Catholic School

Advancement

 

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Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

Stewardship & Development Office

  

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Workshops for 2011-12 

School Year 

 

09/12/11 - Wheeling

10/17/11 - Morgantown

01/17/12 - Wheeling

03/06/12 - Morgantown

04/17/12 - Charleston

 

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January 2012 

Dear Principals and Advancement Directors, 

 

Happy New Year!  Do you have a new year resolution?  Perhaps to communicate more with your current and perspective donors, to market your school in different ways, to raise more money, to increase enrollment for the next school year?  Have you reviewed your Advancement Plan?  Are you meeting your objectives?  The beginning of a new year is always a great time to review the past year and develop a plan to make this year even better.   

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Krissie Benson

Director, Stewardship & Development 

Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

 

Partners in Mission Workshop # 3

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Paul VI Pastoral Center, Wheeling

 

"Now It's Getting to be Fun.... The Importance and Impact of Branding, General Marketing, Target and Micro Marketing in Your Enrollment Management Program Plan"

 

Do you ever wonder why so many commercial brands (Nike, McDonalds, Pepsi, Apple, etc) stay alive and mean something the instant they come to mind? This is not an accident. Like it or not, your school has a brand and signals "something" in the mind (hopefully not a blank) of all who see, hear or experience your school in some fashion.   At this workshop we will not only learn the basics of branding, we will engage in roundtables and other techniques designed for you to understand your brand, what impacts it, the factors that influence it, how to strategically develop your brand and then turn it loose in the General Marketing, Target Marketing and Micro Marketing strategies built into your Enrollment Management Plan. Plus we will look at how you can continually assess and adjust the impact of your branding and marketing program to achieve the highest return on your investment. This is the workshop you cannot afford to miss.

 

Click here to Register by January 10, 2012

 

5 Best Practices for Educator's on Facebook

 By Sarah Kessler

Mashable Social Media 

 

 

Facebook's roots may be planted in college campuses, but classrooms have not welcomed the social network as eagerly as their students have. Once a Harvard startup open only to college students, Facebook has been pegged as a waste of time, a classroom disruption and a bad habit that is correlated with low grades. Missouri even went so far as to ban Facebook and other social media relationships between teachers and students (the law was later repealed).   
 

But teachers such as Reynol Junco - who recently published a study that shows certain types of Facebook use are correlated with higher GPAs - are beginning to look at ways that they can use Facebook to their advantage.

 

"Students are already very familiar with the platform and spend a lot of time on the site," Junco says. "Because of this, there is usually a good amount of activity [in class related Facebook discussions] because students receive notifications of new group posts in a timely fashion (something that doesn't happen with Learning Management Systems)."

 

Here are tips from Junco and other teachers on how to effectively use Facebook in the classroom.

 

Read the complete article here. 

 

 

2012 and Beyond

  

 

The end of the year and the beginning of another is always a significant season for those engaged in nonprofit fund development activities.  Tax law changes scheduled to take place at the end of 2012 and other factors give us all the more reason to check out "to-do" lists as we usher in this new year. 
  •  Any gift received in the mail with a postmark date of December 31, 2011 (even if you don't receive it until 2012) is considered a gift made in 2011, and should be included in tax statements for 2011.
  • After all gifts are received and entered into your database, be sure to send tax statements for all gifts received to the school in 2011. 
  • There are proposals before Congress to limit income tax deductions in 2012.  Charitable gifts may "cost" less after-tax in 2012 than they will in the future.
  • The winter months are historically a good time to remind donors about the importance of wills and estate planning.  The recent holiday season may have brought loved ones to mind, making this a good time to communicate about ways to make gifts that also allow one to provide for others.   

 

According to Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Service Code, any contribution of $250 or more is deductible only if the taxpayer substantiates such contribution with a contemporaneous written acknowledgement from the charitable organization to which the donation was made.

  

Consider using the following in your acknowledgement/receipt letters to all your donors (even under $250):  "I acknowledge that no goods or services were provided to DONOR in return for his/her contribution." 

  

"Death, taxes, uncertainty and change

will always be facts of life. 

It's how we deal with them

that makes the difference."

~ Give and Take, December 2011 Vol. 44 No. 12

 

Cancer Research Classic

Nation's Premier Catholic High School Basketball Tournament

McDonough Center, Wheeling Jesuit University

  

Join us for a day and a half of outstanding boys' high school basketball featuring the most prestigious catholic teams in the nation and many future college and NBA stars.

 

This tournament promotes men's health issues including prostate cancer, testicular cancer, erectile dysfunction, urinary disorders (BPH and overactive bladder), obesity, wellness, heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. Health care screenings will also be available and administered by physician residents.

 

Proceeds of the CRC support undergraduate scholarships for prostate cancer research at the Urologic Research Institute.

  

Schedule of Events 

 

Friday, January 6, 2012

7:30 p.m. - Wheeling Central Catholic (Wheeling, WV) vs. Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, PA)

 

  

Saturday, January 7, 2012

1:00 p.m. - Paul VI (Fairfax, VA) vs. Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, NJ)  

2:30 p.m. - St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, PA) vs. Wheeling Park (Wheeling, WV)

4:00 p.m. - Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) vs. St. Raymond (Bronx, NY)

5:30 p.m. - Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, PA) vs. DeMatha (Hyattsville, MD)

8:00 p.m. - Simeon (Chicago, IL) vs. Miller Grove (Lithonia, GA)

10:00 p.m. - Gonzaga (Washington, DC) vs. Whitney Young (Chicago, IL)

 

 

Any Catholic school student or parent, showing their school pride by wearing a school shirt, will be admitted into the games for a reduced price.  Students will be $1 and adults $2.   

