 8—Second Ask letter will be sent to non-donors
Step 5— June 1- Telephone Follow-up to non-donors will begin
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December 15 Friday Bulletin announcements emailed to parishes January 2 Tuesday “Did You Know” and “Your CSAF Dollars at Work” testimonial sent
to parishes for next 16 weeks January 5 Friday Additional Pastor Supplement Sent January 8 2018 CSAF materials shipped to all parishes January 17 Tuesday Ask letters mailed to all previous donors January 27/28 (Note: Catholic Schools Week, January 28-February 4 and or Superbowl -February 4) February 3/4 Weekend CSAF ANNOUNCEMENT WEEKEND: Video presentation to
be shown and CSA bulletin insert in the bulletins February 10/11 Weekend CSAF COMMITMENT WEEKEND: Pastor’s homily on the
2018 CSA and then the in-pew invitation to participate script should be followed
February 15/16 Thur/Fri 1st Transmittal due in the CSAF Office February 24/25 Weekend APPEAL FOLLOW UP WEEKEND: Parishes should utilize in-pew
ask – someone other than the pastor should do this. March 2 Friday Weekly update from CSAF Executive Director Jennifer Beaudry
to Pastors and Business Administrators begin March 1/2 Thur/Fri 2nd Transmittal due in the CSAF Office
March 15/16 Thur/Fri 3rd Transmittal due at the CSAF Office March 19-April 16 Weekly Parishes should do follow-up with their parishioners who have not given to the 2018 CSA April 13 Friday 1st Reminders Mailed April 19 Thursday Parishes must have all pledges, refusals, deletions to Appeal of-
fice. Appeal begins preparation for telemarketing campaign. April 27 Friday Update sent to Pastors with Lybunt lists May 8 Tuesday Second Ask letter sent to 2018 non respondents June 4- August 31 Phone follow up to non-responders September 17 Monday Third Ask letter sent to 2018 non respondents
9 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Common Reasons People don’t give
1. I am going to give my money directly to the charities, like Catholic Charities. If everyone did this there would be a lot of ministries who wouldn’t get much in the way of donations. First, most
people think of the popular charities, like Catholic Charities. They haven’t heard of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women or the Prison Ministry or the American Indian Ministry or the Hospital Chaplain Ministry. Second, there isn’t any way to give to many of these ministries except collectively. For example, CSAF funds the 325 scholarships to Archdiocesan Catholic High Schools.
2. I’m only going to give to my parish. They need the money. We are called as Catholics to serve our brothers and sisters throughout our larger community and the world.
There are many valuable ministries which are larger than any one single parish and they benefit all of us – hospi-tal chaplains, prison ministry, American Indian ministry, evangelization initiatives, tuition assistance for Catholic school students, support for our seminarians in formation and assistance for those most in need among us. Many of these ministries do not receive additional funding and if CSAF support declines they need to cut back their ser-vices.
3. I don’t know where my money goes. When a gift is made to the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation it is used to support the 18 Designated Ministries
of the Archdiocese including the parishes who make their goal, as well as the expenses of the Appeal. The 18 Designated Ministries are as follows:
American Indian Ministry Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women (ACCW) Campus Ministry – Newman Center Campus Ministry – Saint Paul’s Outreach Catholic Charities Deaf Ministry of the Archdiocese Elementary School Subsidies and Scholarships Archdiocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis Scholarships—Catholic High Schools of the Archdiocese Archdiocesan Hospital Chaplains Latino Ministry of the Archdiocese Office of Marriage, Family and Life of the Archdiocese Parishes of the Archdiocese Archdiocesan Prison Chaplains Ministry Saint John Vianney College Seminary The Saint Paul Seminary Venezuelan Mission of the Archdiocese Rachel’s Vineyard Twin Cities
10 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Prayers of the Faithful (For Use From January —February 05)
For all ministries that receive support from the Catholic Services Appeal. May they continue to strengthen the poor, marginalized, and needy in our Archdiocese through their work. We Pray to the Lord.
13 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Bulletin Text for January 07/0 and February 3/4
(announcement weekend)
16 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
(Please Note: After the pastor has edited the following script, please type his corrections, double space
the text, enlarge it to 14 or 16 point type, print it, and place it in a notebook.)
