Recently Prenger Solutions Group conducted a Catholic parish survey assessing the giving practices and social ...
Catholic
Fundraising Insights
Catholic Social Media's research shows that nonprofits should be striving for a good communications-to-request ...
Your parishioners’ time is precious, and you want to make it easy for them to give; the number one way to do this ...
If you thought finding an anniversary gift for your spouse was hard, try celebrating clergy anniversaries. To help ...
How is your parish celebrating baptisms? Outside of the sacrament itself, there are lots of ways to commemorate a ...
Sherry Weddel, director of the Catherine of Siena Institute, took the ministry world by storm with her ...
If you’re administering your Catholic parish Facebook page, spend a little time each week using Insights. Just log ...
Whether you’re planning a change in the Mass schedule or gauging interest in a new program, you can use online ...
You’re working hard to expand your parish’s social media presence; the easiest way is to teach your followers to ...
Our team is always looking at ways to make giving to the local parish more convenient. For most people, that means ...
With everything going on at your Catholic parish, it can be easy to forget that thanking parishioners well is one ...
When's the last time you took a moment to count your blessings at the parish? We've all heard it before: an ...
Do you know social media's 80/20 rule? It's the same as the 80/20 rule in other areas of Catholic parish life. If ...
Parish entry point giving is a topic rarely discussed in Catholic churches. This week, take a few minutes to ...
It's an age-old question: fundraising letters or emails? If you’re responsible for your church's annual ...
We are all called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, we are often at a loss as to how we can do ...
There are dozens of ways you can connect to your parishioners these days. These include e-newsletters, emails, ...
Facebook categorizes all organization pages into different groups. However, if your parish's Facebook page was set ...
Maybe you take prayer requests at your Catholic parish, but have you ever considered taking prayer requests ...
Ever wondered how the Facebook newsfeed works? As of 2019, it takes into account millions of factors when ...
One of the most popular types of writing to come out of the Internet age is the listicle, which is a numbered list ...
Have you ever experienced headaches while selling tickets to parish events? Most parishes have 5-10 annual events ...
First impressions and profile pictures are funny things. We all know by now that first impressions matter just as ...
Do you know about the "General Social Survey" and religion? In the April edition of First Things, Mark L. ...
In recent years, Facebook has added a "vanity URL" or "username" feature to all Pages, including your parish page. ...
When it comes to standing out on social media, video is king. The next time you are promoting a special event at ...
Your parish website is likely a simple, concise variation of your church name and/or city, and therefore it is ...
Are you using Facebook Business Manager? Most parishes manage their Facebook page from the personal account of a ...
Last month we included a post about the number of people entering the Catholic Church in the United States and ...
Ever had trouble scheduling meetings at your parish? Scheduling parish council meetings, ministry activities or ...
Saint James writes in his epistle that "the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful" (Jsa 5:13). We ...
By now, most parishes have transitioned to online forms for event sign-ups, registrations, ticket sales and ...
Hopefully it's easy for new parishioners to register at your parish. What happens after a new household ...
If you’re having a hard time keeping track of all the daily, weekly and monthly tasks required to keep your parish ...
A year after the clergy abuse crisis came to light again, news reports continue to come out that can disturb and ...
There are only a small number of events in your life that are so meaningful and powerful that the memories stay ...
As the church in North America continues to change, many parishes are moving from organizations focused on ...
When our team conducted a national research project focused on giving trends in Catholic parishes, we asked ...
Even though it's deep winter, no doubt your calendar is already filling up with all the parish activities you're ...
The Book of Blessings, used in almost every Catholic church since the 1980s, is full of ritual blessings for ...
The Sunday bulletin has been a staple of Catholic life in North America for more than 75 years. But as almost all ...
In 2018, St. Mary's Press shocked the Church in North America when it published its research project, Going, Going ...
We are all guilty of visiting YouTube to check out a video a friend said we simply "had to see." Perhaps you ...
Facebook followers are often your most faithful parishioners. They not only fill the pews each week, but they are ...
What are 95% of the visitors to your parish website looking for? Mass times. That's it. This was brought home to ...
Have you heard the latest - Bishop Barron meets Jordan Peterson? In the last few years, Canadian psychologist ...
