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Matthew 7:7 – The Lenten Appeal Blueprint

How to make your next Lenten Appeal more Catholic

Make sure to get your free copy of ‘The 10 Commandment of Catholic Fundraising’. It’s a book that highlights the ten tasks you should do to keep you focused on your mission and hit your fundraising target, every time.

This week I got to catch up with a few of the Catholic causes that I’m fundraising for this Lent.

One is a religious order.
Another is a school.
Another is a lay apostolate.
The 4th is a Catholic entrepreneur.

Each of them has different goals (a few thousand to millions), but all want to run their appeal as CATHOLIC as possible. We talked all about what makes for a Lenten appeal that is both faith-based and successful.

Surprisingly, the ‘secret’ formula can be found in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 7.

Check it out:

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St John Chrysostom teaches fundraising

Practical steps to raise funds from St John's homily on 1st Corinthians

Make sure to get your free copy of ‘The 10 Commandment of Catholic Fundraising’. It’s a book that highlights the ten tasks you should do to keep you focused on your mission and hit your fundraising target, every time.
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Over the past few weeks leading up to Lent (yes, Lent starts next week), I’ve been sharing with you how saints, popes, and councils give us advice as Catholics on how to fundraise…

This week is no exception.

Let’s talk about Saint John Chrysostom.

His name in Greek means “golden-mouthed.” With a nickname as incredible as this, we know he’s wise.

In one of his homilies, Saint John discusses the 1st Letter to Corinthians which happens to be foundational in my approach to fundraising. Here’s what St John said that has helped me become an even better Catholic fundraiser.

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Vatican II’s Three Principles of Fundraising

Insights from the Council Father's Decree Apostolicam Actuositatem

Make sure to get your free copy of ‘The 10 Commandment of Catholic Fundraising’. It’s a book that highlights the ten tasks you should do to keep you focused on your mission and hit your fundraising target, every time.
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I have an interesting question for you…

“Did Vatican II offer ideas on how to fundraise?”

The short answer is, yes. The Council Father’s wrote an excellent document titled, APOSTOLICAM ACTUOSITATEM.

This document offers insight on three essential areas of fundraising:

– the role of funds in your mission
– how God’s plan links with your funding plan
– how to achieve “maximum effectiveness” with fundraising

Yep, once again, our rich Catholic heritage offers you and me everything we need to be successful fundraisers.

Check it all out in this week’s article, Vatican II… the 3 principles of fundraising

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Saint Clement of Alexandria teaches Major Donor Fundraising

3 Tips from Saint Clement's letter, "Who is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved?"

Make sure to get your free copy of ‘The 10 Commandment of Catholic Fundraising’. It’s a book that highlights the ten tasks you should do to keep you focused on your mission and hit your fundraising target, every time.
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About 8 years ago, I had my first major donor request. At the time, I had no idea how to ask for a large sum of money. I just wanted to help my diocese raise funds… never imagining awkward moments such as these.

At any rate, the donation request went well, and the donor generously said yes.

But the experience left a strong impression on me. I wanted to learn a better way to ask for large donations.

I wanted to learn a Catholic way.

Enter Saint Clement of Alexandria. He gave me the insight that I was looking for, and I want to share them with you.

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Pope Benedict XV teaches how to fundraise

3 Fundraising Tips from Benedict XV's Encyclical Sacra Propediem

When CatholicFundraiser.net launched in 2016, the focus was to take a CATHOLIC approach to asking for donations.

Here we are years later, and I am talking to you about Pope Benedict XV…

Success!

Benedict XV left us a treasure chest of letters, homilies, bulls, and encyclicals on how to grow in holiness. And… yes, how to fundraise properly as well.

Here are insights that I’ve learned from his Encyclical Sacra Propediem:

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Pope Pius X explains how to fundraise

3 Recommendations from the Encyclical "Il Fermo Proposito" on how to raise funds

Make sure to get your free copy of ‘The 10 Commandment of Catholic Fundraising’. It’s a book that highlights the ten tasks you should do to keep you focused on your mission and hit your fundraising target, every time.
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I’m a big believer in learning from the experts… I even tell my team that it’s all about learning from the best.

Who are these experts? They are the heroes of the Catholic Church. Take for example Saint Pope Pius X, who led the Church in the early 20th century.

In his encyclical, IL FERMO PROPOSITO, he offers us a blueprint for taking action. He explains that an apostolate must “enlarge its sphere and multiply its results.”

Often, this requires you to fundraise… and that’s what this week’s blog is all about.

Check it out:

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A Cistercian’s Advice on Asking for Donations

Abbot Jean-Baptiste Chautard's recommendations from his spiritual classic novel, the Soul of the Apostolate

Make sure to get your free copy of ‘The 10 Commandment of Catholic Fundraising’. It’s a book that highlights the ten tasks you should do to keep you focused on your mission and hit your fundraising target, every time.
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I’m reading Abbot Jean-Baptiste Chautard, OCSO‘s classic book on the interior life, the Soul of the Apostolate.

This book is so good that it has been given the thumbs up by three popes: Pope Pius X (had a copy on his nightstand), Benedict XV (wrote a foreword for it), and Benedict XVI (cited it during his visit to Lourdes in 2008).

As a fundraiser, Dom Chautard’s guidance is priceless because he offers recommendations for being a “soldier of Christ” who takes “zealous action.”

Cistercians, like you and me, had to fundraise.

Here are three recommendations I have learned from Dom Chautard on fundraising correctly as a Catholic.