Our approach to initial or annual renewal of parish increased offertory will:
- Have an immediate, positive impact on offertory income
- Reduce staff and/or volunteer time and effort
- Provide a meaningful and convenient method for on-going, yearly renewal - optionally coordinated with effective offering envelope choices
Cathedral's Increased Offertory Program combines the best and most widely
proven influences in sound, effective giving development...
The Spiritual - Scripturally based influences and techniques are
authentically combined and presented within the framework of the 1992 US
Catholic Bishops' Pastoral Letter, Stewardship - A Disciple's Response.
The Personal - Use of confidential, personalized mailings allows
you to privately "speak" to your parishioners in the context of their actual
giving habits and records.
The Traditional - Effective new use of offering and envelopes system
options tailored for your parish and designed to reinforce and support the
renewal of Increased Giving.
These influences are combined and directed toward the ideal of fostering -
in all its aspects: Giving as a Way of Life
The Program consists of the following:
- Introductory Mailing
- Appeal Mailing
- Follow-up Mailings
- Thank-you Letter
All of Cathedral's Increased Offertory Letters Feature:
- Duplication of your letter head of custom stewardship design
- Highest quality laser imaging on 60 lb. laser bond stationary
- Imprinting of actual furnished signature(s)
- PerfectMerge incorporation of your parish records within appropriate version of text to show:
- name/address and formal or informal salutation
- specific individual giving data and/or general history
- PerfectMatch inserting of letter and enclosures in match printed and addressed, closed face mailing envelopes
- PerfectMail on-time mailing and delivery from your post office or ours - with non-profit or first class postage stamp affixing optional
What you will be asked to do:
- Following Cathedral guidelines, select dates and finalize calendar
- Review furnished selection of model letters and - with Cathedral assistance as needed - finalize and approve copy for each mailing
- Provide Cathedral with your parish file for use in preparation of personalized mailing pieces
- Review suggestions and initiate any needed changes in offering (envelope) systems and effective follow-through program
What Cathedral will do for you:
- Recommend, draft and finalize your renewal calendar
- Provide proven models for and special help with all letters
- Furnish model bulletin and pulpit announcements and inserts
- Prepare private, signed and fully personalized mailing pieces for each name in your parish file - merging individual giving history
- Directly mail pre-stamped (first class or non-profit rate) mailings for entry in your local post office
- Coordinate possible changes and improvements in your envelope system and offer other options to complement and follow up your renewal
The Elements of Cathedral's Increased Offertory Program
Introductory Mailing
Personalized 8 ½ x 11" letter introducing and explaining parish spiritual and financial renewal objectives
Appeal Mailing
One of five personalized letter versions keyed to the following donor support categories:
- For parishioners with year-to-date average weekly giving $1.00 and up - cites actual giving
- Some record of giving - treated in an encouraging way invites your infrequent giver to contribution on a more regular basis
- No formal record of giving - treated in an encouraging way
- "Excused" Letter - for those who cannot be fairly expected or asked to consider increasing their giving
- Large Donor Letter - acknowledging the sacrificial effort of your best givers
Special Covenant Response envelope enclosed with each letter
The Follow-Up Letter(s)
Letter of positive encouragement sent to all non-respondents each week following appeal mailing
Includes another Covenant Response envelope
Thank-You Letter
Personalized to be immediately sent to all who respond at program's end
Adapt the elements of any Increased Offertory Program to meet specific needs!
Can any of the above, individual components be adjusted, mixed or matched - or
perhaps obtained and used individually rather than as a part of one of the above,
integrated programs?
While the full program as outlined has proven most practical and effective
in general application, a Cathedral Stewardship Counselor will be pleased to
advise and quote on special needs, uses and/or modification of the elements
in our Increased Offertory Program.
What Our Clients Say:
"The Increased Offertory Program proved to be a great way for our parish
to achieve a much-needed, significant increase in financial support. We've
been blessed with a sustained increase of nearly 30%."
"We've tried to 'do it ourselves' in the past - with lots more effort and
considerably less result than your program. Thank you for providing a very
efficient and effective way for us to share our annual message of increased
offering with all our people every year."
"The mailings were beautifully done. Very personal and professional - exactly
on schedule - and so much more cost-effective than a similar program we used
from another firm several years ago."
