Session 55
10:00 am – 11:00 am

Ontario
Mejores Prácticas en la Promoción de la Corresponsabilidad Parroquial/Best Practices in Promoting Parish Stewardship

Speaker: Miguel Mireles
Director de Campaña Parroquial
Arquidiócesis de Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Speaker: Myrtha Diaz Medina
Moderadora del Consejo Pastoral Parroquial
Parroquia Espíritu Santo
Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

Cada comunidad parroquial tiene su propia identidad única y está viajando en su propio viaje espiritual. La introducción de la corresponsabilidad a una parroquia debe tener en cuenta esta identidad y reconocer este viaje. Esta será una presentación y discusión sobre cómo presentar la corresponsabilidad a una comunidad parroquial diversa. También explorará cómo superar las barreras en la parroquia y crear una atmósfera de utilización y gestión de todos los recursos que Dios proporciona para la gloria de Dios y la mejora de su creación.

Every parish community has its own unique identity and is traveling on its own spiritual journey. Introducing stewardship to a parish must take into account this identity and recognize this joourney. This will be a presentation and discussion on how to introduce stewardship to a diverse parish community. It will also explore how to overcome barriers in the parish and build an atmosphere of utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of his creation.

Mr. Miguel Mireles
Miguel Mireles is the associate development director for the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. Working over the past two years to complete the first ever capital campaign for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, $89 million was raised from an $80 million goal.

Mr. Mireles began his career in nonprofit work as a paternal involvement assistant with the Texas State Region 16 Education Service Center in Amarillo, Texas; helping serve the Hispanic communities and fathers to be influential in their children’s lives.

He then began a 15-year career with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). First in Amarillo, Texas and then in Louisville, Kentucky where he engaged in membership recruitment, volunteer development, programming, and fundraising. Within the BSA, he also advised the Catholic Committee on Scouting for the Archdiocese of Louisville which is one of a few nationally recognized Catholic dioceses for its efforts in incorporating scouting into its youth ministries and faith formation.

Mr. Mireles is originally from Amarillo, Texas and is married to Cyndi. He attended Amarillo College, and West Texas A&M University.

Session 54
10:00 am – 11:00 am

Sheraton Ballroom III
eGiving Is Good Stewardship!

Speaker: Mike Walsh
Vice President, Sales
Faith Direct
Alexandria, Virginia

Moderator: Krysten McGee
Associate Director
Diocese of Joliet, Illinois

eGiving can be a prayerful and planned means for parishioners to provide stewardship of treasure to their parish. Join us to learn how to engage parishioners with the best practices to foster eGiving at your parish!

Mr. Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh has over 25 years of successful sales and marketing experience in both the corporate and nonprofit worlds. Since 2005, he has been responsible for new business development at Faith Direct. He oversees all direct sales personnel and initiatives as well as positioning for the company in the competitive marketplace. During this time, Faith Direct has experienced a growth level with new clients that will yield over one billion dollars in monies raised in 2017. He is a frequent speaker and presenter at industry conferences. Mr. Walsh is a 1989 graduate of the University of Maryland. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in Charlotte, North Carolina, with their four children. For the past 15 years, they have been active at St. Gabriel Catholic Church.

Session 53
10:00 am – 11:00 am

Chicago Ballroom VIII
Stepping into Stewardship One Disciple at a Time

Speaker: Schuyler Kleinpeter
Stewardship and Advancement Director
St. Pius X Catholic Church
Lafayette, Louisiana

Moderator: Teresa Keogh
Advisor for Stewardship
Archdiocese of Southwark
United Kingdom

Catechizing before evangelizing doesn’t always produce the fruits needed to sustain a parish’s longevity or the spiritual development of its people. So how could one expect stewardship before evangelization to produce an abundance of fruits as well? This session will outline the one-year journey taken by clergy and staff of St. Pius X Catholic Church to design what the path would look like for a parishioner to be transformed into a disciple with a stewardship response. Participants will have access to print-ready materials that can be personalized and distributed in their own parishes.

Ms. Schuyler Kleinpeter

Since 1996, Schuyler Kleinpeter has worked for local and national organizations in a wide range of nonprofit departments and sectors including healthcare, human services, advocacy and the arts. Currently, she is the stewardship and advancement director for St. Pius X Church in Lafayette, Louisiana, where she leads the development and communications efforts in support of over 3,000 families, 50 ministries and a recent $19 million expansion. Other Catholic affiliations include working for both a program and corporate affiliate of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, as well as the Diocese of Lafayette and Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in a volunteer or temporary capacity. With the majority of her experience in nonprofit development, including a $1 million matching gift from Louisiana Economic Development for innovative healthcare investments, she also has a deep knowledge of philanthropic partnerships, communications, volunteer engagement and nonprofit programming. She is a past award winner of ICSC’s parish stewardship renewal efforts where she received an honorable mention, and is currently a committee member for ICSC. Previously, she served in that same capacity for both the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Planned Giving Association in Baton Rouge. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Session 52
10:00 am – 11:00 am