Earlier this month I mentioned that 95% of your website visitors are just looking for Mass times. The same is true ...
For centuries religious institutions were some of the most trusted organizations in most cultures. But in the ...
In a previous post, I discussed the 8:1 communications rule - share eight pieces of good news for every one ...
This era of big data can be overwhelming, but surveys and polls can help your parish in its evangelization ...
By now, most Catholic churches have staked out their territory online and claimed a catchy web address and ...
Every Catholic has experienced the Sunday to Monday gap. You hear a soul-stirring homily on Sunday that edifies ...
At CSM we are always encouraging our clients to optimize technology. Part of the optimization we recommend to our ...
It's a website admin's worst nightmare: old broken links that frustrate your site's visitors, but that you don't ...
We are living in a time where community bonds are growing weaker, with churches and membership-based ...
St. Simon Sylites is one of the strangest saints we have. He lived on top of a pillar in the middle of a city for ...
There are just so many saints. Everyone has their patrons, their favorites, and the ones they don't understand. ...
Facebook Live is a powerful tool that parishes and schools can use to share live video from events, ceremonies, ...
December 31 is just nine short months away, and with it will come year-end giving decisions for many of your ...
If you or someone else in the parish office is doing graphic design, you know that matching colors can be ...
Catholicism isn't necessarily known for its rousing homilies (at least in this day and age), but we are blessed ...
We all have old email addresses we're not proud of. Sure, there was a time when emailing your friends from ...
Many Christians - Catholics and Protestants alike - think they are bad at prayer and are embarrassed about it. And ...
If you've ever wondered why your parish's website isn't getting better search engine results, take a look at your ...
Many clergy, theologians, and lay ministers have been thinking about the Church's response to loneliness. Study ...
Today I’m going to share some information about a great free tool out there that we use all the time in our ...
There is an entire universe of priests who are active on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. In ...
Ever since Pope Saint John Paul II coined the phrase, the Church has been laser-focused on the New Evangelization. ...
We use emails for everything. We use email to ask questions, to delegate tasks, to confirm plans and to provide ...
For years I sat on the finance committee of St. Leo’s parish in Omaha, Nebraska. And, unlike many parish meetings ...
The CSM team often works with pastors and staff that say, “We wish parishioners would increase their financial ...
Every year we are drawing closer to the moment when every man, woman, and child has an internet-enabled device on ...
You're getting bombarded with new programs every week - ministry programs that claim to lead hundreds into RCIA, ...
Did you know the first email was sent 48 years ago? Every year we work with dozens of parishes that appear to be ...
Magazine subscriptions. Chocolate sales. Caramel corn delivery services. We've all participated in these sorts of ...
Not all fundraising activities are created equal. All parish and school fundraising opportunities are unique and ...
Facebook is always adding new types of posts that can help you increase your reach and engagement. One type that ...
Do you ever walk out of a meeting and find yourself thinking, “Did we actually accomplish anything in there?” ...
With 2019 almost in the books and 2020 around the corner, it's likely you have some positions you are thinking of ...
Ever spotted one of those "Birthday Fundraisers" on Facebook? You know, your friend Helen says she'd like people ...
How many times has a parishioner or visitor asked you to pray for them or someone they love? I bet you get prayer ...
Every now and again, someone will wander onto your parish's Facebook page, disparaging the Church or people of ...
If you're looking to make your parish more family-friendly, the next best thing is not free parenting classes or ...
The dream scenario for any parish is that when people type its name into Google, the parish website is the first ...
Two and a half years ago, Billy Baker's article in Boston Globe magazine about middle-aged men and the loneliness ...
Do you like the way that website you're browsing looks? There's a decent chance some portion of it is run ...
As a parish employee, you likely know about the Liturgy of the Hours and maybe pray this universal prayer of the ...
Do you find it challenging to keep up with the activity on your parish Facebook page? Has your parish Twitter page ...
As a kid, I was always really excited for the part of Mass when Mom and Dad gave me money to put in the ...
In the past, I've touched on the importance of bullet points and numbered lists. But even more effective than good ...
According to Statista, there will be a projected 2.14 billion online shoppers by 2021. With these kinds of ...