“Good morning. Today we are conducting the Catholic Services Appeal campaign that
asks all parishioners to make a financial commitment to support the work of the many
ministries that are funded by the CSA that no one parish can support on its own. “
“As your pastor, I want to thank all of you who have given to this campaign in past years
and/or have responded to a recent mailing from the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation.
I can assure you that the funds you gave are deeply appreciated by the people served by
these ministries.”
“I also want to assure all of you that your gifts to the CSA will be used solely for the pur-
poses of the 2018 CSA, which is the support of the Designated Ministries. I ask you to
make a generous contribution.”
“The Catholic Services Appeal is a very effective way to support ministries outside of our
parish boundaries, including….when we make goal, it also provides 25% of all funds con-
tributed by parishioners back to our parish for our ministries.”
“So, I ask one member of each household , to raise your hand so that we can give you a
pledge envelope and a pencil. Please take an in-pew envelope even if you have already
given in the mail or cannot give at this time. You can indicate either of those choices on the
envelope.”
“While we are waiting, please examine the monthly pledge payment amounts that are
listed on the right side of the pledge document. Please consider giving a monthly pledge
that will allow you to provide a larger gift.”
(Pause and make sure that everyone has received a pledge envelope and pencil. Pay special attention to
people who are standing, and in the cry room or choir loft, and choir members. Once everyone has an
envelope, continue with the script.)
In-Pew Script
To be used by pastors on Commitment Weekend February 10 and 11
17 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
“Now I am going to guide you quickly through the process in order to minimize the inter-
ruption in the liturgy.
“Now, please open the flap and find the pledge form and the pencil.”
(Pause and wait until about half of those participating are looking back at you.)
“Complete your personal information, name, address, etc., including your e-mail address.”
(This will require some time so be sure to pause at least 15 seconds and be sure that about
half of those participating are looking back at you.)
“On the next line, please indicate the name of our parish so that we will receive credit for
your gift. If you are a visitor and are a member of another parish, you may indicate that
parish.”
(Pause about 5 seconds.)
“If you have already made a pledge by mail, check the box that indicates ‘I have already
pledged by mail’. (Stress the following point) “If you check this box, please do not indicate
any additional financial information on the form. We do not want to double count your
pledge.”
“I ask everyone else to look at the gift boxes on the right side of the form and check the
amount that you wish to give. If you pledge, the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation will
send you helpful monthly reminders. You may pay over ten months or less if you wish. Al-
so, there is no need to provide a down payment today.”
“In the event that you wish to contribute an amount other than the ones indicated, please
check the “Other” box and indicate the full amount of your pledge on the blank line to its
right.”
(Pause about 10 seconds.)
“Now, please look at the lines provided on the lower right-hand side of the pledge enve-
lope. Indicate the total amount that you pledged on the first line.
Commitment Weekend In-Pew Script, Continued
18 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
“In the event that you are making a down payment, write the amount of the down payment
in the next box.”
(Pause 5 seconds.)
“Subtract the down payment from the full amount of your pledge and note the unpaid bal-
ance on the line provided.”
(Pause 5 seconds.)
“If you do not wish to contribute, please check the box provided immediately under the par-
ish name line that indicates that you do not wish to give at this time.”
(Pause 5 seconds)
“I will give you another moment to complete your credit card information if you wish to use
your credit card. Please note that you can make a one-time gift or check the box that will al-
low you to be billed in ten installments.
(Pause 20 seconds)
“Please be sure to tear off the pledge form, place it in the envelope, and seal it. Keep the
pencil separate and drop it in the collection basket along with your completed pledge enve-
lope.
“The ushers will now collect your pledge envelopes and pencils. Please do not put the pen-
cils inside the envelopes.”
“On behalf of all of those who will benefit from your gifts and myself, I thank you for your
contribution to the Catholic Services Appeal. May God bless you.”
(Note: It is strongly recommend that Appeal in-pew envelopes and pencils be collected separately from
Sunday offerings. )
Commitment Weekend In-Pew Script, Continued
19 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Please note: Once the Follow-up Weekend presenters have had an opportunity to edit their script,
please double space it, enlarge it to 14 or 16 point type, print it and place it in a notebook.
