Salford hosts Catholic fundraising conference

Advancing the mission of the Church in a time of immense change was the focus of the Catholic Fundraising Conference in Salford on Tuesday 19th September 2023. Leading fundraisers for dioceses, Catholic charities, religious orders and schools were hosted in the Salford diocesan centre to consider their service in the post covid Church.

The opening CAFOD presentation detailed the current demographic of the Catholic community in England and Wales, post COVID, and noted the continuing numbers attending Mass online and the need for faith formation as identified in Synod responses as shifts to inform the ministry of fundraising.

The National Churches Trust that makes church maintenance grants outlined their new strategy and Catholics in Fundraising convenor John Green's survey of Catholic charities noted that collectively Catholic charities voluntary income equate to being one of the top 20 UK charities.

Matt Parkes of Scenius Consulting flagged the not uncommon problem of charity management having a 'wish list' for fundraisers and that organisations need to counter this with a realistic and structured plan that engages at all levels of the charity or diocese.

Charity recruitment specialist Harris Hill detailed the shortage of fundraising professionals that increased the importance of Catholic charities communicating their values to prospective candidates.

Suzanne Wheeler, Director of Development at Stonyhurst College said: "This was an invaluable chance to survey the situation of Catholic fundraising following a period of unprecedented change and share experiences with those involved in the fundraising vocation at the service of the Church."

The conference was sponsored by www.weareyeomans.co.uk and www.goodhub.com

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