Ever wonder about that new family two pews down from you? They have been attending Mass regularly, but you never ...
People receive around 100 emails per day, a mind-bending mix of work-related communications, solicitations from ...
Keeping your organization’s contact information current and clean is a never-ending process. We’ve talked about it ...
Even as I typed the headline, I thought I might lose a few readers. Let’s face it, money is a difficult thing to ...
High school teachers, college professors, and even fitness program instructors have started implementing ...
If you're watching the news about the further spread of coronavirus and wondering, "What are some ways we can be ...
I've written in this space before about how every Catholic thinks every other Catholic is an expert at prayer when ...
As we move into month six of the coronavirus pandemic, some parishes are wondering, "Should we just direct people ...
With public Masses suspended across the United States, this past spring charitable contributions were in freefall ...
If this past spring you were scrambling to move your ministries online for the foreseeable future, there are ...
As social distancing and shelter in place orders began to take effect across North America this past spring, our ...
With “shelter at home” orders issued around the country this last spring, many parishes are continuing livestream ...
Smartphones have forever changed the way we live, and more than 90% of people in North America are now carrying ...
In the face of global pandemic, the day-to-day work of a parish employee may seem pointless. After all, what can ...
Google Trends is an incredible resource - an up-to-the-minute look at what people are typing into the most popular ...
I love fall – the foliage, football, and (bon)fires. By the first of October, I hope that I’ve already sat around ...
What can continue at the parish? In short, most events and meetings on a parish calendar can continue this autumn. ...
The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to do harm to our society in a myriad of ways, but there are some reasons ...
Is a return to normalcy coming soon? Even while social distancing continues around the world, it's time to begin ...
Your eyes have likely glazed over at the number of "free offers" you're receiving right now. The pandemic's effect ...
You have learned a lot about how parishioners engage with the parish over the last several months. Social ...
Our director, John, recently had an interesting conversation with a Catholic Social Media subscriber in Nebraska. ...
This article by freelance writer Christina Capecchi got my attention a few weeks ago. The lessons Cappechi teaches ...
We have all found ourselves frustrated at some point about a web page not loading as fast as we would like. In our ...
Advent is almost upon us , which means it's time to publish your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass ...
A few days ago we shared advice on how and where to update your Christmas Mass times (see here). But did you know ...
Even several months into the pandemic, some of us can abuse Facebook. After all, it's not a communications tool ...
A few weeks ago, this parish report, delivered via YouTube from a pastor in Oklahoma, caught our team's attention. ...
Months into the coronavirus pandemic, it's clear how much damage has been done across the globe. The consequences ...
We are sending more emails than ever, and billions of messages crisscross the globe each day. For every legitimate ...
You've heard it time and time again from your parishioners: "Where can I find a good spiritual director so I can ...
Christmas represents an incredible opportunity to minister to "Creasters," those nominal Catholics that only ...
As a parish, we are concerned with human persons, and yet so often we have tasks on our to-do list that keep us ...
Each parish is called to be the People of God, enfleshed in a particular geographic location. And just as we are ...
Since the coronavirus pandemic hit America in February 2020, almost every parish in the country has livestreamed ...
By now, most of us are familiar with the study that shows that the greatest single factor in a children's practice ...
If you've ever needed to remove a background from a photo but didn't quite know the best way to do it, we'd ...
We've been living in a new era of ministry - the coronavirus epoch - since early March of this year. Maybe you're ...
Some years ago, it was popular to create role-based email addresses at companies and non-profits, addresses like ...
The phrase "discernment of spirits" refers to what St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, calls "the ...
We live in the age of Web 2.0, an Internet culture dominated by two things: social media and apps. However, apps ...
If there's one strange benefit to the coronavirus pandemic, it has caused us all to slow down a bit. Many ...
We have all had that moment - you have a pile of paper documents in front of you and you want to scan them, turn ...
Mardi Gras and Lent are fast approaching, and Ash Wednesday kicks things off. Father gets to rub ashes on your ...
After the busyness of Holy Week, it can be difficult to muster to enthusiasm to analyze your Easter collection. ...
We get this question a lot - "The church down the street has its own hashtag. It seems to be everywhere. Should we ...
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