Session 40
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Michigan
The Real Reason Catholics Don’t Give Generously

Speaker: Jordan Watwood
Associate Director of Marketing for Coordinator & ChurchWide Teams
Ramsey Solutions
Franklin, Tennessee

Moderator: Cory J. Howat
Executive Director
Catholic Community Foundation
Archdiocese of New Orleans, Louisiana

Telling parishioners to give more doesn’t work, and here’s why: People want to be generous, but they don’t know how. Seventy-eight percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Money is the number one issue married couples argue about. It’s time for your parishioners to live and give the way God intended. Attend this session and learn how to help them budget, pay off debt, and give generously in a Catholic context.

Mr. Jordan Watwood

Jordan Watwood is a marketing professional with 15 years experience in digital and traditional marketing practices. He’s spent his career serving Catholic Christian organizations exclusively, including eight years consulting with Catholic parishes about stewardship and development. Currently, he serves as associate marketing director for Financial Peace at Ramsey Solutions, a Dave Ramsey company. Jordan, his wife, Joanna, and their three boys live near Nashville, Tennessee.

Session 30
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Michigan
How to Properly Prepare for Your Next Church Capital Campaign

Speaker: Michael Walsh
President
Walsh & Associates, Church Capital Campaign Specialists
Burnsville, Minnesota

Moderator: Steve Schons, CFRE
Director of Stewardship
Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota

In this dynamic, interactive session, the presenters will cover common, yet critical mistakes that churches make in planning for and implementing their church capital campaigns. Along with the proper preparation steps, this will lead to optimal results and the ultimate success for every church capital campaign that you might undertake.

Mr. Michael Walsh

Michael Walsh is president and founder of Walsh & Associates, Church Capital Campaign Specialists, which he started in 1984 after serving as director of development for St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, California where he was responsible for fundraising and public relations activities. He relocated the firm and his family to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in 1987 and began focusing on church work in 1991. Mr. Walsh is the author of the comprehensive, step-by-step guide entitled, How to Conduct Church Capital Campaigns the Walsh Way. He also oversaw the development of the WalshWare Campaign Management Software. He personally developed the service “success system.” Additionally, he has developed a series of capital campaign training DVDs, and is the author of the Guidelines for Gift Gathering instructional booklets, as well as a variety of materials and guides currently used in church capital campaigns. He has authored numerous articles on a variety of fundraising and stewardship topics and has been a featured speaker at national and regional conferences and events. Mr. Walsh and his wife, Julie, live in Apple Valley, Minnesota and are members of St. John Neumann Church in Eagan, Minnesota. They have two adult children.

Session 39
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Sheraton Ballroom II
Let the Circus Begin: How to prepare for a capital campaign so that you can save time and money

Speaker: Andy Gaertner
Director of Stewardship and Development
Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Moderator: Cynthia Larez
ICSC Conference Team
Wichita, Kansas

This presentation will review examples of campaigns that the presenter has managed and discuss issues regarding case/need preparation, feasibility studies, donor research, donor cultivation and communications. It will give you realistic expectations regarding how campaigns work.

Mr. Andy Gaertner

Andy Gaertner is the director of development for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. After college, he started his professional career working for Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus. Since that time, he has been involved in fundraising for and with the Catholic Church for over 30 years.

As a fundraising consultant for ten years with both CCS and the Steier Group, Mr. Gaertner managed diocesan, high school and parish capital campaigns. He has also served as director of development and stewardship for the Dioceses of Nashville, Tennessee; Davenport, Iowa; and La Crosse, Wisconsin. He is currently working on a $150 million campaign for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Session 38
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Huron
Leveraging Seminars and Professional Advisors to Obtain Planned Gifts

Speaker: Kimberly Jetton, CFRE
Director of Planned Giving
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California

Moderator: Alma Benitez
Director of Stewardship and Development
Diocese of Yakima, Washington

Grow your planned giving outreach through estate planning seminars and professional advisors in a budget-friendly way. Over 70% of Americans do not have an estate plan, so help your stakeholders learn about planning while encouraging bequests for your ministry. Learn how to get attendees, what to present and how to encourage legacy gifts with estate attorneys and financial advisors.

Ms. Kimberly Jetton, CFRE

Kimberly Jetton serves as the director of planned giving for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is the largest archdiocese in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. She has over 20 years’ experience in advancement, with a concentration on planned gifts. Her areas of expertise include estate planning as it pertains to charitable giving and tax benefits, charitable gift annuities, endowments and charitable trusts. She and her team have developed the flagship planned giving program for dioceses across the country and have secured over $70 million in planned gifts for parishes, schools and ministries.

Ms. Jetton is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona. In addition to her position at the archdiocese, she is an extension faculty member at Loyola Marymount University, a faculty member for the National Catholic Planned Giving Conference, and has served in a variety of leadership and board positions in support of nonprofits during her career.

Session 29
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Sheraton Ballroom II
The Annual Appeal – Moving it to the Next Level

Speaker: Mary J. Foley
Managing Director
Mission Advancement Division
Christian Brothers Services
Romeoville, Illinois

Moderator: James S. Friend, Jr.
Senior Managing Director
Changing Our World
Green Bay, Wisconsin

An annual fund is the centerpiece of our development programs and so needs to continually expand and improve to generate growing and predictable revenues and continually inspire our donors to embrace stewardship, of course! Join us for a lively session that will address key strategies for increasing participation rate, upgrading gift levels, analyzing results, recapturing LYBUNTS/SYBUNTS, and building a culture of major gifts. We will look at trends and new opportunities for solicitation approaches and how to freshen up longstanding practices.

