The Advancement Certificate Program is designed to build core competencies in development for Catholic parish and school staff, and volunteers, as well as to develop an actionable work product to increase resources in support of their ministries. Each participant school is required to send 2-3 individuals who are essential to the planning and execution of the school’s development plan to each Advancement Certificate Program session.
During the program, participant schools create a draft development plan and share it with their development committee/principal/pastor/parish council for approval/acceptance. They also receive ongoing coaching during the program to help them successfully develop and implement their plans.
Participants leave the program with the following tools to bring back to their school communities:
- A development plan that includes clear, concise, and measurable goals and objectives for evaluating success (e.g., increased number of donors, increased dollars raised, etc.);
- A development timeline to support the execution of the goals and objectives in the plan; and
- A metrics document that measures success against quarterly milestones.
Quarterly check-in meetings are held with program participants to celebrate successes and keep goals on target.