St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church

THE CHALLENGE

St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church got its start a decade ago with Masses celebrated in people’s homes. But it grew quickly and soon was running out of room for its thriving school and active faith formation program. The parish also needed a permanent, larger church, with more seating for the burgeoning congregation. The parish gym also lacked space, and couldn’t hold the entire study body for events and prevented the school from appropriately hosting home games.

THE VISION

The parish’s goals for the 2012 campaign:

• Construct a Parish Education Center and retire parish debt

Goals for the 2018 campaign:

• Construct a larger church
• Build a new school gym

THE SOLUTION

St. Catherine of Siena partnered with the Steier Group on a capital campaign in 2012 that benefited from an effective communication plan. The plan included weekly electronic newsletters to volunteers charting the campaign’s progress, along with updates given by volunteers at Mass.  The successful campaign raised nearly $9 million. The parish looked to the Steier Group again in 2018 for a campaign to build a new church and a new fully equipped school gym. Even though just six years had passed since the earlier campaign, the congregation’s response was tremendous to this even more ambitious effort.  The campaign emphasized providing a spiritual home for the generations of Catholics to come. The appeal also stressed the goal of completing the St. Catherine of Siena campus. The campaign underscored the importance of the Steier Group’s personal approach to fundraising. Of the 820 pledges made, nearly 80 percent were by donors who spoke personally with volunteers trained by the Steier Group. Plus, each potential donor’s giving history was examined, with a particular focus on pledges and gifts made during the earlier campaign. The 2018 campaign raised more than $15.7 million, putting the parish on an even more successful path.