FAQ

Guidance In Giving provides service solely to Catholic parishes, dioceses and schools nationwide. By doing this, we are able to specialize our services to fit the specific needs of the modern-day Catholic community. We truly love what we do and consider our service a ministry to the Mission of the Church.

Yes you can … with the assistance of a motivated, experienced, and competent firm, like Guidance In Giving, Inc., you can achieve your goals to raise substantial funds and at the same time build a strong faith community bonded by achieving a common purpose. At the end of the campaign, you will have the resources you need and have a stronger parish community.

One important factor in determining how much can be raised is dependent on the project for which you want to raise the money. Better results can be expected for exciting projects like building a new or renovating a church. Less can be expected for causes that address debt reduction or elimination. Generally, a parish can expect to raise two to three or more times their annual offertory income depending on the campaign case, as well as and other factors including the strength of parish leadership, level of interest in the project, and the likelihood of donors having the capacity and inclination to make leadership/major gifts.

An old adage says there is never a good time to conduct a capital campaign. Our firm has raised significant amounts of money in good economic times and bad. We’ve had successful campaigns in both bear and bull stock market situations. If your needs are valid and your faith community is ready to pull together to accomplish great things, now is the time to move forward. Know there will always be some obstacles, but if you wait for all conditions to be perfect, you will never conduct a campaign.

Costs for professional counsel vary depending on the type of services being provided. At Guidance In Giving, we set our fees based on the estimated amount of on-site full-time service that will be required to conduct a successful campaign for you.  The amount of time we anticipate for each campaign depends generally on the size of the parish and the number of parishioners.  Our fees are set amount based on number of weeks of service needed and are never based on a percentage of funds raised. Campaign costs, including consultant fees and other expenses, such as printing and postage, generally amount from five to ten cents per dollar raised.

A capital campaign is a full time effort for 10-20+ weeks, depending on the size of the parish. Pastors, parish staff and volunteers are already very busy with their own jobs. They rarely have the time, knowledge and will to conduct a thorough campaign on their own. While there are cases where the staff and volunteers have run a capital campaign, they usually raise far less than the potential from the parish community.

Guidance In Giving, Inc., has over 35 years of experience in the field of Catholic Development. By providing service solely to Catholic parishes, dioceses and schools nationwide, we are able to specialize our services to fit the specific needs of the modern-day Catholic community. We truly love what we do and consider our service a ministry to the Mission of the Church. Guidance In Giving, Inc. has designed a campaign plan, rooted in Stewardship, that encourages parishioners to share their time, talent and treasure. This plan provides each family with the opportunity to respond to the needs of their community. Throughout the campaign, every parishioner is encouraged to volunteer their time through attendance at campaign receptions and by praying for the campaign; their talents through volunteering for the campaign; and their treasure by prayerfully considering a pledge of financial support to the best of their ability. By giving parishioners the opportunity to become stewards of the campaign, our plan allows parishioners to take ownership in the effort of their parish, which allows for the community to raise the maximum amount of participation and funds.

In many parishes and in all dioceses, there are areas where additional information is extremely beneficial prior to beginning a capital campaign. Specifically, dioceses and parishes must determine to what financial extent clergy and parishioners will support a campaign and decide what the project priorities are within the constituency. Therefore, Feasibility and Planning studies gather feedback from the entire diocesan and parish community, by personally meeting with a number of selected individuals, as well as providing an opportunity for parishioners to offer their input via survey. In this way, the campaign plan can be developed knowing that clergy, key parishioners and ministry leaders were involved in its formulation, under the direction of experienced professional counsel.

Pre-Campaign Feasibility and Planning Studies serves to chart the course for a successful campaign and upon completion, a campaign plan is developed and tailored specifically for the client.

A capital campaign must serve a higher purpose than just “raising money” for a specific project. A capital campaign must be part of carrying out the parish mission and strategic plan.

The following are some preliminary considerations before beginning a capital campaign:

• Is there a clear case statement defining the reasons for the campaign with facts and figures and an explanation of the positive impact on the community?
• Have arch/diocesan requirements been met (each Arch/Diocese is different) and permission granted?
• What is the scope of the campaign? – Multiple campaigns over a longer period of time may be required if the project is too large and the needs are too great to be addressed in a single effort.
• When is the best time run a campaign? Factors such as the timing of other parish/diocesan appeals, habits of parishioners who are snowbirds or vacationers can make timing a campaign very important.
• Are the pastor and lay leaders supportive and ready to dedicate time to the effort?
• Have you done your homework? Do you know the demographics, giving patterns, level of support to be expected from parishioners for the project?