“Good morning. I am _______________ and today we are conducting the follow-up
process for the Catholic Services Appeal.
“On behalf of our Pastor ____________________ I want to thank all of you who have
given to this campaign in past years and/or have responded to a recent mailing from
the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation or our first in-pew process. I can assure you
that the funds you gave are deeply appreciated by the people served by these minis-
tries.
“Your gift is considered a restricted gift to the Designated Ministries.”
“I ask those who have already given to say a prayer for the success of the Appeal as I
invite those who have not yet contributed to do so.
“This year we are stressing the importance of participation and of making a significant
pledge to support the CSA. Now, I ask one member of each household that has not
had an opportunity to fill out a pledge form to signal the usher (student) so that a
pledge envelope and pencil will be passed to you.”
(Pause and make sure that everyone who wants a pledge envelope and pencil has received them
Pay special attention to people who are standing, and in the cry room or choir loft, and choir
members. Then, continue with the script.)
“Now I am going to guide you quickly through the process in order to minimize the
interruption in the liturgy.”
“Please open the flap and find the pledge form and the pencil.”
“Complete your personal information, name, address, etc., including your e-mail
address.”
In-Pew Presentation Script
To be used by a parish leader on
Follow-up Weekend
February 24-25
20 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Follow-up Weekend In-Pew Script, Continued
(This will require some time so be sure to pause and wait until about half of those participat-
ing are looking back at you.)
“On the next line, please indicate the name of our parish so that we will receive credit for
your gift. If you are a visitor and are a member of another parish, you may indicate that
parish.”
(Pause about 5 seconds.)
“If you have already made a pledge by mail, check the box that indicates ‘I have already
pledged by mail’. (Stress the following point) “If you check this box, please do not indicate
any additional financial information on the form. We do not want to double count your
pledge.”
“I ask everyone else to look at the gift boxes on the right side of the form and check the
amount that you wish to give. If you pledge, the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation will
send you monthly reminders. You may pay over ten months or less if you wish. “
“Also, there is no need to provide a down payment today.”
“In the event that you wish to contribute an amount other than the ones indicated, please
check the “Other” box and indicate the full amount of your pledge on the blank line to its
right.”
(Pause about 10 seconds.)
“Now, please look at the lines provided on the lower right-hand side of the pledge enve-
lope. Indicate the total amount that you pledged on the first line.”
“In the event that you are making a down payment, write the amount of the down pay-
ment in the next box.”
(Pause 5 seconds.)
“Subtract the down payment from the full amount of your pledge and note the unpaid bal-
ance on the line provided.”
21 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
“In the event that you are making a down payment, write the amount of the down
payment in the next box.”
(Pause 5 seconds.)
“Subtract the down payment from the full amount of your pledge and note the unpaid
balance on the line provided.”
(Pause 5 seconds.)
“If you do not wish to contribute, please check the box provided immediately under the
parish name line that indicates that you do not wish to give at this time.”
(Pause 5 seconds)
“I will give you another moment to complete your credit card information if you wish to
use your credit card. Please note that you can make a one-time gift or check the box that
will allow you to be billed in ten installments.”
(Pause 20 seconds)
“Please be sure to tear off the pledge form, place it in the envelope, and seal it. Keep the
pencil separate and drop it in the collection basket along with your completed pledge
envelope.”
“The ushers will now collect your pledge envelopes and pencils. Please do not put the
pencils inside the envelopes.”
“On behalf of all of those served by CSA funded ministries, our pastor ___________ and
myself, I thank you for your contribution to the Catholic Services Appeal. May God bless
you.”
Note: It is strongly recommend that Appeal in-pew envelopes and pencils be collected separately from
Sunday offerings.
Follow-up Weekend In-Pew Script, Continued
22 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Each month, beginning in April, a special effort should be made to inform and educate pa-
rishioners on the importance of paying their monthly pledge commitments. The words that
are used are critical. For that reason, we encourage pastors and parish committees to talk
with members of each ethnic culture within their parishes to establish that the messages be-
ing presented are clear, non-offensive, and productive.
