Development Audits are a great way to take an in-depth, inside-out look into your development activities and the success of your development plans.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City (CCAOKC) engaged Greater Mission in June of 2020 to conduct a Development Audit of the Development and Outreach department of the agency. Work began in early July 2020. An Audit of this nature is essentially designed to assess the efficacy of all aspects of a Development department including but not limited to: Annual Fund, Special Events, Major Gifts, Legacy Gifts, Corporate/Foundation Giving, Gift Processing/Donor Tracking and Marketing/Communications. In addition, a Greater Mission Development Audit includes an in-depth analysis of the donor base to determine giving capacity, so this Capacity Analysis of the donor base was also conducted for CCAOKC.
The Audit was conducted over 12 weeks. The CCAOKC Development and Outreach Department participated in all aspects of the Audit process with the highest level of professionalism. In was a very interactive process. From all contact with staff and volunteers and with the information provided, Greater Mission was able to assess overall effectiveness of development efforts, the case for support for the Annual Fund, capacity for giving and specific areas for enhancement and improvement. The final Development Audit Report was presented to the Board of Directors at their October 26, 2020 Board meeting.
As part of an audit typically a number of key findings and themes emerged. For CCAOKC as a result of the Audit Greater Mission did make specific recommendations. A few of our recommendations are below:
1) The Development team, the Executive Director, and the Board have embraced: Adopt a “culture of philanthropy” that begins by re-constituting the Development Committee of the Board.
2) Re-structure the Development and Outreach Department: change reporting relationships, hire an outside Grant Writer, and make various internal changes thus allowing the Sr. Director to concentrate on Major Gifts.
3) Improve the website,
4) Develop a Legacy Giving program.
5) Protect and enhance the base of support from the parishioners.
Development Audits are a great way to take an in-depth, inside-out look into your development activities and the success of your development plans. If you would like to learn more about the key aspects and potential solutions of this key strategy contact Greater mission at info@greatermission.com.
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