Mhm strategy for national council meeting 97 2003 version
1. A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Progress report on the new strategy for APF-Mill Hill
2. The current situation regarding appeals If regular appeals are not carried out in each parish, donation levels and support for Mission drop dramatically Mission animation in between 5-yearly appeals will prevent support tailing off between appeals BUT APF-MHM is not meeting the once-every-5-years target Shortfall of approx 100 appeals/year WHY? RESOURCES Not enough MHM Organisers to conduct sufficient appeals Recognise that lay volunteer support - and the ‘mission team’ - is crucial to the future success of APF-MHM partnership
3. Objective 1 How should MHM be organised regionally and centrally to successfully manage and monitor fundraising activity within parishes?
4. Key elements of new plan Redefine role of MHM Diocesan Organiser Not responsible for booking appeals Increased focus on mission animation Recruit Appeals administrators & Co-Ordinator Appeals booking and administration Co-Ordinator to plan and monitor appeals resource Manage administrator team Recruit ‘pool’ of additional appealers Lay volunteers Deacons Returning MHMs / Associates MHM seminarians who didn’t complete training? Diocesan Directors?
6. Mission animation MHM Organisers Regular contact with LS Appeal follow up meeting Mission Events within each diocese Mission Animation guidebook Need support of DDs and entire mission team to keep spirit of Mission alive in between appeals
7. Objective 2 Develop a co-ordinated approach to recruitment and retention of volunteers
8. Appealers Lay volunteers Target existing APF-MHM supporters geographically by diocese/deanery to find possible appealers. Flexibility about how many appeals and in what area Deacons Agree with Bishops in high priority dioceses Conduct fixed number of appeals/year Fixed term? Rolling appointment? MHM priests returning/on leave Appeals booked by Administrators ‘Parachute in’ to help conduct appeals in a diocese Diocesan Directors Some interest following regional meetings
9. Campaign for lay volunteers ‘Mission Needs You’ ‘Mission Needs You’ campaign targeting existing supporters to volunteer to do more for APF-Mill Hill Focus volunteer recruitment on areas where support is most needed Spell out all the different ways in which someone could be part of the mission team e.g. : Lay appealer Local Secretary / Promoter Help set up a mission animation event Help out in schools via Mission Together All part of mission animation Plan to support and retain volunteers
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11. ‘Mission Teams’ campaign to clergy and existing lay volunteers Communication campaign to ensure that everyone within the mission team understands what is happening and how they can support it Bishops Diocesan Directors Parish Priests Lay appealers Local secretaries Wider Mill Hill Focus on 75th anniversary of Mill Hill – APF union in 2011 APF-Mill Hill Mass in every diocese
14. How will these campaigns work: Volunteers Mail annual members in priority dioceses with ‘Mission Needs You’ leaflet (530 parishes, approx 6,000 people) 2 page spread in Mission Today autumn 2010 issue with dedicated response form reaches remaining supporters
15. How will these campaigns work: Mission Teams Mail LS and DDs in 6 priority dioceses 2 weeks before volunteer mailing lands Mission Teams leaflet Copies of Mission Needs You leaflet Include pack for LS and PP in bulk copies of Mission Today autumn 2010 issue for remaining dioceses
16. Campaign support Websites PR in relevant press Ads in Catholic press (contra arrangement) Slot at autumn Bishops’ Conference
17. Objective 3 Satisfy the requirement to run appeals in each parish every 5 years
18. What additional resource is needed? Approx 536 appeals needed/year 14 MHM Organisers can conduct approx 336 appeals/year Additional appealers needed to conduct 200 appeals/year Existing lay appealers conducting around 45 appeals/year currently
19. KPIs What will success look like? Appeal in every parish every 5 years Succession planning in place Active Mission Teams MHMs retiring LS in each parish Rolling programme of additional appealers Active mission animation programme in all dioceses More volunteers engaging actively with APF-MHM More donation revenue
20. Progress report Preparing campaign materials for volunteers and mission teams Agreeing criteria and process for selection of new appealers Agreeing who should handle enquiries about volunteering for each diocese Working with individual Diocesan Organisers on mission animation Planning recruitment and set up of new lay staff Explaining new plan to mission teams
21. Timeline goal Objective Appeals Co-Ordinator and Administrators in place by autumn 2010 to start booking appeals for 2011 New volunteers recruited in time to be active appealers etc in 2011
22. How are APF/MHM working together? MHM Vision Group APF team Ashridge Communications Consultation on each stage of plan Agreed split of budget: joint investment in future Working together on campaign materials Working together to ‘triage’ volunteer enquiries
23. What does this investment mean for APF-MHM? What happens if we do nothing? Current annual shortfall in appeals/year = 100 Gap will get wider This strategy aims to reach once every 5 years target Achieve 100 more appeals/year Increase donations due to increased no. of appeals
24. What could this investment mean for APF-MHM? PLUS More volunteers Reanimated volunteers Raised profile of mission in parishes through mission animation Succession planning Increased donations in ALL parishes Increased activity through legacies, major donors and Mission Together not just Red box holders and annual members Infrastructure to support a long term strategy in place succession planning easier from a stable base
Notas del editor
