Session 18
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Huron
Protecting Your Foundation and its Assets

Speaker: Phillip Kunkel, Attorney
Principal
Gray Plant Mooty Law Firm
St. Cloud, Minnesota

Moderator: Mark Henry, J.D.
Secretary for Stewardship & Development
President, East Texas Catholic Foundation
Tyler, Texas

As the number of Catholic foundations continues to grow, so is the need for constant vigilance over its autonomy and asset protection. Foundation officers recognize that donors often prefer to give to separate foundations, administered independent of the Church and, conceivably, protected from any church-related litigation. This presentation, by an attorney with extensive experience with Catholic organizations, will offer recommendations and best practices for foundation executives who are vigilant to potential challenges to a foundation’s autonomy, its interaction with a diocese, conflicts of interest and the vulnerability of unrestricted foundation assets.

Mr. Phillip L. Kunkel

Phillip Kunkel is a Minnesota attorney who concentrates his practice in bankruptcy, receiverships, commercial financing and agricultural and agribusiness financing. He is a frequent lecturer on, among many subject areas, bankruptcy, commercial financing, and receiverships. He has served as a receiver in several receivership cases in Minnesota and has been asked to serve as a Chapter 11 trustee in several unique bankruptcy cases. Mr. Kunkel advises a number of Catholic organizations and other nonprofit clients in his practice area as well as the areas of corporate governance, independence and potential avoidable transfer matters.

Mr. Kunkel is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court and is listed as a “Minnesota Super Lawyer” by Thomson/Reuters. He is also listed with distinction in the publications, “Minnesota’s Best Lawyers,” by Minnesota Monthly and The Best Lawyers in America by Best Lawyers.

Mr. Kunkel graduated with honors from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and earned his law degree with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School. He coauthored Business Workouts Manual, West Publishing, 2019; and he is the coeditor of Debtor-Creditor Handbook, Minnesota CLE, 2003-2019.

The expanse of Mr. Kunkel’s notable legal work includes having represented senior lenders in 25 renewable energy projects totaling more than $1.75 billion in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois.

Session 17
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Erie
Keeping Donors Front and Center During Crises

Speaker: Ivan Arocho
Executive Director of Development
Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey

Speaker: Koren Ruiz
Associate
GP Catholic Services
Portland, Oregon

Speaker: Elizabeth Zeigler
President and CEO
GP Catholic Services, a division of Graham-Pelton Consulting
Washington, DC

Moderator: Kimberly Bruining
Manager of Development and Stewardship
Diocese of Joliet, Illinois

Donor engagement is more crucial than ever, yet might be neglected during crisis events. Due to shifting priorities and diminishing resources, development offices may not be responding adequately to donor concerns and motivations. Learn how one archdiocese determined the appropriate resources and infrastructure required to meet donor needs and stewardship goals, reestablished their commitment to their supporters and articulated their efforts to the wider community.

Mr. Ivan Arocho

Iván Arocho Esteves was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New Jersey in 1980. He worked as a Catholic missionary in various cities in the United States and abroad. He graduated from Seton Hall University with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2001, followed by a master’s degree in systematic theology in 2006. He joined the faculty of Seton Hall Prep in 2005.

Mr. Arocho became director of The Griffin Bridges Program in 2008 – a comprehensive scholarship program that provides academically talented, financially limited inner-city students with the opportunity to attend Seton Hall Prep. Under his leadership, students not only achieved great success in academics and college placement, but the program also saw substantial growth in its endowment.

In 2014, Mr. Arocho became the New Jersey development director for Saint Paul’s Outreach (SPO), a ministry serving campuses across the United States. In this capacity, he worked to establish relationships and generate funds to support the growth and expansion of SPO in New Jersey. In 2017, Mr. Arocho joined the development team at the Archdiocese of Newark, first as director of major gifts, then in 2019, as executive director of development. He resides with his wife and five daughters in West Orange, New Jersey.

