Advancing Our Church

Today’s Show

Imagine if your job facilitated daily personal interaction with more than 500 of the nation’s top CEOs and corporate presidents, representing dozens of professional disciplines, in relaxed settings oftentimes, alongside their spouses, across more than 20 metropolitan areas in the United States and several foreign countries. Sound too good to be true? That is exactly what John Knowles does every day. Today, CW’s Jim Friend interviews John Knowles who serves as Legatus Director for the Northeastern United States and international territories.

John Matthew Knowles

Mr. John Knowles is the Director of the Northeastern US and International Chapters of Legatus. He is an accomplished advancement executive specializing in membership associations and higher education institutions. He currently works as Legatus Director for the Northeast and International, based in the greater New York City area. Prior to his work with Legatus, John served as the chief development and external affairs officer for private colleges in Florida. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from Western Michigan University, a Juris Doctorate of Law degree from Michigan State University, and a fellowship certificate in leadership from Michigan State University. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in eastern Pennsylvania and have a daughter who just turned one.

About Legatus

Legatus is the world’s only membership organization for Catholic CEOs, founded in 1987 by the iconic entrepreneur Tom Monaghan, best known as the founder and longtime owner of Domino’s Pizza, today the largest pizza company in the world. Thirty-one years since founding, Legatus serves more than 5,000 owners and senior managers of large private enterprises across nearly 100 local chapters.

About Today’s Show

On today’s podcast Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend talk with Julianne Stanz, Author of a new book entitled “Start with Jesus“.

Julianne’s challenge: “Take a moment and ask yourself: does every activity in my parish point more deeply to Jesus?” Julianne’s new book aims to help parish communities make sure the answer to this question is a resounding, “Yes!” Serving parishes in her diocese as the Director of New Evangelization, Stanz has recognized a practical and motivational way to restructure a parish’s mission – start with Jesus.

Start with Jesus is a book about people, process, and culture, rather than an emphasis on quick fixes or unsustainable efforts. Julianne’s approach aims to help regular people transform parishes from the inside out by growing in a relationship with Jesus Christ through individual and group experiences, thus transforming our parish communities.

Julianne begins our interview today talking about her life and career in Evangelization. She serves as a consultant to the USCCB’s Committee on Evangelization with Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire). In 2017, Julianne served as Emcee for the National Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Orlando Florida and offered the keynote address at the International Catholic Stewardship Conference in 2018. Julianne is a wonderful story-teller with down to earth, real-life experience that has been transformational for parishes around the country.

About Today’s Show

Today we finish our coverage of the 2019 International Catholic Stewardship Conference with an interview with Msgr. John J. Bracken. Msgr. Bracken stopped by our booth at ICSC this year and we had a terrific impromptu interview about his life as a priest and his career not only as the Vicar General for the Diocese of Brooklyn but also as the very first Director of Development. Msgr. Bracken has been a priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn for over 52 years. Msgr. Bracken is a bit of a legend because he literally created the job of a Development Director right at the time in history when the Bishop’s pastoral document, Stewardship: A Disciples Response was published. Monsignor talks about his career, his calling and the nature of Stewardship. Please enjoy this interview with our host, Jim Friend.

About Msgr. John J. Bracken

A native of Richmond Hill, he attended St. Benedict Joseph School; Cathedral College, Brooklyn; St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore; and St. Louis University.

He served as an assistant at St. Francis de Sales, Belle Harbor, 1967-77; St. Teresa, Woodside, 1977-80; and Our Lady Help of Christians, Midwood, 1980-84.

He was the Episcopal Vicar for Queens North, 1984-91; and director of the diocesan Development Office, 1991-2009.

He was named Vicar General for Temporalities in 2004.

In addition, he has been the administrator of Holy Name parish, Windsor Terrace, 2009-10; administrator of Our Lady Help of Christians, 2011; and administrator of St. Mary Star of the Sea-St. Gertrude, Far Rockaway, 2010-11.

He also served as a member of the Priests Senate and a member of the Diocesan Board of Consultors, Ozanam Hall, Bayside; and the board of directors for the Office of Pastoral Communications, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Community School Board No. 2.

Today’s Show

ICSC 2019 was held on October 6 – 9 in Chicago and Changing Our World was proud to be a sponsor. This 57th Annual Stewardship Conference included over 800 participants from around the world who convened to talk about Catholic Stewardship, Leadership, and Advancement. Today’s episode features interviews with participants of ICSC 2019 including Manny Aguilar, Shaun Riedell, Andy Gaertner, Msgr. Carlos Quintana Puente and J.J. Gonzales.

Join our host, Jim Friend as we talk with top leaders in Catholic Stewardship.