Ms. Mary J. Foley

Mary J. Foley is managing director at Christian Brothers Services and oversees the Mission Advancement and Catholic School Management divisions. She brings 35 plus years of experience to the nonprofit world and offers a wealth of strategic leadership skills and insights to the educational, religious and social service arenas.

Ms. Foley has worked with hundreds of nonprofits, internally as a director of development, at the board level, and through a wide variety of consulting engagements. She has raised hundreds of millions of dollars through capital campaigns, annual fund appeals and ever-expanding advancement initiatives for organizations large and small. She is a frequent presenter at NCEA, CASE, AFP, ICSC, DOJ and other professional development conferences.

Session 28
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Huron
Catholic Foundations Supporting Parishes and Schools in Planned Giving Efforts

Speaker: Suzanne Nunn
Interim Executive Director
Orange Catholic Foundation
Garden Grove, California

Moderator: Robin Margraf
Pastoral Associate
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church
San Clemente, California

As a Catholic foundation, how can you provide long-term support to sustain your parishes, schools and diocesan ministries while experiencing the benefit of growth in foundation endowments? This session will provide programs, resources and tools that a Catholic foundation can implement. They are designed to create opportunities to grow the legal and financial advisor sectors in your diocese and organize and provide training for parish and school development leaders in support of their efforts to assist parishioners in their planning of asset and legacy gifts.

Ms. Suzanne Nunn

Suzanne Nunn is the executive director of the Orange Catholic Foundation. She has served the Orange Catholic Foundation since 2010 and is responsible for directing the Endowment Development and Asset and Legacy Giving programs throughout the Catholic community. She provides consultation for parishes on the implementation of Asset and Legacy giving programs, Estate and Trusts administration, Creative Giving workshops and Wills & Trusts weeks to help parishes embrace Christian stewardship as a way of life.

Session 27
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Erie
Fundraising in Times of Adversity

Facilitator: Jim Kelley
Director of Development
Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina

Speaker: Sister Mary Brigid Callan
Assistant to Scott Hahn
Steubenville, Ohio

Speaker: Monica Herman
Executive Director
Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota
Winona, Minnesota

Speaker: Kim Roche
Director, Stewardship and Development
Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The impact of scandals, economic downturns and shifting demographics can be devastating for diocesan and foundation-related fundraising efforts. Sometimes the negative impact can be swift, painful and much greater than anyone expected. The panelists in this session will share their stories, how they responded and what they learned as they struggled to carry out their respective ministries to advance the mission of the Church and serve their community of faith.

Mr. Jim Kelley

Jim Kelley is the director of development for the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina. He manages the office which operates the diocesan support appeal, assists parishes with stewardship efforts and capital campaigns, assists Catholic schools’ development efforts, directs development efforts for Catholic social services and campus ministry, directs the planned giving and major gift programs and writes grants. He is also the executive director of the Foundation of the Diocese of Charlotte.

Mr. Kelley is the author of Stewardship Manual: A Guide for Individuals and Parishes Developing Stewardship as a Way of Life, and the book, Sustaining and Strengthening Stewardship. He is the co-author and co-editor of Stewardship: Disciples Respond – A Practical Guide for Pastoral Leaders, and the Children’s Stewardship Manual, both ICSC publications.

He has been a member of the committee that organized and produced the ICSC publication, Keeping Stewardship Alive: Proven Stewardship Ideas as well.

Mr. Kelley has served ICSC in countless capacities over the last 30 years: its board of directors, numerous committees, and presentations at annual ICSC conferences and institutes. He had two tenures on its board of directors; first, from 1994 to 2000, serving as vice president from 1997 to 2000. Then, again from 2006 to 2007, serving as board president from 2007 to 2011. He was also the 2000 recipient of the ICSC Bishop Connare Award. Mr. Kelley has significant board experience having chaired 21 nonprofit boards over the last 20 years.

Sr. Mary Brigid Callan, Ph.D.

Sr. Mary Brigid Callan, Ph.D., was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Colorado where she first sensed a call to religious life. After earning a degree in agronomy and a Ph.D. in bioagricultural sciences, she went on to begin a corporate career as a research scientist. This eventually led to a global career in business development in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Decades later, still feeling that “God-shaped hole” in her life, she returned to answer God’s call to religious life. She first entered religious life as an Augustinian, but is now living a solitary consecrated life in Steubenville, Ohio, and is the apostolic administrator for Dr. Scott Hahn and the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Sr. Mary Brigid is a member of The Society of Catholic Scientists, the International Marian Association, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and serves on the board of directors for AIM Women’s Center.

Ms. Monica Herman

Monica Herman currently serves as executive director of the Catholic Foundation of Southern Minnesota in Winona, Minnesota. She previously held the position of director of stewardship/development and communication for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester. Prior to her work in Winona, Minnesota she was involved in stewardship and development with Catholic foundations, schools and hospitals. She currently lives in Arcadia, Wisconsin with her husband, Alan, and their beloved French bulldog, Norman. Together they have two grown children.

Ms. Kim Roche

Kim Roche began her 20-year career in development at the elementary school where her children were enrolled as a part-time employee. After two years, she moved on to Lancaster Catholic High School to work full-time in the advancement office where she spent five years learning about enrollment, retention, the annual fund, and stewardship.

The next two years saw Ms. Roche working with the high school athletic department helping them raise annual operating funds. In 2008, she accepted a job at Franklin & Marshall College as a major gifts officer, working with high capacity donors in support of the college’s priorities as they embarked on a comprehensive capital campaign.

In 2018, she became the director of the Office of Stewardship & Development for the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In her current role, she is responsible for the diocesan annual campaign and two other annual collections, as well as starting a planned giving program in support of the diocese, its 98 parishes and 43 schools throughout the 15 county diocese. Ms. Roche is married to her husband, Brian, and together they have four children. They belong to St John Neumann Parish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.