by Lisa McKelvey
Special to The Leaven
For many years, two groups helped guide and assist with the Archbishop’s Call to Share. The first, the Clergy Advisory Committee, made up of priests from across the archdiocese, advised on the annual appeal, theme, timing, training and more. The second, the ACTS Allocation Committee, consisted of lay representatives from across the archdiocese, along with a few priests. This committee reviewed grant requests from the offices of the chancery and Catholic entities across the archdiocese who receive funding from what is now called the Archdiocesan Call to Share annual appeal, to ensure that your gifts are hard at work and being used as intended.
As the Archdiocesan Call to Share entered its 51st year and the archdiocese welcomed a new archbishop, it became clear that bringing these two groups together would create a more effective and unified approach to supporting the annual appeal. As a result, the Clergy Advisory Committee and the ACTS Allocation Committee were combined to form the newly established Development Committee.
As a subcommittee of the Archdiocesan Finance Council, the Development Committee provides strategic guidance for the annual appeal while also overseeing the responsible stewardship and allocation of appeal funds. By combining these responsibilities within a single committee, the archdiocese is able to streamline decision-making, strengthen accountability, and ensure a comprehensive approach to fundraising and donor stewardship.
When establishing the Development Committee, the goal was to create a group that fully represents the archdiocese. The committee includes donors, parish staff leaders, priests, and fundraising professionals from Catholic entities across our archdiocese. Members represent both urban and rural communities, ensuring a broad range of perspectives as the committee carries out its work.
The ACTS Allocation Subcommittee is now responsible for reviewing and allocating the funds raised through the Archdiocesan Call to Share. To avoid conflicts of interest, fundraising professionals employed by an ACTS funded ministry do not participate in allocation decisions. Having feedback and insight from parish staff, priests and donors about how your gifts are invested in ministries is one way to maintain transparency and show you how your gifts make an impact.
Early in the preparation phase of establishing the Development Committee, I was speaking with Ernie Straub, who now serves on the committee, and he asked me if “we were ever going to get a calendar of Catholic events and stop double-booking similar events amongst our parishes and with our friends across state line.” In May, with the help of the committee, the Catholic events calendar was launched. You can find the calendar online at: www.archkck.org/fundraisingevents.
Parishes, schools and ministries are encouraged to email their events to: development@archkck.org and the development team will post them on the calendar. You can check out the calendar website and learn more about the many events this fall. Hopefully the calendar introduces you to a ministry whose mission inspires you and provides an opportunity to support its work.
This committee also reviews parish and school emergency grant applications and makes recommendations to Archbishop Shawn McKnight. During the 2025-2026 fiscal year, four emergency grants were awarded: to Bishop Ward High School to repair a water leak, to Holy Name School to fix the school elevator, to the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle to repair leaks in the roofs of the rectory and chapel, and to St. Mary-St Anthony Parish to replace the air conditioning system in the church. All these emergencies were unexpected, and your gifts to the Archdiocesan Call to Share demonstrate the appeal’s ability to respond when critical needs arise.
The development office and the Development Committee exist to serve donors, parishioners, parishes and priests in their fundraising and philanthropic efforts. As a committee of the finance council, we work to ensure that fundraising processes and procedures remain both professional and transparent.
As stewardship is a key component of fundraising, especially within our faith communities, we recognize that our resources are not ours alone, but gifts entrusted to us by God. We are called to use these resources wisely, responsibly and selflessly, considering the needs of others and promoting the common good. Thank you for doing exactly that with your gifts to the Archdiocesan Call to Share and know that the Development Committee is committed to ensuring that your gifts are used faithfully and responsibly for the common good of our archdiocese.
If you have any questions about the Archdiocesan Call to Share or your philanthropic support of the archdiocese, you can contact me at: LMcKelvey@archkck.org or call (913) 647-3071.
Lisa McKelvey is the director of parish campaigns and archdiocesan appeals.
