By Matt Vuorela / Chief Executive Officer of Steier Group / Connect with Matt on LinkedIn
Growth is a blessing and a challenge for Catholic schools today. Many Catholic schools are facing expensive upgrades or expansions to keep their spaces welcoming for students and families. For Catholic schools pursuing these larger projects, it requires a structured, mission-driven approach.
A capital campaign to address growth and expansion goes beyond what an annual appeal or collected tuition can support. And a successful capital campaign starts with a clear goal and a focus on aligning every part of the plan with the school’s Catholic identity and long-term vision. This is the ultimate guide to how Catholic schools can plan and execute fundraising for growth and expansion.
What Is Catholic School Fundraising?
Catholic schools rely on outside fundraising support to keep their doors open. Some Catholic schools, especially at the elementary level, receive financial support from a partnering parish. But the reality for most Catholic schools is that there’s still a gap between the true cost to educate each of their students and what parish support and collected tuition and fees covers. In our experience, we estimate that it’s common for schools to have to fundraise between 15-50% of their operating budget. Annual operating budgets don’t help fund special or large-scale growth-related projects, however.
Major Funding Needs Driving School Growth and Expansion
The major fundraising campaigns we work on are usually centered on the kinds of long-term needs and projects that will help the school grow well into the future. Some of the top funding needs we see:
- New school building and/or campus additions
- Expansion specific to student life or athletics fields
- Renovations to aging facilities
- Technology upgrades
- Tuition assistance funding
- Safety, security and accessibility improvements
- Endowments
- Teacher recruitment and retention
These are all tangible needs. And it’s more challenging than ever with the rising costs of materials and labor, uncertain funding sources and enrollment declines.
But the most successful Catholic school fundraising campaigns focus more on the intangibles–how the thing you need helps achieve whole-child education or develops students into faithful leaders.
How Faith Shapes Catholic School Fundraising
As Catholic schools plan for growth, it’s important to keep Catholic identity front and center.
As Kimberly Begg shared on our Twelve Wicker Baskets podcast, “When we connect giving to mission, we remind donors that their generosity is an act of stewardship, not just support.”
She’s so right. In faith-based campaigns, fundraising is more about relationships than in the secular world.
We’ve seen this play out hundreds of times, including at Kuemper Catholic School in Carroll, Iowa. This school community has partnered with the Steier Group for three successful campaigns raising more than $34 million.
The most recent campaign is a great example of how faith shapes fundraising. Faced with growing enrollment and aging facilities, the school launched an effort to unite the entire student body (preschool – 12th grade) on one campus. Their plans included new classrooms, a chapel, more modern shared learning spaces and a larger gathering hall.
What gave the campaign momentum was the way Kuemper Catholic leadership thoughtfully planned every step with the community’s shared faith in mind. Current families, parish leaders and alumni rallied around the shared vision: creating a place where students can learn, pray and grow together. Their school’s success story shows how faith-centered messaging, starting with a guiding campaign prayer, can make supporters feel like they’re making an investment in forming disciples, rather than simply helping fund campus construction.
Another campaign our team worked on really drives home this point about the importance of a faith-focused campaign.
St. James Academy in Lenexa, Kansas, uncovered the need for campus enhancements during a strategic planning session. Their goal was to construct a new cultural arts center, stadium and tennis courts. It may not sound like the most faith-based campaign at first look. However, the school’s leadership knew that if these updates were made, they would see an improvement in student life, community spirit and overall sense of belonging. That’s how the Mission Forward campaign came to life. Ultimately, this campaign was about creating a true home for students where faith, learning and community would come together and help shape both students and families for their futures.
And by telling stories to their supporters of indeed how the school helped form disciples who went out and made a difference, St. James Academy raised 124% of their campaign goal.
Planning and Executing Your Fundraising Campaign
Planning and executing a successful Catholic school fundraising campaign begins with a clear case for support that ties directly to your mission and specific project(s). The case for support uses storytelling to inspire donors to invest in the future of your school.
Along with a centralized story of your impact, a realistic timeline and budget are essential. Capital campaigns usually unfold in two phases. First, there’s a quiet phase focused on major gifts and leadership commitments, followed by a public phase that engages the broader school and parish community. Each stage needs to include measurable goals around fundraising totals, communications milestones and opportunities for prayer and celebration.