Mission of the International Catholic Stewardship Conference

The International Catholic Stewardship Council promotes and supports Catholic teaching on stewardship by providing education and resources for dioceses, parishes, and institutions of the Roman Catholic Church.

Today’s Show

Jason Morrison & Mark Freund are accomplished leaders in Catholic Education. On today’s show, hear their thoughts on the evolving models of Catholic education and the dynamics of remaining competitive in today’s marketplace. Changing our World‘s Gavan Mooney, President and Chief Client Officer and Kaitlin McTighe, Managing Director, interview these two experienced leaders in Catholic Education.

Jason Morrison

Jason is the Diocesan Secretary and CEO for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Scranton. He is responsible for managing the Diocese of Scranton Catholic School System. His primary responsibilities include financial stability, Enrollment, and Development. Mr. Morrison is the former VP of Operations for the Healey Education Foundation where he served schools across the United States implementing Boards of Limited Jurisdiction, Advancement programs, and address sustainability issues for Catholic schools. Jason is the former Secretary for Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Scranton and the Executive Director for the Lackawanna Bar Association. Jason holds a BA in Business Administration from Villanova University and an MBA from the Erivan K. Haub School of Business at St. Joseph’s University.

Mark Freund

Mark Freund, is the Executive Director of the Christian Brothers Conference Office for Lasallian Education. He oversees activities designed to serve ministries in the Lasallian Region of North America, including developing formation programs, fundraising, and representing the mission to the Catholic Church, to educational, civic, and governmental entities, and to business and philanthropic organizations. Mark is a lifelong Catholic and native of Baltimore, Maryland. He formerly served as principal of Pope John Paul II High School in Boca Raton, Florida. He brings more than 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in Catholic schools. Mark is a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School, a Lasallian school in Towson, Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Towson University in Towson and a master’s degree in education from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore.

Have a question about today’s show. Please contact our host, Jim Friend for more information. Send Jim an email.

On Today’s Show

Debbie serves as Director of Parish Stewardship for the Orange Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Orange in California. The Diocese serves a growing English, Vietnamese and Spanish speaking population with over 3.2 million Catholics. The Diocese serves the largest population of Vietnamese in the United States.   

Today, Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend talks with Debbie Leaverton about a variety of initiatives in the Diocese of Orange, including Debbie’s work with assisting pastors to adopt stewardship as a way of life in their parish. Debbie describes how she serves parishes in stewardship, planned giving and capital campaigns.

Debbie describes the interesting backstory on the construction of the new Christ Cathedral that was just dedicated on July 17, 2019. The Cathedral is now open to the public. The Cathedral will be open for tours during the 2020 International Catholic Stewardship Conference (ICSC) in Anaheim next fall.

About Debbie Leaverton

Debbie started with the Diocese of Orange in 2001 and then

moved to the Orange Catholic Foundation in 2008, and is responsible for directing

the annual Pastoral Services Appeal and the Parish Stewardship Education

ministry.

Debbie leads the annual diocesan Stewardship Renewal process

that takes place each November, provides consultation to parishes for capital

campaigns, electronic giving and coordinates formation opportunities to help

parishes embrace Christian Stewardship as a way of life. She first began

working for the Church as a volunteer catechist for elementary, youth ministry

and Confirmation. She served on her parish’s Pastoral Council and started her

parish’s Stewardship Committee in 2005. Debbie’s background includes training

and development, project management and sales and marketing. She served on the

Board of the International Catholic Stewardship Council for seven years and firmly

believes that Christian stewardship is the living of our faith as Disciples of

Christ. She is inspired by working with parish leadership and seeing the impact

Stewardship formation can have on parishes, increasing engagement of all

parishioners and revitalizing the life of the parishes.

This Week

This week we tackle many common fundraising questions that our consultants are asked often. Jim Friend is joined by a talented group of Changing Our World fundraising consultants including Brandi Holys, Diana Curren and Ray Witkowski for this informative roundtable sessions. Some of the questions the group discusses include:

* Why do people Give?* When is the best time to fundraise?* How can I stop marketing and communications from overlapping with my appeals?* How do I not only find more donors but more donors that are the right fit for my organization?* Why do I have to use a specific ask amount?* What’s the best way to steward a donor ? How important is donor recognition? * How often should I be in contact with my donors…before and after their gift?* How often should I be communicating with my donors?* How important is online giving?* How important are special events? How can I leverage my special events?

Please join us for this informative discussion. Do you have a question that you’d like to ask? Send Jim an email and maybe we can answer it on our next episode.

Next Week

We’re looking forward to interviewing the participants of the 2019 International Catholic Stewardship Conference in Chicago this week. Stop by Changing Our World’s Booth, be a guest on our podcast or just say “hello”. Watch for our new Advancing Our Church banners!