Parishes serving parishioners that are economically disadvantaged may want to offer to for-
ward pledge payments to the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation each month. If your par-
ish wishes to do this, make the offer both in the bulletin and verbally whenever you run the
bulletin announcement about the Appeal status of the parish. Encourage people to put their
payments and the coupon in the envelope that they received and put them in the collection
basket on the next weekend.
The Bulletin Announcement presented below should be edited to ensure that each audience
understands it. Then, it should be published on the first weekend of each month.
In addition, please have a respected member of the community make a brief pulpit an-
nouncement each month on the weekend that the bulletin announcement is published. This
individual should inform the community of the progress toward the parish goal, stress the
importance of making pledge payments, and refer people to the bulletin announcement.
Please consider having several community leaders make these announcements, so that the
same person is not speaking month after month.
2018 Catholic Services Appeal
Pledge Report
Monthly pledge payments for the CSA pledges should be made in the next
few days. It is very important that these pledges be paid so that our parish
will reach our goal. When we reach our goal, 25% of all funds contributed
by our parishioners are returned to our parish.
100% of goal collected – 25% rebate | 90% - 99.9% - 10% rebate | Under 90% - 0%
PARISH GOAL: _____________
AMOUNT PLEDGED: _____________
AMOUNT PAID: _____________
REMAINING BALANCE: _____________
CURRENT REBATE: _____________
Continuing Campaign Management
23 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Parish Reports
Parishes will be able to download their giving information off of the Online Dashboard.
Parishes will be able to print lists of those who have given as well as those who have not
given to the 2018 CSA.
Information on the 2018 CSA is available by going to our website: www.csafspm.org
Contact Information
If you have questions about which ministries receive appeal funds, pledge processing or oth-
er questions specific to the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation please call the Catholic
Services Appeal Foundation at 612-294-6622.
Help to Expedite Pledge Processing
SEND PAYMENTS OR NEW COMMITMENTS WITHIN 2 OR 3 DAYS.
As a courtesy to our donors, it is important for our processing company to deposit their
check in a timely manner. Holding onto these donations slows the process and puts the
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation in a negative position with the donor.
Continuing Campaign Management, Continued
24 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
CSA Gift Processing at a glance
Again for this year:
The return envelopes that are included in the ask letters that individuals who donated to
one of the past four campaigns receive, are actually postage prepaid envelopes. This ena-
bles those who receive the ask letter to just drop their envelope into the mail instead of
returning it to the parish. This should speed up the processing of the gifts and allow you
to see your returns on the CSAF dashboard more rapidly.
Here is a sample of the postage prepaid envelope:
If you receive prepaid envelopes in your office or collection basket, please include them in
your transmittals.
This year’s transmittals should mostly consist of your in-pew envelopes. You should
follow the same directions as you have in past years for the in-pew envelopes
(Instructions are listed on the transmittal form).
After you have used all four of your prepaid FedEx labels, you should ship any returns
you receive at your parish to the following address:
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
12805 Highway 55, Suite 210
Plymouth, MN 55441
26 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
In-Pew Envelopes
The front view of the CSA In-Pew Pledge Envelopes:
The back view of the CSA In-Pew Envelopes:
27 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Sending your Transmittals
For the 2018 CSA, all parish transmittals will be sent directly to the processing department at
Agilis via prepaid FedEx labels that will be enclosed with your CSA information packet.
Each parish will receive four(4) prepaid FedEx labels, one for each one of the three (3)
transmittal dates as well as one for the remainder of the gifts received after the third
transmittal. Once you have used your 4 labels, please ship your information directly into the
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation offices at:
Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
12805 Highway 55, Suite 210
Plymouth, MN 55441
The labels will be preprinted with your individual parish corporate number, parish name,
and parish address. Please know that these labels are prepaid so the Foundation will be
taking care of the shipment costs.
Please see the sample FedEx label below:
28 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
FedEx Pick-up Instructions
FedEx Pick-up Instructions
Calling in for a pickup
Call 1-800-Go-FedEx (1-800-463-3339).
When asked the reason for your call say, “Schedule a return pickup.”
You will then be transferred to a live representative.