Chicago Ballroom IX
Generosity Beyond Parish Walls

Speaker: Marie Ferman
Evangelization & Catechesis Specialist
USCCB, Secretariat of Evangelization & Catechesis
Washington, DC

Speaker: Nicole Germain
Assistant Director for Promotions
USCCB, Office of National Collections
Washington, DC

Moderator:Ann Marie Calka
Membership Associate
ICSC
Dearborn Heights, Michigan

“Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives.” This session will explore how exercising stewardship in our parish and local communities transforms us into active participants in the Church’s missionary efforts around the world. In this session, staff from the USCCB will walk you through strategies and methods of engagement that resonate with parishioners including young adults. Come and share ways we can work collaboratively. Together, we can inspire generosity and solidarity beyond our parish walls.

Ms. Marie Ferman

Marie Ferman is an evangelization and catechesis specialist at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Previously, she worked in a Catholic church in Silver Spring, Maryland as the coordinator of faith formation and director of youth ministry. She earned a master’s degree in systematic and moral theology from Christendom College’s Graduate School of Theology and her bachelor’s degree in theology from Catholic University of America.

Ms. Nicole Germain

Nicole Germain is the assistant director for promotions in the Office of National Collections at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Previously, she founded MJG Communications, a public affairs and marketing company in Baltimore, Maryland. Ms. Germain has more than 20 years experience in marketing and communication. She has held leadership positions in public affairs and marketing at the Ethics Resource Center and Catholic Relief Services. She earned a master’s degree in public communication from American University in Washington, DC.

Session 50
8:30 am – 9:30 am

Michigan
Unleash the Power of your Database: Appeal Segmentation and Variable Messaging

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

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

Speaker: Tom Struthers
Inspired Gifts Specialist
TurnKey Direct Marketing
Excelsior, Minnesota

Talking to your donors individually is the key to maximizing both appeal response and donor lifetime value. This session will present common segments of your database worth the effort to variable message and ask. We will cover practices that increase participation of new donors and challenge existing donors to give at higher levels. Your donors will feel appreciated and more connected to your mission. Best practices for managing the complexity of segmentation will also be given.

Mr. Steve Schons, CFRE

Steve Schons is director of stewardship and development and president of the Catholic Development Foundation for the Diocese of Fargo, positions he has held since 2009. Prior to joining the Diocese of Fargo, he worked as director of planned giving for a Fargo-based private nonprofit for 11 years. His accomplishments include surpassing annual appeal goal every year with a 40 plus percent participation rate and increasing foundation assets from $22 million to $69 million. Mr. Schons holds the CFRE credential and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Knights of Columbus at his home parish of Sts. Anne and Joachim in Fargo, North Dakota.

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.

Mr. Tom Struthers

Tom Struthers started Turnkey Direct Marketing in 1998 and has gone on to serve nonprofit causes exclusively for 22 years, including raising hundreds of millions of dollars through Catholic diocesan appeals. He brings a wealth of response expertise and best practices to the appeal production process.

Mr. Struthers and his wife, Kari, have been married for 31 years. They are active in marriage mentoring, seminarian formation, Eucharist ministry, and Bible study at St. Victoria Parish in Victoria, Minnesota. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas Christian University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.

Session 49
8:30 am – 9:30 am

Sheraton Ballroom II
Challenges to Donor Retention in School Development

Speaker: Frank Glowaty
Advancement Director
Saints Peter and Paul School
Naperville, Illinois

Moderator: Ann Marie Calka
Membership Associate
ICSC
Dearborn Heights, Michigan

New donor acquisition is the subject of an array of articles and conferences in the nonprofit industry. But the industry also reports that three out of every five donors to private schools leave and never come back. Thus, the importance of donor retention. This session will discuss the challenges to donor retention in school development and offer ways to retain and improve donor retention rates.

Mr. Frank Glowaty

Frank Glowaty has been an elementary educator in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois for over 45 years. He has experience as a teacher, coach, advancement director and principal. In his capacity as advancement director at Saints Peter and Paul School in Naperville, Illinois he has been instrumental in the creation of three endowments, capital improvement, tuition assistance, and teachers, with a combined corpus of $15 million.

In addition to his teaching and administrative experience, he has conducted numerous parish, school board, and diocesan workshops and in-services throughout the Diocese of Joliet and the Archdiocese of Chicago. As an adjunct with Catholic School Management, he has also been part of several summer certificate programs offered at the University of Notre Dame. He is past-president of the Joliet Diocesan Principals’ Association and his speaking experience includes nine NCEA conventions. Mr. Glowaty holds degrees from Lewis University and St. Xavier College. He has been trained for institutional development by Catholic School Management, Robert F. Sharpe & Company, and the Chicago Council on Planned Giving.

Beverage Break with Exhibitors

9:30  am – 10:00 am