Catholic Fundraising: Tips for Success From the Diocese of Helena’s Campaign

When the Diocese of Helena launched a record-breaking Catholic fundraising campaign, it wasn’t just about raising money—it was about  opening hearts and revitalizing faith. In this article, we explore five Catholic fundraising strategies that helped make this campaign a transformative success. These strategies, from crafting heartfelt messaging to fostering a culture of generosity, offer actionable insights for any diocese or parish looking to strengthen both financial and spiritual commitments.

About the Catholic Diocese of Helena

In January 2023, drawn to CCS’s decades of expertise in successful fundraising for the religious sector, the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena partnered with CCS Fundraising to launch a capital campaign. From the outset, the Foundation emphasized that the campaign’s success would not be measured by dollars alone—it also needed, in the Foundation’s words, “to be the tip of the spear for a new evangelization,” and to actively involve the community in a shared mission of faith.

Like so many dioceses across the country, the last two decades have proven challenging for the Diocese of Helena. The number of registered Catholics in the Diocese has dropped by nearly one-third to 40,000 parishioners. The Foundation and the diocese’s new bishop, Most Reverend Austin A. Vetter, knew that it was important to recommit themselves to a missionary spirit. A new apostolic mission would need to be embraced, and the Diocese requested that CCS develop a 21st-century campaign – with an audacious $30 million goal – to do just that.

Together, We Raised $94 Million on a $30 Million Goal

This innovative strategy produced genuinely transformative results for the Diocese. Over a 22-month campaign, we raised over $46 million in cash and pledges and an additional $48 million in legacy gifts.  In total, the generosity of parishioners in this diocese of just 15,000 households surpassed $94 million.
 
Dan Thies, the executive director of the Foundation, summed up the focus of this campaign and why it was different from any other of which he was aware.

“Oftentimes we think that a campaign is only about money, but this campaign is not that. This campaign is about hearts. It’s about bringing God to all people.”

Dan Thies, Executive Director, Foundation for the Diocese of Helena

Read on for five strategic approaches that the Diocese of Helena used to garner campaign success that you can apply to your (arch)diocese or parish.

Catholic Fundraising Tip #1: Consider Your Unique Messaging—From the Heart, to the Heart

With a focus on “hearts of the faithful,” the Diocese was very deliberate in its choice of imagery and messaging. With this theme as a throughline, the Diocese made the following intentional decisions.

Deliberate name choice for the campaign

The Diocese chose the well-known verse from the first Epistle of John, “… because He first loved us …” (1 John 4:19), as the name for the campaign because, as explained in their campaign materials, “God’s love is the necessary starting point of our lives.”

Thoughtful graphic design for the logo

The Diocese made a decision to highlight the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its campaign logo because as Thies explained in a video we produced to train volunteers, “The dynamism (of the Sacred Heart) is a dynamism we want in all of our people’s hearts. So, as we go out, as we encounter the Lord, as we’re transformed by His love, we want our hearts to start looking like His. One fire with His love and that that love is then brought to all people.” The campaign logo can be viewed here:

Standardized messaging to stakeholders, including volunteers

In our training of clergy and lay volunteers, we encouraged them to look at this effort as a “campaign for hearts,” knowing that the financial investment for the work of Diocese would follow an open heart.  We trained volunteers to spend the first half of a visit discussing their shared Catholic faith, learning more about the person’s faith journey, and planting seeds for even more intentional discipleship—eventually working toward an invitation to invest in the shared work of building God’s Kingdom in the second half of the meeting.  With a heart-centered community of faith, our impact was stronger.

Authentic vision for the community

We reinforced the campaign as a deeply spiritual experience for pastors, parish leadership, and volunteers, and for each person invited to participate in the campaign with love and enthusiasm in their hearts.

Catholic Fundraising Tip #2: Use Your Campaign as an Opportunity to Deepen Their Faith

CCS highlighted to campaign leadership the opportunity for the Bishop, pastors, and volunteers to personally visit many of the 15,000 households in the Diocese. Each campaign visit was seen as an opportunity for an encounter with Christ to discuss their shared Catholic faith, learn about individuals’ faith journeys, and foster deeper discipleship.

Working closely with Foundation leadership, CCS supported pastors and volunteers to use these personal visits, as St. Paul said, to “open hearts wide for the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:11-13). Ultimately, this approach aimed to inspire an investment in the Diocese’s work to build support among the faithful in Western Montana.

Catholic Fundraising Tip #3: Move From Owner and Donor to Steward and Disciple

As CCS developed the campaign plan, the initial focus was on cultivating a culture of gratitude and generosity within the Diocese—acknowledging that both are learned through meaningful encounters with Jesus and then a new lens of seeing our relationship with God.

It was clear that the campaign needed to focus on forming disciples, not just donors. The goal was to help the Holy Spirit inspire individuals to see themselves as stewards, rather than owners, of what God had entrusted to them. This perspective naturally leads to greater generosity and resource sharing to build God’s Kingdom.

Catholic Fundraising Tip #4: Encourage Clergy to Discuss Money in the Context of Discipleship

A University of Notre Dame study on Catholic giving revealed that Catholics, on average, give less than other US Christians. The study highlights that the “giving gap” stems from a lack of “spiritual engagement with money.” Without this engagement, many Catholics compartmentalize their financial decisions, viewing them as separate from faith and spiritual life. The findings recommend that parish discussions about money should focus not on meeting organizational needs but on fostering spiritual growth and personal and global transformation. This approach requires a shift in conversation from “paying the bills” to “living the vision.”

These findings, coupled with clergy’s general discomfort discussing money, underscored the need to address the topic head-on.

We worked with clergy and volunteers alike to lean into what we coined a “Theology of Generosity.”  It is a theology that looks to Jesus as the example of the perfect generous steward.  A theology where, as in the Gospel story of the rich young man, Jesus asks us to put everything at His disposal and to follow Him. By aligning generosity with faith, both clergy and laity transformed their invitations to participate in the campaign; financial gifts were no longer presented as something the Church wanted from people, but as something that was ultimately for them and the community.

Catholic Fundraising Tip #5: Invite People to Consider the Legacy of Their Catholic Faith

When Bishop Vetter approached the first couple, they pledged both a financial gift and a bequest from their estate, making it clear that every disciple in the Diocese could be invited to consider the legacy of their Catholic faith in their estate plans.

Bishop Vetter achieved remarkable success during the Lead Gifts phase, with every one of the first ten households he visited committing to an estate gift, making their “last earthly gift” a reflection of their faith and values. This momentum carried into the first two waves of parish campaigns, where additional estate gifts were secured. Partnering with Free Will’s complementary online will creation tool in the final phase significantly increased the number of estate gifts, ensuring that the campaign would leave a lasting impact on the Diocese’s mission.

We Encourage You to Leverage These Catholic Fundraising Strategies for Campaign Success

The Diocese of Helena’s campaign, rooted in faith and fueled by the generosity of its community, stands as a testament to the power of innovative strategy and spiritual mission. By focusing on discipleship, fostering authentic connections, and inspiring a culture of Christian stewardship, the Diocese not only surpassed its financial goals but also deepened the faith of its members. The lessons from this extraordinary campaign offer a blueprint for dioceses and parishes seeking to unite their communities in purpose and passion for their shared mission.