Mr. Koren Ruiz

Koren Ruiz, an associate with GP Catholic Services, has been involved in ministry for more than 20 years, mostly with youth, music, and stewardship. For the last decade, Koren has focused on English and Spanish-language communities in the Catholic Church. He has served parishes in his own Archdiocese of Portland Oregon, the Archdiocese of Seattle, and the Dioceses of Orange and Yakima, among others.

Mr. Ruiz is a choir director at Ascension Catholic Church in Portland, as well as a published composer, artist, and workshop presenter with Oregon Catholic Press. He holds bachelor’s degrees in both business administration and organizational psychology from Western Oregon University, and earned an MBA from the University of Portland.

Ms. Elizabeth Zeigler

Elizabeth Zeigler is president and chief executive officer of Graham-Pelton Consulting, of which GP Catholic Services is a division, and the first woman to lead a global fundraising consulting firm. She joined the firm in a part-time role in 2001 and quickly rose through the ranks. She was named chief executive officer in 2017, succeeding company founder Craig Leach. Ms. Zeigler has provided executive management and counsel to Catholic institutions including: Archdiocese of Newark, Caldwell University, Cardinal Hayes High School, Diocese of Greensburg, Diocese of Paterson, Marist College, Marymount School of New York, Marymount University, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, Saint Peter’s University, St. Francis College and St. Rose High School. She previously served as director of individual giving at Fordham University for four undergraduate colleges and five graduate schools during a $150 million fundraising campaign. She led a team that nearly doubled Fordham’s alumni participation rate while securing major gifts for the campaign. She also served on the development team at Muhlenberg College early in her career. An English and business graduate of Muhlenberg College, Ms. Zeigler also holds a master’s degree in adult education and human resource development from Fordham University and completed the Leading Professional Service Firms Executive Education program at Harvard Business School.

Session 16
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Superior
Stewardship and Development in “Mission” Dioceses

Facilitator: Robert Anderson
Assistant Vice President of Mission
Catholic Extension
Chicago, Illinois

Speaker: Kathryn Eardley
Digital Communications Coordinator
Catholic Extension
Chicago, Illinois

Speaker: Andy Kucich
Development Coordinator
Catholic Extension
Chicago, Illinois

Speaker: Madeleine Marchaterre
Senior Manager of Development
Catholic Extension
Chicago, Illinois

Catholic Extension, based here in Chicago, has worked with America’s mission dioceses for over 110 years. This year, hear from Catholic Extension staff about lessons, tips, and recommendations for how to be successful in your stewardship and development efforts, tailored to a mission diocese environment.

Mr. Robert Anderson

Rob Anderson is the senior director of mission at Catholic Extension, a national nonprofit organization focused on supporting the growth of the Catholic Church in mission dioceses in the United States. Mr. Anderson works with Catholic Extension’s 85-plus mission dioceses to coordinate over $20 million in financial assistance provided annually to areas of each diocese’s greatest needs. He also manages the Seminarian Endowment Challenge, which has created over $9 million in long-term seminarian education endowments over the last four years, as well as leading initiatives for Catholic school leadership, prospect research, and Catholic Extension’s annual Lumen Christi Award. Mr. Anderson previously worked in development at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (LMU) for 11 years. While at LMU, he raised over $4 million in total funding for LMU athletics, receiving three CASE VII awards for excellence in educational fundraising, and managed the university’s leadership donor programs’ annual giving team. He holds both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from LMU.

Ms. Kathryn Eardley

Kathryn Eardley is the digital communications coordinator for Catholic Extension, where she has enjoyed creating content for social media, the website, and email communications since 2015. For the last three years, she has been sharing the story of Catholic Extension with new digital audiences through video, infographics, photos and written blog posts. Her work has also been published in Extension Magazine.

