Diocesan Development Drive moves to in-church solicitation

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — After a 2007 Diocesan Development Drive (DDD) that was "amazing," Shannon Lee, director of the Diocesan Office of the DDD, said she is looking forward to the 2008 drive, which began its in-church solicitation phase Feb. 3.

"Last year was the first year in the history of the Diocese of Salt Lake City that we raised $2 million," Lee said. "Our final total was 2,059,461. The fact that we broke the $2 million mark by more than $59,000 says something about the generosity of the people in the diocese."

Funds raised during the annual Diocesan Development Drive pay for the missions and ministries of the bishop. It helps build new missions and churches, pays for the education of seminarians, and supports the offices and ministries of Catholic Community Services and the Diocesan Pastoral Center, all of them ministries of the Bishop of Salt Lake City.

Lee said the success of the 2008 drive will lie in the number of people participating. "With more people taking part and practicing good stewardship, we will be able to surpass our 2007 totals. In our Catholic setting, we take seriously the scriptural story of the woman giving out of her want, not out of any largesse. If people can only give $5, that $5 is a wonderful gift."

The theme of the 2008 Diocesan Development Drive is "Abide in Christ: our Journey Together."

The goal of the DDD office is always to do better than last year, Lee said. "Just like our own personal finances, we all have increasing costs. The ministries and offices of the bishop have increasing costs, too, because of the growing Catholic population in Utah and the growing number of people to whom we are reaching out. We are all called to give of our time, talent, and treasure to meet the growing needs of the population here in Utah."

Lee said the philosophy of responsible stewardship also includes giving people the opportunity to share in building for the future of the growing Catholic Church in Utah.

"We can be very excited about our new presence in Beaver, she said. "The home that will soon be a little parish church was bought with DDD funds. It is part of the long tradition of the Church in Utah to begin with a house. The parish will grow from there."

Although the new St. Andrew Parish in Riverton is beginning with a school, built through the generosity of the Alsam Foundation, the land for the school and the parish rectory were paid for with DDD funding.

On Jan. 13, the Bishop’s Leadership Society met. Members of the society, leaders in the Catholic community, got the DDD for 2008 off on the right footing with donations and pledges, said Lee.

"The day was very exciting, because Bishop Wester spoke about the future of the Church in Utah. The Catholic community in Utah is growing, and he spoke about a bright future."

The current phase of the 2008 drive, the in-church solicitation phase, runs throughout the month of February.

"This is an important part of the drive," Lee said. "This is when we get the bulk of our pledges. Last year, 65 percent of our donations came in during this phase. In each parish, parishioners talk to parishioners, and a lot of personal contacts are made."

The in-church solicitation phase is followed by phone-athons during the months of March and April.

"During the follow-up phone-athons, we make a concerted effort to reach those people we haven’t been able to reach with the in-church solicitation," Lee said. "The phone-athons are parish-based, as is the in-church phase."

The month of July is spent sending letters to those people drive workers have not heard from either in the churches or on the phones.

In September, a second gift solicitation letter is sent out to those people who have made a one-time gift.

"One of our goals is the fostering of continuous giving – good stewardship that might involve a year-end gift," said Lee. "But more than anything, we want people to pledge. That way they can spread their gift over two or three months, or even a whole year. For many people, smaller monthly gifts are more doable than one large annual one."

Payment of DDD pledges can be made in a variety of ways, said Lee. Donors can write on-line checks or they can use automatic bank withdrawals. They can also use credit and debit cards and take advantage of the flight miles or other benefits those cards offer. There is a box on the DDD form that allows for continuous giving through automatic withdrawal or bank cards. That way, their stewardship giving is ongoing."

She said pledging annually or making monthly or quarterly donations automatically makes giving more convenient and good stewardship easier to practice in the lives of today’s busy donors.

Lee said good stewardship is a way of giving to benefit the Catholic Church. "It’s living out our baptism and realizing our commitment to the Church.

"Raising funds for the Church is a matter of asking people more than one time," she said. "We ask until a person tells us yes or no. It takes a lot of effort, but that effort is worthwhile. It is amazing to see what people have accomplished through their gifts to the DDD every year, and what this mission diocese has accomplished by everyone working together and giving of their bounty and their want.

"Of course, we are grateful for every donation, every contribution. Bishop Wester really values the Catholics of Utah and their continual giving of their time, talent, and treasure to support the growing Catholic presence in Utah."