Before launching, a campaign planning study is a good first step. Also called a feasibility study, this provides insight into donors’ willingness and ability to give to your campaign. It confirms whether the campaign goal you have in mind is realistic and helps soft-launch campaign strategy and messaging, setting a solid foundation.
Strong campaigns also depend on established and clear roles for everyone involved. Collaboration between school leadership, campaign leadership, staff, board members and any outside fundraising firm is key. At the Steier Group, we provide onsite campaign managers to help facilitate this and organize the collective efforts so everyone is informed, accountable and excited throughout the process.
Engaging Your Community and Major Donors
At the heart of any campaign is the people who believe in the mission. When your various stakeholder groups feel connected to your vision, it makes your job much easier. It is major donors specifically who set the tone for success. Let’s explore how your relationships with major gift donors can grow through intentional conversations.
Building Support Within Your School Community & Stakeholders
To get started with engaging donors, we recommend starting close to home. Current parents, teachers, alumni and parishioners are three of the most important audiences to keep informed about campaign progress. They’re also likely the keepers of the stories about your school’s impact. Moments from the classroom or Mass that show how a student is deepening their faith help engage donors at all levels to see their gift as a spiritual investment.
At Steier Group, our approach to a Catholic school campaign positions the school leader as the primary voice and face of fundraising. The personal connections that a president, principal or pastor has with your community helps build trust and momentum right from the start.
Xavier Catholic Schools in Cedar Rapids, South Dakota, did an exceptional job with donor engagement during their Building the Future campaign. We partnered with leadership to learn, and then tell, stories of how the new spaces they needed would nurture faith and community. We did this with specific examples of how a unified middle school would better support faith formation and bring students closer to Christ during the pivotal middle school years.
Messaging around preparing students to become courageous disciples and future leaders resonated deeply with donors, who started sharing their own stories. Soon enough, alumni turned into donors and frequently remarked some version of “I wish they had that when I was there!”
Beyond current families and alumni, many local businesses and other members of the broader community often support Catholic school campaigns because they realize that a thriving school benefits the entire area.
When engaging current and prospective donors, one of the most important things to keep in mind is to provide regular, transparent updates to keep trust (and enthusiasm) alive. Capital campaigns take years, so be sure to build in creative ways to share progress and thank supporters so everyone in the community feels part of something meaningful.
Securing Major Gifts and Institutional Support
As we referenced earlier, campaigns depend on a few key gifts that set the pace and inspire others to give. These leadership-level gifts are typically the product of personal connection that began long before the campaign. Indeed, our experience shows that personal cultivation matters most. A few other of our best capital campaign tips:
- Prioritize top prospects early.
- With limited time for outreach, schools should focus time on maximizing gifts from existing top donor segments. Of course, annual fund, planned giving and other stewardship efforts should continue throughout a campaign as well, taking note of those receiving campaign asks.
- Research additional support from your diocese, local community foundations and other sources.
- Grants from your local diocese or a foundation that supports Catholic education or infrastructure can help bridge the gap between what you raise from your current donor base and the full project cost. Success here depends upon how well your case for support can show that your campaign aligns with broader Church (or foundation) priorities and goals.
Building Momentum with Events and Technology
Every element of your fundraising plan, from special events to donor dinners and digital outreach, helps create awareness and build momentum around your campaign.
There are plenty of fundraising methods for Catholic schools to consider. Some of the most common fundraising ideas in the Catholic world include:
- Special events such as golf tournaments or galas
- Days of Giving and/or digital fundraising directed at a specific cause
- Sales of merchandise, concessions, etc.
These are great for annual, repeatable revenue, but are not frequently used as part of capital campaign planning, however.
Fundraising Event Ideas That Build Momentum
The right mix of gatherings during your campaign helps keep donors engaged and set your campaign apart. There are a few types of events we recommend for Catholic schools:
- Groundbreaking ceremonies or blessings mark milestones publicly and connect the project to faith.
- Donor dinners introduce the project to a wider base of supporters. An event like this differs from an annual gala or auction in that the program is shorter and more casual. A gathering to share stories of impact and vision and let guests see how their generosity could shape the future at your school.
