5. Launch & Celebrate

Launching a successful annual fall campaign requires a healthy infrastructure. Before launching ask yourself:

• Does our parish have appropriate procedures for receiving gifts? Gift Acceptance Policy (.doc) (.pdf)

• Does our parish office have healthy practices on recording pledges and submissions to financial institutions?

• Do we have updated lists on previous years of giving?

• Have we segmented these lists to see if there are those that require different approaches?

• Has the parish’s leadership made their early/initial gifts?

If you can answer “yes” to these questions, it’s time to invite the entire parish to join the parish leadership in giving.

Kick-offs can take various forms according to context. However, all successful kick off events include the following:

• The “Why” clearly communicated in all communication pieces

• A thank you to the volunteers/donors who have already contributed

• A clear set of goals articulated for the fall campaign

• Mechanisms in place for distributing/receiving pledge cards

• An ethos of connection around a singular purpose. How you gather is important, but why you gather is the priority of focus.

Basic Steps to a Successful Annual Campaign

1. Choose a leader

2. Listen & plan

3. Develop a theme

4. Plan a communications strategy

5. Launch & celebrate

6. Thank, evaluate, & celebrate

7. Thank, thank, & thank

8. Plan for next year