Today’s Show

Meet David DiNapoli, the Director of Development for the Diocese of Portland in Maine. On today’s show, Jim Friend talks with David about his role in the Diocese and some of the challenges and the opportunities that he is pursuing as he leads a development office that covers 33,215 square miles with a population of 279,159 Catholics. David’s office oversees the Annual Appeal, Planned Giving and he provides support to the 55 parishes and the Catholic School system in the Diocese.

We begin our show today with an interview with Brandi Holys. Brandi is a Senior Director with Changing Our World who is currently assigned to a $70 Million Capital Campaign for the Diocese of Green Bay. Brandi shares some stories about her career and what she does for fun.

About David DiNapoli

Prior to taking the lead Development position with the Diocese of Portland David DiNapoli served as a Director for Changing Our World, conducting Capital Campaigns and studies with a number of Diocese and Archdiocese as well as other nonprofits.  Prior to that, David served as a consultant designing & implementing a strategic planning process for all parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago. In the Archdiocese of New York, David provided professional stewardship education and fundraising services to Archdiocesan parishes & effectively lead numerous campaigns in the areas of increased offertory & capital campaigns. In the beginning of his career, David worked in executive management within the hospitality industry, where he oversaw the complete renovation efforts of an organization in addition to managing the entire staff.

David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville and was fortunate to study abroad in Austria. During his college years, David participated in missions in the jungles of Ecuador.

If you would like to contact David, please send him an email.

Today’s Show

Two years ago, Mark McMullen was enjoying a successful career as President of Catapult New Business when he was recruited to make a different kind of impact to advance our Church. Today, as Executive Vice President for the Knights of Columbus, Mark directs Membership and Fraternal Mission for 2 million Knights worldwide. Join Changing Our World’s CEO, Brian Crimmins today as he interviews Mark and learns more about the $185.7 million and 76.7 million hours given to charity this past year. Brian also learns about Mark’s new initiatives to retain and grow the membership of over 2 Million Knights world-wide.

About Mark McMullen

Mark McMullen has had a successful career in marketing, advertising, management, and new business development. He served most recently as President of Catapult New Business and Executive Vice President of List Partners, Inc, Atlanta. Mark also taught Marketing and Management at the University of Georgia and Strayer University. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Knight’s in Georgia and the Saint Vincent De Paul Society-Atlanta. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Pregnancy Aid Clinic of Roswell and Hapeville, Georgia. McMullen and his wife, Jan, are both members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

About the Knights of Columbus

The Knights were officially chartered on March 29, 1882, thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven. Since then, the Knights have been officially chartered as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.

The Knights were formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families. The Knights impact educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief, and public relief works worldwide. For more information, please visit the Knights of Columbus home page.

Today’s Show

Today, we finish our exciting three-part “Back to School” series with a terrific show on Catholic School leadership. Today our guest is veteran trainer, Steven Virgadamo. Steven discusses the topic of recruiting, training and retaining leaders for Catholic Schools. Steven is an expert trainer of Catholic School Leaders. He is Executive Director of the Curran Catholic School Leadership Academy and Associate Superintendent for the Archdiocese of New York.

Today Steven talks about the mission of Curran Catholic School Leadership Academy. The Academy trains future Catholic school leaders in a comprehensive and cost-effective manner. Steven reflects on his own formation as a Catholic School leader and shares what is needed for a leader to be successful in today’s competitive market. Steve discusses the difference between a good Catholic school and a great one. We hope you’ll listen today to learn from Steve’s experience.

About Steven Virgadamo

Steven is a talented and passionate executive with significant breadth and depth of knowledge. He is well known for his expertise in school culture and educational administration. Steven frequently presents on enrollment management, strategic planning, leadership formation, and mission advancement. Steven was the recipient of the 2018 Monsignor John Meyers Presidential Award. Steven’s missionary zeal and leadership counsel has enabled Catholic schools with which he has worked to flourish. Please click here to visit Steven’s full bio with contact information.

Meet Sebastion Lury

We open today’s show by meeting Sebastion Lury, Director at Changing Our World. Sebastion currently serves the Diocese of Green Bay as the Director of Operations for the one by One Campaign. Today, Sebastion tells us about his career and his approach to diocesan campaigns in three different dioceses.

Sebastion joined Changing Our World in December 2015 where he was assigned to a campaign with the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Sebastion directed 14 parishes to successfully complete the campaign. In August 2018, Sebastion joined the team in the Diocese of Albany. In Albany he served as a campaign director for the Re-Igniting Our Faith campaign. Sebastion improved the office’s performance by implementing a uniform tracking system while working with 23 parishes.