 

For more information, visit the CRC website

 

The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston will be a major sponsor at this event.  This is a great opportunity to promote who we are and what we do well.  The Catholic Schools of Ohio and Marshall counties have been invited to staff  tables at each game to promote Catholic education in West Virginia.  Additionally, each of those schools will present a game ball to an outstanding supporter(s) of their school community before tip-off.   

 

Come out to watch some great basketball,

while supporting the CRC and Catholic Schools in West Virginia!

 

 

 

 

Can't Miss Videos 

 

Cristo Rey Merry Christmas message - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGjWE6VnOK0

 

Rowland Hall Annual Appeal- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Mp0RN9A84

 

 

Webinar

30+ Ways to Meet and Exceed Your Annual Giving Goal

January 11, 2012

2:00PM EST

  

 

Have you approached someone about establishing a challenge gift? Is anyone really reading your annual campaign appeal? Are you able to get your foot in the door of would-be donors, especially those who can make $1,000 gifts? Are your gift clubs all they can be?

 

This webinar will focus on dozens of practical ideas you can put to use immediately to improve all of your annual fundraising efforts - some tried-and-tested ideas many of you may not have thought about before.

 

Objectives and key questions that will be answered:

  • Setting goals and strategies for your annual campaign.
  • Building and rebuilding your prospect list.
  • Getting more askers actively engaged.
  • Getting Board members involved to give more and leverage giving from their peers.
  • Putting some new twists on the same old 'annual campaign' ... so the appeal gets opened and read, and you're able to connect with new prospects and your gift clubs become more compelling - and much more!
  • How can I get Board members and volunteers actively engaged in raising annual support?
  • How can I increase the number of yearly donors?
  • How can I generate a higher response rate from my appeal letters and Phonathon?
  • What can I do to become more enthused and excited about my role as fundraiser?

Target Audience:  

  • Those relatively new to the fundraising profession.
  • Those with some fundraising experience.
  • Veterans who would welcome a refresher and some new ideas for invigorating the annual fund.

Participants will learn:

  •  New fundraising approaches to help meet, even exceed, your annual goal.
  • New and better ways of involving more people in the cultivation and solicitation process.
  • Ways to inspire current donors to give more and non-donors to make first-time gifts.

Cost:  $99.00

 

Click here to register.  

 

 

Free Webinar

New Media Strategies for Catholic Schools

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM (EST)

   

  

Hosted by Rob DiMartino, Director of finalsite and Larry Furey, Partner, Partners in Mission.

 

In this day and age, it's not all about technology, bells and whistles, and keeping up with the Joneses, but it is about strategy, vision, and building efficiencies and sustainability plans for web communications. In this session, you will see some strategies for maximizing your people, tools, and vision for the future in areas such as admissions, academics, advancement, athletics, integrations, social media, and overall school communications.

 

To register, click here

 

 

 

 Grant Opportunities With Deadlines

  

  

Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Competition

Description:   Inviting students and teachers to participate in teams and create exciting technology projects while vying for prizes.  The contest is a fun learning experience for students of all ages who imagine what technology will be like in the future. 

Award: First prize - U.S. Savings Bond worth $10,000 for each student; second prize - U.S. Savings Bond worth $5,000 for each student; laptops; other prizes.

Deadline:  February 1, 2012

Website: http://www.exploravision.org

 

 

ING Unsung Heroes Awards

Description:  Each year, Unsung Heroes program selects 100 teachers to receive grants that help make innovative classroom projects a reality. 

Award:  $2,000; $5,000; $10,000; $25,000

Deadline:  April 30, 2012

Website:  http://ing.us/about-ing/citizenship/childrens-education/ing-unsung-heroes.

 

 

 

 Grant Opportunities without Deadlines

  

  

The Hall Research T-Squared Program

Description:   Program was designed to give educational institutions, including elementary, secondary and higher education institutions the chance to receive audio visual equipment manufactured by Hall Research.  It is named T-Squared for Teaching through Technology. 

Award: free classroom A/V control equipment

Website: http://www.hallresearch.com/page/News?T-Squared_Grant 

 

 

Host an EdTech Conference

Description:  Educators who are interested in increasing technology education and implementing technology in the classroom may apply for an EdTech Conference grant from eInstruction.  The grant will provide school teachers with information on best practices to effectively integrate different types of technology in the classroom.  It will also give information on how best to leverage the school's existing technology. 

Award:  Grant is $3,500 and also includes free loaner technology for every presentation.  School that host a conference will be provided with an eInstruction coordinator and a host guide toolkit.  The grant ensures that the host school will be able to afford this professional development opportunity. 

Website:  http://www.einstruction.com/programs/edtech-conference/host-edtech-conference

 

 

 

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Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

P.O. Box 230

Wheeling, WV 26003

304-233-0880

 

www.dwc.org