(page four of Vol. 30-5)
December 1987
Soundings Volume 10, Number 4
Development office furthers
the mission of the Congregation
By Kathleen McCluskey, CSJ
From the presentations at our recent Congregational Regional Days and from the November issue of Soundings, you are no doubt aware that during the year Sister Anna Mary Kelly is doing research for the Council in the area of Development.
In this article I want to share with you the initial stages of this new undertaking and to invite you to be a part of the endeavor.
Sister Anna Mary has articulated the long range goal: to contribute to furthering the mission of the Congregation by identifying and developing personal and financial support for the life and ministry of the total Congregation.
This includes working to provide quality holistic care for our sick, elderly, retired sisters, and at the same time working to enable active sisters to engage in ongoing formation and in ministries that respond to the needs of the times.
Development efforts therefore are intended to benefit the broad spectrum of the Congregation as much as that is possible.
In late September,
Sister Anna Mary attended a week-long workshop in
It was pointed out that a development office has three major elements: planning, public relations/communications, both internal and external, and lastly fund raising. These three elements will be integral parts of our development program.
To assist in planning, a core group has been invited by the Council to act as an Advisory Board. This group is, at the same time, a sub-committee of the Charism and Mission Committee. It will be enlarged in the months ahead.
Communications will take place principally though Soundings of which Sister Anna Mary is the Managing Editor. Other supplementary efforts will be initiated during the course of the year.
Fundraising, better known as “friend raising,” will be discussed in the rest of this article.
Broadly speaking, there are two principal sources of fund-raising: community support groups and foundations or charity trusts.
All speakers at the NCDC workshops stressed that “the future of voluntary organizations (such as our Congregation) depends almost entirely on the extent to which they are able to develop a strong and lasting financial base from a compassionate support community.”
Our Friends of Bethany, begun in 1983 by Sister Catherine Mulkerrin, is just such a support group.
The speakers were equally strong in pointing out that religious Congregations should not depend on foundations as a continuing source of financial services. Very few foundations give to religious communities; their requests far exceed their funds; they give to restricted geographical areas and for specified purposes.
Foundations, then, are at best a secondary source of funding for specific projects of programs, but still a source to be researched and approached.
Sister Anna Mary has already submitted grant applications to two foundations in which she is requesting funds to purchase desktop publishing equipment.
This would enable us to print Soundings and other projected Congregational publications more economically from the standpoint of human labor and costs.
She also has a proposal ready to submit to several foundations to subsidize the adult literacy program that Sister Meg Garballey will administer.
During the next two months Sister Anna Mary will focus her efforts on the Friends of Bethany project. Even though our fifth annual appeal letter has been deferred until January due to the November collection, many “friends” have anticipated the letter and sent their annual contributions.
We are aware of the desire on the part of many to give generously for our sick and elderly sisters. Our Regional Meetings made us all aware of the critical need.
Our principal focus right now is to increase our mailing list. Here is where you can help. We depend on you. Will you pause now to think of some people you know who would be able and willing to assist,---friends, relations, former students, etc.?
With this issue of Sounds, potential donor cards are being sent to your bursar. We ask you to take a few minutes now to fill them out. You may return them through your bursar or directly, if you wish.
Each local house will also receive copies of the letter and brochure that we plan to mail during January. We will keep you updated on our progress and needs.
In the beginning of this article I pointed out that the Development program exists to further the mission of the Congregation.
Whatever help you can give us, including sending in new names now, will be one more way in which you continue to contribute to the life and ministry of the total Congregation.