If you are not transferred to a live representative, press “0” until you are
with a live representative.
Once you are speaking with a live representative, explain that you are
scheduling a return pickup for FedEx Ground Service. If they ask for an ac-
count number, let them know that you have a preprinted, prepaid return
label. If the representative tells you they are no longer picking up ground
prepaid label, tell them to please transfer you to the CAT team so they can
schedule the pickup for you.
Provide the FedEx representative with all necessary information for sched-
uling the pickup (location, hours of availability, etc.) and make sure they
give you a pickup confirmation number.
29 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Sample Parish Follow-up Letter Dear__________:
In January , you were invited to support the Catholic Services Appeal. I am writing to ask you to join
me and your fellow parishioners in making a gift to the 2018 Appeal.
The Catholic Services Appeal Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization. All funds given to
the 2018 Catholic Services Appeal are restricted gifts to the Designated Ministries.
The Catholic Services Appeal is a primary source for funding the 18 Collective Ministries of the local
Church – the ministries that no one single individual or parish can provide on their own. In the past
year, local Catholics who gave to the Catholic Services Appeal helped:
• Campus Ministry—Newman Center: Sharing the abundant love of Christ as a University Catholic
parish and directly providing campus ministry to students at the University of Minnesota.
• Deaf Ministry: Providing pastoral care and the full scope of liturgy and sacraments for deaf
Catholics.
• Evangelization and Catechesis: Proclaiming the truth of Christ while forming disciples for His
mission.
• High School Scholarships: Funding 320 need based scholarships for our 13 Archdiocesan Catholic
high schools.
• Latino Ministry: Supporting over 7,000 Latino Catholics each year through more than 32 programs
focused on youth and young adults, formation, family life, and evangelization.
• Marriage, Family, and Life: Serving thousands of individuals by hosting events for both youth and
adults, including Disability Ministry, Marriage Preparation, Youth Minister Training,
Archdiocesan Youth Day, Totus Tuus, and Pro-Life Ministry.
• Catholic Charities: Nearly 30,000 children, families and adults annually receive help, hope, dignity
and opportunity through the various programs Catholic Charities provides.
• The Saint Paul Seminary: Fund tuition, room and board for Archdiocesan men studying to be our
future priests.
At this time we have received responses from _________ of our parishioners. My goal is to hear from
all members of our parish. I invite you to prayerfully consider a gift to the 2018 Catholic Services
Appeal which can be pledged over a ten month period. Enclosed is a commitment envelope for your
use in making your gift.
Thank you, in advance, for your support!
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Pastor
30 Catholic Services Appeal Foundation
Sample telephone follow-up script “Hello, my name is _______ and I am calling on behalf of (your parish). May I speak with (First and
Last Name), please? (If married ask for either).
Hello, (preferred name). We are contacting fellow parishioners about this year’s Catholic Services
Appeal.
If no:
“When would be a good time to call back?” (Note date and time on slip.) “Thank you and have a
nice evening”.
If yes but parishioner did not give last year:
“Our parish would like to hear from every household and meet our goal of $________ for this year. We
are encouraging each of our parishioners to participate. Can we count on your participation to assist
our Parish in meeting our goal?”
If yes and parishioner gave last year:
“I would like to thank you for your generous gift of $_______ to last year’s Appeal. Your leadership in
giving truly makes a difference for the ministries of the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation. Our
parish would like to hear from every household this year and meet our goal of $_______. Can we count
on your gift of the same amount this year?”
If a parishioner has questions:
Answer the questions to the best of your ability. If you don’t know the answer, call them back
once you know the answer, or refer the question to someone who could provide the answer.
Your parish office and the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation Office can both be good
sources of information.
If a pledge or gift is made:
Thank the person and let them know that you’ll make a note of the gift. Reminders are mailed
starting in April. If the person wishes, they can make the payment with a credit card. The
information on the back of the form needs to be completed including the date and the name
of the person you spoke with on the signature line.
If a parishioner decides not to give, or is unable to give:
Mark zero on the total contribution line and ask the person to pray for the Catholic Services
Appeal and its ministries.
Please call the Catholic Services Appeal Foundation office at 612-294-6622 with
any questions or concerns.