The Diocese of Knoxville is launching a campaign planning study to determine the level of support for a diocesan capital campaign.
Representatives from the Steier Group, a Catholic development and fundraising firm, will be conducting interviews and collecting surveys seeking feedback about the proposed campaign. The campaign would address individual parish needs, building a cathedral, charitable initiatives, priest retirement, and tuition assistance for Catholic school families.
The study will be conducted starting in December and ending in early 2014. During the 12-week study, parishioners will have a variety of ways to respond. While some will be personally interviewed, others will have the option to mail in a survey, go online to answer questions, and/or attend focus groups. Participants will be given a case statement that outlines each of the needs and how the diocese would like to address them. Responses collected during the study are confidential. The results will be used to recommend how the diocese will proceed and what it can expect to accomplish.
Under the current campaign plan, the amount needed is estimated to be between $35 million and $40 million. The Diocese of Knoxville’s GiFT campaign, conducted nearly 10 years ago, was successful in raising more than $27 million.
The Steier Group, based in Omaha, Neb., has directed a number of successful efforts, including a $51 million campaign in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis. and a $49 million campaign for the Sioux Falls, S.D., Catholic schools.
