PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP:

A New Paradigm for Mission Advancement

Presented by Gregory J. Griffin and Daniel McCormack

PRESENTERS

Gregory J. GriffinCongregational Director, Mission AdvancementSisters of St. Francis of the Neumann CommunitiesSyracuse, NY

Daniel J. McCormackPresidentHospital Sisters of St. Francis FoundationSpringfield, IL

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?• Being Brutally Honest About the State of

Catholic Religious Life in 2014.• Introducing a New Paradigm for all of us to

consider called “Prophetic Leadership”• Answering the Age-Old question, “Why

me?”• Equipping you with the right questions to

be asking and answering.• Challenging/Inspiring every person in this

room to carry the torch back to your organization!

LEADING THE WAY

THERE IS HOPE!

OUR CALLING

• To Help our organizations to “See”

• To Lead our organizations to ask the right questions

• To Inspire our organizations to become “prophetic”

• To Support our organizations in every step of the way

THE BIG QUESTIONS

What does religious life in America look like today? Do we see our institutions as we really are?

What should religious life aspire to in the future to maximize experience for its members and for society?

How do we, as advancement professionals, inspire future

philanthropic support?

“CLIMATE CHANGE”

Diminishing numbers Diminishing presence Increasing focus on care of members Changing donor base

Tough decision:

Fight or Flight?

A CASE WE ALL UNDERSTAND

Diminishing Numbers + Diminishing Revenue + Increasing Healthcare NeedsIncreased focus on CARE

- Changing donor demographics - Changing donor needs Increased demand for

ADVANCEMENT

DIMINISHING NUMBERS

Today there are 54,018 religious sisters in the U.S. compared to 179,954 in 1965. The average age of the Catholic Sister/Nun today is 74.

While the number of Catholic priests in the United States more than doubled to 58,000 between 1930 and 1965, since then that number has fallen to fewer than 13,000 active ordained priests. The average age of active ordained priests is 64.

Religious brothers have declined from close to 13,000 in 1965 to fewer than 5,000 in 2012

DIMINISHING NUMBERS

• In 1965, 1,575 new priests were ordained in the U.S. In 2012, the number was 487. In 1965, 1% of U.S. parishes were without a priest. Today, there over 3,000 priestless parishes, 15% of all U.S. parishes.

• From 1965 to 2012, the number of seminarians dropped from 49,000 to 3,723, a decline of over 92 percent. Two-thirds of the 600 seminaries that were operating in 1965 have now closed.

• Over half of all Catholic high schools in the US have closed since 1965. The student population has fallen from 700,000 to 386,000.

DIMINISHING PRESENCE

Vatican II Effect Societal/Governmental changes and their

effects on ministries Aging populations of Religious Catholic “fatigue”

NUMBER OF MEMBERS – ACTUARIAL TABLE

INCREASING FOCUS ON CARE

REVENUE OVER NEXT 20 YEARS

CHANGING DONORS

$41T wealth transfer from Baby Boomers to NextGen (X, Y, Millennials)

Study of NextGen Philanthropy:

“[We] are not just writing checks to established non-profits… There are a million

ways to be philanthropic [now] that there weren’t in 1985.”

www.johnsoncenter.org

- Personal

- Family

19 pt. differential is the largest in the study

CHANGING EXPECTATIONS

Kiva, WatsiDonor investorsCrowdfunding health care

Charity NavigatorFinancial HealthAccountability & TransparencyCN 3.0 (2016) = RESULTS REPORTING

FIGHT OR FLIGHT?

Not just a strategic decision, but an existential one

What should leadership teams look like? Composition affects outcome

How should leadership teams respond?

THE RUB

It’s now or never…• Financial stability• Properties and property management• Mission and ministries• Legacy

But most important…

The remaining members of our communities

THE QUESTION FOR US…

How can we help our leadership

teams to become prophetic?

A prophet is a person who is imbued by the divine, serving as a spokesperson for God, whose life then becomes the

message.

WHAT IS PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP? A commitment or re-commitment to living

the Gospel. Contemplative and discerning Leading by God’s example Visionary Emblazoning new pathways Mission-driven Sharing your way to inspire others to do the

same.

WHAT IS PROPHETIC LEADERSHIP?What it’s not• Predicting the Future• Self-aggrandizing• Following the status quo• Something you do for a while…

“A serious prophet upon predicting a flood should be the first to climb a tree.”

- Stephen Crane

BECOMING PROPHETIC

We have many treesto climb:

WHY US?

We bring experience We’ve worked in other organizations that have

either been successful or failed miserably We are resourceful We are skilled in the art of persuasion We know how to communicate We know how to motivate and mobilize others We are good listeners We are dedicated to service We make lemonade from lemons The glass is always half-full

ADVANCEMENT’S ROLE

Stewards/Champions The primary—sometimes the only—

interface with lay public Influencers Instigators

ADVANCEMENT’S ROLE

Oh yeah…and Partners in planning Truth-seekers and providers Expectation managers Cheerleaders Teachers Matchmakers Facilitators Visionaries Change agents

WHO ELSE?

Other lay staff

Lay associates

Volunteer boards

Consultants

Associations

YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE

Lead by example

Pick your spots to shine

Find your champion at the table

Follow through

Help your team to think outside the box

“The hardest thing is not to get people to accept new ideas. It is to get them to forget old ones.”

- John Maynard Keynes

CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS1. Are we maintaining or advancing?

2. Is it too late to consider transformation of our community?

3. If so, can we envision a sustainable future through strategic actions that don’t transform us but help us to evolve?

4. What happens if we choose not to change?

5. How do we energize our community to want to change?

CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS6. How do we maintain our charism through

change?

7. What do we look like in 10 years? 25 years? Beyond?

8. How will people remember us?

9. Who can help us?

10. Who will support us, and in what manner?

11. How is/can our institution contribute to a re-envisioned model for religious in the future?

A NEW COLLABORATIVE PARADIGM

What does it look like? A leadership team of religious who are elected or

appointed by their peers to lead!

A congregational team of lay persons (or religious) who were hired for their expertise in some or all of the following areas:

Mission Advancement Business and Finance Communications Aging Services Ministry and Transition Services Properties Human Resources Strategic Planning

A NEW COLLABORATIVE PARADIGM

A competent Board of Directors or Advisory Board members consisting of donors, friends, and experienced business persons

Associations ready and willing to collaborate as a resource and a network to share new initiatives that work.

IS THIS PARADIGM REALLY NEW?Ask yourself:• Is your current Leadership team actively

leading? Are they Leaders?• Do they have a vision for the future?• Do they have a mandate to lead from their

community? • Do you or other staff members have a seat

at the table?

IS THIS PARADIGM REALLY NEW?Ask yourself:• Does your Board actively advise on priority

needs and issues?• Is your congregation being creative in the

way it is addressing the fight or flight issue?• If so, is your leadership team actively

engaging with NCDC, USCCB, SOAR!, NRRO, CARA, LCWR or others to share success stories?

NEW PARADIGM OR NEW PERSPECTIVES?Depends on how you’re structured…

What’s new?• Facilitating change in attitudes and

perspectives.• Moving from traditional religious

governance to enlightened collaborative business governance.

• Mission Advancement not just fundraising!

CHANGE STARTS TODAY!

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

- Barack Obama