Diocese of Marquette Increased Offertory Program Terri Gadzinski, Development Director Diocese of Marquette 1004 Harbor Hills Drive, Marquette, MI 49855 Phone: 906/227-9108 or 1/800/562-9745 ext. #108 E-mail:
[email protected] Table of Contents Increased Offertory Program Description . 3 Weekend #1 . 3 Week #1 . 3 Weekend #2 . 4 Week #2 . 4 Weekend #3 . 4 Follow-up . 5 Appendix #1 – Sample Letters for Week One Letter A – Consistent, Regular Donors . 6 Letter B – Occasional Donors . 7 Letter C – Non Donors . 8 Appendix #2 – Sample Letter for Week Two . 9 Appendix #3 – Sample Planning Guide & Response Card . 10 2 Diocese of Marquette Increased Offertory Program The Increased Offertory Program is designed to assist a parish wanting to increase its weekly collections. It is not a stewardship effort and should not be used in place of a Stewardship Initiative. Likewise, the Offertory Program is not usually an acceptable substitute for a parish capital campaign. The Offertory Program focuses on helping a parish meet its short and mid-term budgetary needs, and speaks very directly about the budgetary needs of the parish. The offertory program is conducted over a three-week period and includes homily presentations by the pastor/pastoral coordinator and selected parish leaders, and segmented, personalized letters to all registered households in the parish. The Calendar of Activities for the Offertory Program is as follows: Weekend #1: The program is introduced on the first weekend with a homily presentation by the pastor or pastoral coordinator at all Masses. The presentation should begin with some general observations about the parish and its health.