2005 Chapter called for a review of the APF-Mill Hill partnership and “to initiate whatever appropriate restructuring of the (partnership) may be deemed necessary.”Tony Chantry (General Superior)’s letter to the Vision Committee (October 2008):There are “two areas of particular concern which deserve the attention of the Regional Council and the Society as a whole: …. (how) to encourage our members in the British Region to be aware of their specific missionary commitment, that they may feel part of our Society’s mission in Britain”, and “…. If we are to continue the vital work of the APF we will have to find new structures and ways of organisation which will better reflect our reality of an ageing, diminishing membership.”Ashridge Communications’ services were engaged in June 2009 (they were already working with the then Pontifical Mission Societies (now MISSIO) on a rebranding exercise and a review of
Ashridge Comms carried out a fact finding exercise over last summerwhich confirmed many of the facts which we already new.Key conclusions: We know that regular appeals bring in regular donations. If appeals aren’t happening, donation levels tail off.We know that donations peak in the second year after an appeal, then tail off systematically until the next appeal. The obvious conclusion is that we need to find a way of re-animating the support for Mission between appeals? BUTAPF-Mill Hill is not succeeding in reaching the target of carrying out an appeal once every 5 years. In fact there is a shortfall of around 100 appeals each year which are not happening ( from our analysis of 2008 figures).Why?Because APF-MHM doesn’t have enough resources to manage all the appeals. We know that lay volunteer support – and the wider ‘mission team’ – is crucial to the future success of the APF-Mill Hill partnership.
Key elements of the new plan: - Freeing up the time of the Diocesan Organisers – taking some of the administrative burden of booking appeals away from them, and asking them to use that time in increased mission animation work within the parishes. Recruit a team of (part time) paid Appeals Administrators, each with responsibility for a group of parishes or dioceses to book the appeals and handle all the pre and post appeal admin. Administrators to be managed by an Appeals Co-ordinator whose role will be to plan and monitor the appeals resource, making sure that there are enough people to carry out the appeals booked by the administrators and working with the Regional Team to source additional appealers where needed. (Where necessary) reducing the number of appeals that each MHM Diocesan Organiser is asked to conduct in a year (from around 28-30 down to 24) – to give them time for mission animation work. Therefore need to recruit a pool of additional people to conduct appeals- ‘Pool’ could include lay volunteers (in addition to the ones we currently have), Diocesan Directors, deacons, MHMs or Associates on leave who may be able to help out for a few months at a time, and possibly former Mill Hill seminarians who didn’t complete their training but are still very supportive of our work.
Introduce idea of the ‘Mission Team’ – recognising the work done to support fundraising and mission animation by the widest group of people, including lay supporters. Already have some examples of very good practice where Diocesan Organiser, Diocesan Director, lay appealers and other volunteers are actively working in a diocese to keep the profile of APF-Mill Hill high in between appeals. The stronger these teams are, the easier it becomes to book appeals and to plan for the longer term. The burden on each individual is lighter and it becomes easier to recruit eg new LS, promoters or appealers as more people are involved throughout the diocese. The profile of Mission – and APF-MHM - is also kept high amongst parish priests with ongoing activity through the parishes which helps to distinguish our work from other organisations seeking direct donations (eg White Fathers, Cafod).
Need to recruit additional lay appealers; aim is to start by focussing on areas where they are most needed – ie dioceses where a single Mill Hill Organiser is unable to cover the required number of parishes by himself.Need to be flexible and work around the commitment that people are prepared to give. Give volunteers the option to conduct appeals within a specific area or across the diocese. With support from the bishops, some of the 500 deacons in England and Wales could be asked to conduct a fixed number of appeals in their diocese. Deacons benefit from getting out to visit the parishes in their diocese. A rolling appointment where one deacon does appeals for a few years and is then replaced by another would be beneficial. Hope MHMs returning between missions or on leave could also help out on a short term basis. If appeals are already booked by the Administrators, and all the follow up work is organised, it should be a case of ‘parachuting in’ for a few months in a particular diocese and just conducting the appeals.Following the regional meetings in February, this year, some DDs are considering taking on some appeals themselves and we very much welcome this support
Large part of strategy is a campaign to encourage supporters to volunteer to do more for APF-Mill Hill, starting over the next couple of weeks. Again need to focus this on highest priority diocesesLots of different ways to volunteer, not just appealers and local secretaries – this is part of the process of mission animationWe need to ensure we have a plan in place to support and retain volunteers with regular communicationMore volunteers means lighter workloads for everyone, larger pool to draw appealers from as the need for lay support increases, more mission support work done within parishes
‘Mission Needs You’ volunteer leaflet is due from the printers on Friday, ready to be circulated at the summer Masses that start on Sunday. They are the main part of the volunteer campaign.