- Campus tours let donors see firsthand what their gift would fund. This is a powerful experience for donors! When donors walk the halls and meet staff and students, it helps make your ask for support something emotional and tangible.
- Faith-based community events such as Mass celebrated on the school’s patron saint feast day or a student performance of the Passion of the Christ during Lent go a long way in building affinity for your school. Through a fundraising lens, planning a campaign touchpoint during each liturgical season as a natural rhythm to engage your community makes good sense.
- Alumni reunions or alumni-specific events are sometimes easy to overlook when campaign planning. This one really depends on the size of your team and state of your alumni database, but good things happen when you’re able to reconnect former students with their school and its current needs.
Using Modern Fundraising Tools and Technology
Keeping momentum organized and measurable before and after any of these campaign events requires well-maintained donor data and reporting tools. Behind every campaign gift is a lot of behind-the-scenes work!
There are many fundraising tools that can help your Catholic school advancement team manage donor relationships and track campaign progress.
An up-to-date donor management system is critical. Software such as Blackbaud, Bloomerang or any of the many others is then used by campaign teams to record pretty much every detail of the donor development process.
Donors may choose to give to your campaign in different ways. The goal is to make the donation process as simple as possible. So if you had your school leader speak at Mass to launch your campaign initiatives, do you have an established channel for families to give from their phones right after Mass? Do you have the digital tools needed to accept and acknowledge all types of gifts? These are important questions–and any outside fundraising firm can help with recommendations and solutions for your team based on your specific needs.
Sustaining and Measuring Fundraising Success
When pledges start to taper off and your campaign timeline ends, the work doesn’t end. Really, that’s when the work begins to keep donors connected to your mission so they continue to help advance it. Long-term fundraising success depends on stewardship that is consistent, personal and purposeful.
Recognizing and Stewarding Your Donors
Ongoing communication with campaign donors often translates into an increase in future support. It’s important for a school to take the time to thank all supporters and share how their gifts have made a difference already. Then keep up with impact reporting and invitations to school events even after the campaign to keep that relationship growing.
Aside from that advice, timely acknowledgement of every pledge and gift matters. Yes, that means a standard tax acknowledgement letter, but how else could you quickly and easily show gratitude? Consider sending a handwritten thank you card from a school leader or student. For some major gift donors, visible recognition on a donor wall or named space is the best way to show your appreciation for their partnership.
Note: Donor preferences, such as their desire to be recognized, can be added to the donor record in your database to help with future stewardship.
Navigating Common Fundraising Challenges
A large-scale Catholic school fundraising campaign is exciting. But it also stretches staff, resources and relationships in new ways. There is so much that can’t be predicted or planned. The good news is that you are not alone. Leaders from other Catholic schools across the United States face similar issues you do with limited staff capacity and budgets.
In 2026, we have continued economic pressures, which we see shifting enrollment and donation totals. And donor fatigue is another consideration, when many Catholic families already give to their church and/or diocesean appeals.
Still, there is much to look forward to if you’re thinking of launching a growth-focused fundraising campaign for your Catholic school.
While inevitable, none of these fundraising challenges above are new. You can scroll through our various Catholic school client case studies to read about the obstacles other schools overcame in their campaigns. Indeed, each is an opportunity to strengthen leadership, as well as our faith.
Clarity from the beginning of a campaign helps with all of this. Hiring an outside consultant can help provide that plan. Clear roles and structures for support help with small teams who have limited time for an extra project. An outside fundraising firm such as the Steier Group can also help coordinate efforts with pastors and diocesan leaders to complement rather than compete. And when market forces change, that just means transparency and increased communication with your donors about the reality of your needs is essential. Honest and frequent updates from leadership can also reaffirm donor commitment even in challenging or uncertain times.
Conclusion: Building a Fundraising Strategy for Long-Term Growth
Catholic schools looking to expand may have a long list of capital needs; however, a faith-centered and well-planned approach can help Catholic schools exceed their goals. Guided by good data and leadership (plus a whole lot of prayer), your Catholic school can raise funds for major projects, too. Remember, of course, it isn’t about the projects themselves, but how your growth can keep your mission and faith alive for others to experience.
