Advancing Our Church Advancing Our Church

The back-to-school season was once filled with exciting anticipation as children embarked on a new learning adventure. However, in recent years, schools have become ground zero in an attempt to fundamentally transform America. Traditional academics, like reading, writing, and arithmetic, have been replaced with agenda-driven curricula to reform the values of our youth and less to provide them with the critical building blocks of a liberal education. California-based nonprofit organization Protect Our Kids (POK) is a coalition of parents, community leaders, attorneys, physicians, pastors, and teachers united in the belief that public schools today have co-opted education to advance ideological and political narratives. Join Katie McCarthy, Director of Marketing for Protect Our Kids, as she discusses a new document, "Back to School Questions Every Parent Should Know."







Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World









https://youtu.be/LojdtPkmx-Q

Recorded: September 2023







Don’t miss our sponsor’s podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD







Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country.







Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”







Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Today, we are joined by Rob Faughnan, CFRE, who will share some of his recent research on parish giving and some strategies to enhance offertory and increase engagement. Rob is a seasoned organizational leader with 20+ years of fundraising and operations management experience in the nonprofit sector. He is recognized for demonstrating a natural aptitude for managing effective major gifts, annual giving, and direct mail fundraising campaigns. Rob was recently the VP of Philanthropy at CommonSpirit Health Texas Division, where he managed all philanthropic and revenue activities across 16 hospitals and multiple Texas-based sites. He also introduced federal grant strategies generating $2.1 million and supplied major gift assistance, resulting in $2 million in philanthropic revenue.  Rob is the former Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Colorado Springs. He is currently a Senior Consultant at the Giving Collaborative and the Principal at the Blue Philanthropy Project.







Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World









https://youtu.be/1QaZ4L1l6Nw

Recorded September 2023







Don’t miss our sponsor’s podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD







Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country.







Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”







Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Jim Friend talks with Fr. Joe Laramie, S.J., National Director for the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. Fr. Joe became the national director in 2020. He lives in Milwaukee and travels widely to offer talks and retreats for this ministry. He is also a National Eucharistic Preacher for the Eucharistic Revival. Fr. Joe was ordained in 2011 and he previously taught at all-boys high schools in Kansas City and Colorado and served as a college campus minister in St. Louis. He also served at Mayan villages in Belize. He is featured on the Hallow app, EWTN, Busted Halo, and America magazine. Fr. Joe is the author of two books: "Love Him Ever More: a 9-Day Personal Retreat with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, based on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola [Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, 2022] and Abide in the Heart of Christ: a 10-Day Personal Retreat with St Ignatius Loyola, based on the Spiritual Exercises [ 2019].







Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World









https://youtu.be/NC6VgpzCvEo

Recorded: July 2023







Don’t miss our sponsor’s podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD







Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country.







Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”







Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Join Jim Friend and this expert panel for a conversation about giving to Catholic parishes, dioceses, and other organizations. Our panel includes Bevin C. Kennedy, Cabinet Secretary, Development and Communications for the Diocese of Manchester, Joseph M. Gillmer, CFRE® CSPG CAP, Executive Director of Development for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC and Scott Whitaker, Secretariat Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Austin. The panel discusses giving to their Diocesan Appeals/Catholic entities/Catholic Schools, losing donors, IRA Distributions, Major Gifts, Donor Advised Funds, using Artificial intelligence (AI) in Development, and much more.







Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World







Watch the full video presentation of this conversation.









https://youtu.be/c5byvEhp9zo

Recorded July 2023







Don’t miss our sponsor’s podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD







Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country.







Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”







Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

On today's show, Brian Crimmins and our host, Jim Friend, discuss the recent Giving USA 2023 report. The two discuss why philanthropy and the number of donors in 2022 is down from the previous year and what can be done about it. Join this discussion for insights on how religious and nonprofit leaders can take action to be successful in fundraising in 2023. Brian and Jim discuss relationship building, some macroeconomic factors, and even how Ai is currently being used in Development Offices.







Brian Crimmins is the Chief Executive Officer at Changing Our World, Inc. and the Global Managing Partner of ONE HUNDRED. He is a frequent contributor to publications covering the nonprofit sector. Brian has been invited to speak around the world on Catholic Philanthropy, Catholic Education and social impact. Brian is a global leader in social impact. He is a popular public speaker with the world’s foremost speaking agency, the Washington Speakers Bureau. Brian is also the author of The Generosity Crisis: The Case for Radical Connection to Solve Humanity’s Greatest Challenges.







Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World







Watch the full video presentation of this conversation.









https://youtu.be/pgzd8M7f3Fg

Recorded: July 17, 2023







Don’t miss our sponsor’s podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD







Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you, nonprofit experts from around the country.







Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”







Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.

Published: August 7, 2023







Join us for a discussion about the relationship between Development and Communications. How do we optimize those roles to work in unison toward the goals of your nonprofit organization? Join Jim and Jennifer Melville Trefelner, APR, CPRC, the Director of Communications and Development for the Diocese of Palm Beach. Jennifer has been a guest on Advancing Our Church many times over the years. She brings a unique perspective and tremendous experience to this conversation. Check out Jennifer's full bio here. This conversation was recorded on July 10th, 2023.







Many thanks to our Sponsor: Changing Our World







Watch the full video presentation of this conversation.









https://youtu.be/FFRiOpmNHzo

Recorded: July 10, 2023







Don’t miss our sponsor's podcast: Changing Our World’s FORGING FORWARD







Don’t miss the webinar series FORGING FORWARD, a virtual philanthropic conference designed to bring you nonprofit experts from around the country.







Daily Spiritual Reflection and Prayers on “Kristin’s Crosses”







Join Jim and Kristin Friend and their family on Kristin’s Crosses YouTube Channel for “Today’s Catholic Prayers.” Jim and Kristin offer the daily Gospel and Reflection along with the Rosary and Catholic Prayers of the day. Click here to visit the YouTube Page and subscribe. If you would like to join the Kristin’s Crosses prayer group on Facebook, click here to request to join.