Alongside the ‘Mission Needs You’ campaign we need to inform the existing members of what is happening and how things are going to change.Input and support from the existing members of the ‘mission team’ is crucial to the success of this strategy. We need to take every opportunity to communicate the new plans and seek support to ensure their success. Campaign to describe mission teams, running alongside the volunteer campaignFocus of campaign will be 75th anniversary of APF-Mill union. Planning a Mass in every diocese between June and October 2011, culminating in a Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Use the anniversary to provide fresh impetus to fundraising work
‘Mission Teams’ leaflet – again will be ready for the summer Masses starting on SundayThis leaflet is the focus of our communication with our existing mission teams: DDs, LS, parish priests, lay appealers and Organisers.
These dioceses have been identified as high priorities because we recognise that particular support is needed both for booking appeals and for mission animation. This will be explained to Diocesan Organisers on a one-to-one basis over the coming weeks; the Mill Hill Vision Group is visiting each Organiser personally to talk through how mission animation could work in their diocese and offer additional support where it is most needed. In terms of the promotional campaign for volunteers, these dioceses will receive extra attention.
The annual members in the priority dioceses will be mailed directly with a copy of the volunteer leaflet. The mailing will happen on a diocese by diocese basis, starting in a week or two and running through to mid July. The main focus of the volunteer campaign will be the Mission Today autumn issue which comes out in August. It will carry a two page article about volunteering, and one of the response forms will be about volunteering.
The real work of identifying suitable volunteers needs to come from on the ground within parishes, from LS, DDs and Organisers. Two weeks before each priority diocese is mailed, the LS and DD for each diocese will also receive a mailing containing the ‘mission teams’ leaflet and some copies of the volunteer leaflet. We need you to help us find these volunteers by actively speaking to supporters in the diocese and handing them a volunteer leaflet to encourage them to think about getting involved. For those dioceses that aren’t high priority we will enclose the Mission Teams leaflet and copies of the volunteer leaflet with the bulk delivery of magazines that is sent to each LS.
Wider promotional activity will also happen around the mailing and the autumn issue of Mission Today, to support the campaign.
The numbers: how many new appealers do we need?We are looking at a shortfall of around 200 appeals a year that we need help for, over and above what the MHM Organisers can do. Our existing lay appealers are conducting around 45 of these at the moment – and over the last few months many have indicated they would be prepared to do more. So the shortfall is not insurmountable but we do need to increase our pool of lay and other appealers significantly.
It is crucial to know what the goal is – what success will look like. We call these Key Performance Indicators or KPIs.
Vision Group & Ashridge Communications working through steps to put the plan in place. Since we outlined the strategy in February we have moved on to the details of the plan and this is what we are working on at the moment:Getting the campaign materials ready, with support from the team at Eccleston Square: the leaflets are due from the printers tomorrowWe are working on the criteria and process for selecting new appealersWe are looking at how enquiries from potential volunteers should be handled within each dioceseThe Vision Group is talking to individual Mill Hill Diocesan Organisers to work through how they will manage mission animation for their dioceseWe are starting to scope out the job specification and criteria for recruiting the Appeals Co-Ordinator and AdministratorsAnd we are starting the process of explaining the new plan to the existing mission teams – the discussions today are an important part of that.
Joint investment in future: APF and Mill Hill have agreed in principle how to split the cost of this plan. Materials will be split 60/40 as usual, Mill Hill will take on the costs of the new Appeals Co-Ordinator and Administrators, APF is investing in better IT and database infrastructure to make it possible for the new teams to all work on the same system.
Need to be sure of a benefit before making this level of investment. So what do we anticipate will be the benefit for APF-MHM?If APF-MHM changes nothing about its current structure and processes, the shortfall in number of appeals will only get wider and donations will ultimately drop to an unsustainable level. This strategy focuses on reaching the once-every-5 years target. (putting the finger in the dyke)In doing so, 100 additional appeals could be achieved each year. More appeals will inevitably mean increased donations for APF-Mill Hill. We know that donation levels tail off systematically two years after an appeal; whilst people do continue to make donations in all parishes, the amount of donation revenue dips significantly as the years go on without an appeal.
The additional benefits of the increased mission animation activity within parishes will bring in more volunteers, reanimate existing volunteers, ‘backfill’ Diocesan Organisers as they retire helping MHM to succession plan. The increased mission animation activity will raise the profile of mission within parishes. All this increased activity will result in increased donations in all parishes, not just the 100 that weren’t having appeals before. With the wider activity that Missio is looking at in terms of legacies and major donors, APF-MHM will be putting in place an infrastructure to support a long-term strategy. It will become clear over a couple of years which routes in terms of additional appealers are the most successful, and future activity can be focussed on these groups. Succession planning will become much easier as it comes from a more stable base.
