When Pope John Paul II lit up an arena packed with cheering throngs of teens and 20-somethings in downtown St. Louis nearly two decades ago, I was teaching at a Catholic School in St. Louis.
Most of my co-teachers at Chaminade, who were baby boomers and self-professed secular humanists, were stumped by the Pope’s popularity. Why, they asked, were young Catholics stampeding to see this frail, palsied pope who sermonized about sexual purity and self-sacrifice? Isn’t youth the time to rebel against religious authority? What’s with young people today, anyway?
Today those same boomers will help insure the long term sustainability of the Church and the PF by coming back home. Like the youth on fire during John Paul’s tenure, the more boomers can be emotionally and viscerally connected to the good works of the PF, the more successful the fundraising efforts will be.
Catholic leaders point out that through use of social media, blogs, XM channel 129 (Cardinal Dolan utilizes 129 and all the social media components that I mention) we can directly connect prospective donors, stewards, their families and others with the efficacy of the grants and support the Catholic Church provides the various missions and ministries that spread the Gospel.
Action Steps:
-Follow-up with surveys in your parish or community to get a sense of what current benefactors want in terms of information, communication, and other on-going connection to the Church.
-Utilize emerging social media technology to provide benefactors with real-time information about the various projects that Foundation is supporting. Videos of buildings, health care services being provided, and other similar social media outreach can connect donors directly to the projects they most care about.
These are basic, fundamental steps that Catholic organizations can use to stimulate increased engagement and insure your benefactors are satisfied with the use of their financial support.
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