After graduating from Indiana University in 2009 with a degree in education, Ms. Eardley began her career as an art teacher in the Archdiocese of Chicago and Chicago public schools. In 2013 she left the classroom to study communications. She earned her graduate degree in journalism from DePaul University in Chicago in 2015. After spending a decade in the Windy City, she now lives and works remotely in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband, Dan, two-year-old son and six-month-old daughter.

Andy Kucich

Andy was born and raised in the city of Chicago. He pursued his passions at Indiana University, majoring in Healthcare Management and Policy. Following his collegiate career, he took a job as a salesperson for a medical device company. After a year and a half, he decided to change careers and joined Catholic Extension in 2017.

Starting as a development associate on the annual giving team, Andy became well versed in all aspects of fundraising at the annual giving level. Working with the direct mail, events, and digital marketing team helped him rebuild the mid-level giving program that he manages.

After a year working on the annual giving team, the mid-level group was transitioned to the major giving team. This move allowed Andy to begin interacting with donors in person and start developing meaningful relationships. With three years of experience in fundraising, he continues to develop mid-level giving at Catholic Extension focusing on identifying the next group of sustaining donors.

Ms. Madeleine Marchaterre

Madeleine Marchaterre has worked in higher education and nonprofi t development since 1999. She is senior manager of development at Catholic Extension where she supports the major gift team in the areas of research, data integrity, and prospect management. She previously worked at North Park University as research manager and at the University of Illinois Foundation as assistant director of prospect management. At Catholic Extension, she also leads the Prospect Research Initiative which trains participants in research skills and best practices surrounding wealth screenings to increase donor engagement.

Session 15
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Ontario
La Corresponsabilidad y la Iglesia Hispana/Stewardship and the Hispanic Church

Speaker: Armando Cervantes
Director de Jóvenes y Jóvenes Adultos
Diócesis de Orange, California

Moderator: Jose Piñones
Director de Donaciones
Arquidiócesis de Chicago, Illinois

Ud. no puede traducir la palabra “corresponsabilidad” al español y convencer a los hispanos de donar dinero. La palabra corresponsabilidad en español ya es lo suficientemente difícil de traducir, pero eso es lo que la mayoría de las personas hacen y nunca obtienen los resultados que desean. Para involucrar los corazones y las mentes de la comunidad hispana, el grupo demográfico más grande de la Iglesia Católica, uno debe aprender a involucrar a sus familias, sus talentos y su deseo de dar. Venga y descubra algunos pasos muy prácticos para involucrar a la comunidad hispana y aprovechar su maravilloso espíritu de donación.

You can’t just translate the word “stewardship” into Spanish and convince Hispanics to donate money. The word stewardship in Spanish is already hard enough to translate, but that is what most people do and never get the results they want. In order to engage the hearts and minds of the Hispanic community, the largest demographic group in the Catholic Church, one must learn to engage their families, their talents and their desire to give. Come and discover some very practical steps to engage the Hispanic community and tap their wonderful spirit of giving.

Mr. Armando Cervantes

Armando M. Cervantes graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences with an emphasis in public and community service. He also holds a master’s degree in pastoral theology from Loyola Marymount University. Recently, he completed an executive MBA from Chapman University in Orange, California. Mr. Cervantes has 16 years of professional experience in various ministries serving all age groups. Currently he is the director of the youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Orange. He has been a youth minister, confirmation coordinator, young adult Bible study leader, teacher, retreat leader, and has led countless missionary and pilgrimage experiences. He is a national speaker and serves as a national consultant for dioceses and national groups especially in strategy, social media and intercultural competencies.

