The Ohio State University - St. Thomas More Newman Center
St. Thomas More Newman Center
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Build Sustainable Support
The staff of the St. Thomas More Newman Center seeks to minister to more than 10,000 Catholics at The Ohio State University. To do so, they must reach beyond a very generous, but limited, permanent community. Development will enable the ministry to expand its outreach.
“Without development, the Paulists would not be serving so successfully, offering a home to thousands of Catholic students, faculty and staff who come to experience great liturgy, outstanding hospitality, and Catholic formation,” says Fr. Larry Rice, Director and Chaplain of the Newman Center. “Petrus has worked with us as we completed a $1,200,000 capital campaign supporting the Paulist Fathers. They showed flexibility in respecting our dual need to support the Paulist campaign while also increasing our development efforts for campus ministry.”
Today, St. Thomas More’s goal is to raise over $1 million annually for operations, including programs and activities aimed at providing students, faculty and staff at The Ohio State University with excellent Catholic worship, education, service and fellowship opportunities.
At St. Thomas More, development is more than asking for financial support—it is building relationships. The development team works to involve individuals who reside away from campus in the life of the ministry. St. Thomas More does this through personal visits with constituents to keep them abreast of ministry successes and needs, invitations to special events like the recent 50th Anniversary celebration, newsletters, direct mail appeals, the website, and of course – inviting benefactors to meet students themselves! The process and plan call for much more than obtaining contributions; a large part of development at St. Thomas More is giving people who sustain the ministry a sense of what they are supporting now, as well as the vision for future growth.
Working with Petrus, St. Thomas More is increasing new annual giving revenue, increasing revenue-producing events, building a campus ministry Advisory Board, and enhancing efforts to secure major gifts from alumni and friends. “As challenges arise, Petrus responds to our particular needs,” says Fr. Rice. “The combination of our focus on development with unwavering commitment to pastoral ministry enables St. Thomas More to build a solid base of support that is sustainable.”
Looking to the future, the St. Thomas More Newman Center understands that parents, alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends will continue to be essential partners in the Center’s growth as it strives to provide students with a home away from home through a hospitable setting and attitude that clearly declares, “All Are Welcome.” The Newman Center helps to clarify values in a time of exploration; to build a sense of Catholic identity and understanding through education, reflection and discussion; to form leaders in the world and for the Church through service and empowerment; and to do all of this in the context of faith, through a vibrant spiritual center.
In building a sustainable development program, St. Thomas More is doing just that.