What Happened to Our Annual Appeal?

BY JOHN MARK WILLCOX

You may have been looking for your Annual Appeal campaign this year and I am happy to report it has not gone away but has been delayed so that we can prepare our Appeal effort to better serve you, the faithful, as we strive to represent Christ in this region. The Annual Diocesan Stewardship Appeal has not yet taken place this year so that we could study our Appeal and make the future approaches more effective and comprehensive.

Your Annual Appeal has been on the decline in the past few years and has suffered from a diminishing number of the faithful providing pledge support of Appeal programs and ministries. With only 25% of our families providing Appeal support, we need to involve more of the faithful in this critical effort.

Late last year, Bishop Malone chose to hire the Steier Group to help strengthen our Appeal throughout the diocese. Since January, the Steier Group has been able to solicit hundreds of responses, i.e., through personal interviews, mailings and online surveys about our Appeal with clergy and members of our combined faith Community. This information has allowed us to make some needed changes.

One result of the responses received was the formation of an Annual Appeal Committee made up of clergy and laity from all parts of the diocese. With their guidance, we are working to orchestrate an approach to gain support for the Appeal through personal invitation along with written and media-designed aids appealing to a broader base which would allow our Appeal to be more successful. We are looking to identify potential Appeal donors, especially younger donors to replace our rapidly aging giving base.

The need for funding does remain for established ministries and programs that have become the hallmark of our appeal. Your generosity is still needed and appreciated, and you will have an opportunity to support this year’s appeal with materials coming out very soon.

Good stewardship means we must take ownership of our appeal and the fiscal health of our diocese and outreach programs. A strong sense of community is a key part of this effort. We want to challenge our faithful with a transparent response to the needs of our faith community by making our Appeal more visible, with digital offerings that will attract the younger donors we need for the future.

The people of the Diocese of Shreveport have been so good to our Appeal over the past three decades and I fully expect that dedication to continue and increase. This very publication always depended entirely on appeal funding so that it can be provided to every Catholic with knowledge throughout the diocese free of charge. On behalf of the many people who benefit from Appeal support, I thank you.