Sr. Armando M. Cervantes

Armando M. Cervantes se graduó con un Bachillerato en Ciencias Sociales con énfasis en Servicio Comunitario y Público en la Universidad de California, en Irvine. Obtuvo también una Maestría en Teología Pastoral de la Universidad de Loyola Marymount en Los Ángeles. Recientemente obtuvo una segunda Maestría en Administración Ejecutiva de Empresas. Tiene 16 años de experiencia profesional sirviendo en varios ministerios y ayudando a católicos de todas las edades. Actualmente es el director del ministerio juvenil y del ministerio de Adultos Jóvenes de la Diócesis de Orange. Armando ha servido como ministro juvenil, asesor de jóvenes, coordinador de confirmación, maestro de catequesis, líder de estudio bíblico, maestro de teología y ha creado y guiado retiros, viajes de misiones y peregrinaciones. Es un predicador nacional y sirve como consultor nacional a parroquias, diócesis y grupos nacionales, especialmente en las áreas de estrategia, organización, redes sociales y capacidades interculturales.

Session 14
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Sheraton Ballroom III
Church Management: A “Piece of Cake” or a “Pie in the Face?”

Speaker: Helena Frazier
Business Manager
St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church
Jonesboro, Georgia

Moderator: Jennifer Clark
Director of Parish Life & Faith Formation
St. Hedwig Catholic Church
Los Alamitos, California

If the church is run like a business, managing it should be a piece of cake. But what if it’s more like a pie in the face? This session will focus on the uniqueness of church management by offering a blueprint for those new to the position and offering new ideas for those with experience. The major topics will include: managerial stewardship, helpful software options, and life/work balance.

Ms. Helena Frazier

Helena Frazier is the business manager of St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church in Jonesboro, Georgia. She holds an MBA in accounting from St. Leo University and a master’s degree in church management from Villanova University. Under the tutelage of Dr. Charles Zech and Professor Jim Gallo, she has learned and implemented various procedures that are currently in place at St. Philip Benizi Parish. In addition, she has a nine year old daughter and is very active in ministry life as the coordinator of Children’s Liturgy of the Word and the performing arts ministry.

Session 13
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Chicago Ballroom VIII
Holy Collaboration: Growing a Stewardship Parish from the Ground Up

Speaker: Reverend Drew Wood
Pastor
St. Laurence Catholic Church
Sugar Land, Texas

Speaker: Pennie DeGroot
Director of Social Concerns
St. Laurence Catholic Church
Sugar Land, Texas

Speaker: Sharon Ehrenkranz
Director of Parish Life
St. Laurence Catholic Church
Sugar Land, Texas

Speaker: Tony Oltremari
Parish Administrator
St. Laurence Catholic Church
Sugar Land, Texas

Moderator: Mary Ann Otto
Pastoral Minister for Missionary Discipleship
St. Joseph and St. Mary Parishes
Appleton, Wisconsin

With God, all things are possible, including growing a vibrant parish based on strong stewardship principles. Just as a gardener carefully plans, fertilizes and plants good seed, a pastor must know his parish and grow it from the ground-up through inspiration, invitation and intentional ministry, all in God’s time and abundant grace. Hear from Fr. Drew Wood and his parish leadership team how they approach this holy collaboration at St. Laurence Parish.

The Reverend Drew Wood

Raised in Houston, Texas, Father Drew Wood is a graduate of St. Thomas High School and the University of St. Thomas. He entered St. Mary’s Seminary and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in 1973. He served at many parishes throughout the Houston area. In addition to fulfilling the roles of vocations director and vice chancellor for the archdiocese and spiritual director at St. Mary’s Seminary, he was assigned to the large, suburban parish of St. Laurence in 1998. In 2002, he became pastor and subsequently led the parish through two major building initiatives to keep up with the needs of the growing parish. Inspired by the Steubenville Youth Conferences, Father Wood created Heart of Worship, an annual, day-long spiritual event at St. Laurence, which set the standard for hospitality, unity and participatory worship for 14 years. Today, he is recognized in the archdiocese and throughout the community for his leadership and stewardship of this vibrant parish, comprised of over 7,700 families, from nations all over the world, united in the love of Christ and glorifying God in all they do.

