THE CHALLENGE
Since its founding in 1966 by 12 faithful families, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Frisco, Texas, has grown into one of the largest parishes in the United States. With nearly 9,000 active families and more than 24,000 individuals, the parish is blessed with vibrant ministries and deep community involvement. Yet this incredible growth has also presented complex challenges. Managing a database of more than 20,000 households, nearly half of which were inactive, required strategic outreach and segmentation. The greatest challenge was inspiring active participation across such a large and diverse parish. To do this, St. Francis would have to lean on innovative tactics that connected with the community on a personal level and inspired parishioners to respond in faith.
THE VISION
Guided by parish leadership, feedback from many parish families, and strategic engagement with leaders of St. Francis’s thriving ministries, this plan includes:
- Building a new rectory.
- Renovating the parish center.
- Building a state-of-the-art family life center.
- Supporting financially a new Pre-K to 8th grade diocesan school that offers St. Francis families a quality Catholic education and demonstrates diocesan leadership.
- Developing an outdoor gathering area.
THE SOLUTION
To meet the scale and complexity of this campaign, St. Francis partnered with the Steier Group for a comprehensive and customized approach. A full-time, onsite campaign manager led strategy and execution, while the Steier support team provided in-house support for design, data analysis, foundation research and grant writing. By segmenting the parish database and customizing outreach, including Spanish-language efforts and targeted video messaging, the parish was able to reach both long-time and newly registered families. Regular videos from parish leadership, small-group meetings with ministries and a parish-wide Ministry Participation Challenge helped foster unity and commitment for the I Am with You Always Capital Campaign. Through these efforts, St. Francis of Assisi reached the identified goal and continues to be a powerful witness of faith, hospitality and growth in the Diocese of Dallas.
“The campaign manager assigned to our project instantly fit into our parish team and culture. He established outstanding relationships with all staff, volunteers and parishioners. Furthermore, the entire Steier Group team, including our graphic designer, grant writer, data analyst and senior leadership, provided excellent expertise, strategic recommendations, and deftly understood the needs and complexities of our community. ... They have an uncanny way of leveraging their vast experience and success with dioceses and parishes, while at the same time making us feel as if we were their only client.”
Fr. Rudy Garcia, Pastor, and Deacon Alex Barbieri, Senior Director of Operations
Campaign Stats
The Steier Group’s unique, hands-on campaign management model, combined with our expert grant writers, award-winning designers and creative fundraising strategies, allowed us to exceed goal.
Goal
8000000
Raised
17583979
Percentage of Goal
220
A Customized Approach
We founded our firm on the belief that the best capital campaign is one that is customized and executed by one team, under one roof. When you hire the Steier Group, you eliminate the need to contract with additional vendors for services like copywriting, graphic design, grant writing, video production, website development or wealth screening. We reject the one-size-fits-all approach to fundraising and embrace every opportunity to design a capital campaign plan that will maximize our client’s fundraising potential.
Contact Steier Group today
You have a vision for the growth and success of your church, school or organization. Now it’s time to gather the generous, wholehearted support you need to make it happen. Contact Steier Group today to discuss the benefits of a customized capital campaign.