Ms. Pennie DeGroot

Pennie DeGroot is the director of social concerns at St. Laurence Catholic Church. Her primary responsibility is the development and coordination of outreach programs for this large Sugar Land parish. She provides oversight to 21 separate initiatives under the umbrella of social concerns and coordinates the support of 16 outside agencies. Ms. DeGroot has received numerous recognitions, including the Catholic Charities Charity in Action Award, Parks Youth Ranch True Believer Award and Fort Bend Family Promise Service Award. She has been married to her husband, Tom, for 35 years and is the mother of two and grandmother of three. Devoted to her family and to her parish, she considers it a great privilege to “serve at a parish where the support and love from parishioners is overwhelming and enables us to reach so many lives in our community.”

Ms. Sharon Ehrenkranz

Sharon Ehrenkranz is the director of parish life at St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston, Texas. In serving this large parish of over 7,700 families, she draws from previous experience as executive director for the Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation and ten years of sales management at Procter & Gamble. She and her husband, Doug, and their three children moved from Ohio to Texas, which they have been happy to call home for 24 years. She jumped right into parish life at St. Laurence, with its beautiful liturgies and thriving ministries, 11 years ago. She was hired as communications director, which was, at the time, the first job of its kind in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Today, she is responsible for parish life and ministry coordination, stewardship, and communications and is active in the Stewardship Networking Group and serves on the board of directors of the Catholic Strengths and Engagement Community.

Mr. Tony Oltremari

As parish administrator for St. Laurence Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas, a parish of over 7,700 families and 90 plus ministries, Tony Oltremari understands the importance of the spiritual mission of the church and the need for the material resources for fulfilling that mission. He previously served as director of stewardship and vice-chair of the Evangelization Commission for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He is a graduate of the ICSC Institute for Stewardship and Development. Through his efforts the archdiocese was awarded first place recognition by ICSC for Excellence in Materials Promoting Diocesan Stewardship in 2001. After leaving the archdiocese, he beccame vice president for Cavan Corporation, conducting increased offertory initiatives and capital campaigns for parishes and diocesan annual appeals. He is on the ICSC board of directors, is actively involved with the Stewardship Networking Group in the Houston area and is a member of the Archdiocesan Stewardship Advisory Committee. Mr. Oltremari was born in Memphis, Tennessee but has been in Houston since 1960 where he was educated at St. Thomas High School and the University of Houston. He and his wife of 49 years, Peggy, have four children, ten grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Session 12
10:30 am – 11:30 am

Chicago Ballroom IX
Good Parish Stewardship Starts in the Rectory

Speaker: Chuck E. Zech, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Villanova University Center for Church Management
West Chester, Pennsylvania

Moderator: Linda Maccarone
Director of Parish Mission
St. Mary Catholic Church
Royal Oak, Michigan

It is important that parish leadership models good stewardship for the parishioners by showing respect for their contributions and demonstrating that they are used efficiently. This means that the leadership must be transparent and accountable in all parish financial dealings and exhibit co-responsibility in their spending decisions. It also means that leadership takes care to protect parishioner contributions through the implementation of sound internal financial controls. Specific recommendations will be included in the presentation.

Chuck E. Zech, Ph.D.

Dr. Chuck Zech is professor emeritus of Church Management at Villanova University where he served as the founding director of the Center for Church Management. He earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Thomas University, Minnesota and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame. He is the author or co-author of more than 50 articles and 12 books on church management.

Dr. Zech has served as the keynote speaker at over 60 diocesan convocations. In 2008 the International Catholic Stewardship Council awarded him The Christian Stewardship Award in recognition of his unique and extraordinary witness to Christian stewardship as a way of life. In 2010 he was awarded the Lumen Gentium Award by the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development in recognition of his leadership in the utilization of planning and consultative processes in the church. He has been named recipient of The Monika K. Hellwig Award for Outstanding Contributions to Catholic Intellectual Life by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. He is the father of four grown children and lives in a Philadelphia suburb with his wife Ann.