Nick Benes knew his home parish was special. But his recent trip to the International Catholic Stewardship Conference in New Orleans, La., put an exclamation point on that piece of knowledge.
Nick, who has served as development coordinator for Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk for four years, recently returned from ICSC with a heart full of gratitude for the support the church and school receives from its benefactors.
“Our parish and school would not be what it is without our people. That was one of the biggest takeaways from visiting with people, even those who are in large metropolitan areas,” he said. “Our people are who make our parish and school happen.”
Nick was one of 80 presenters at the event, which ran from Sunday, Sept. 15, until Wednesday, Sept. 18.
In his role as development coordinator, Nick’s focus is Pre-K through 12th grade school fundraising. His presentation, called “How I Thrived (And Not Just Survived) Year One,” was geared toward fellow parish and school professionals, and he addressed the importance of working toward the future while building stewardship.
Nick pointed toward Luke 9:62 in which Jesus says that no one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.
“That’s really true in our development work,” he said. “I can’t expect that just because we’ve had success – or failure, for all that matters – in the past that that trendline is going to continue. We have to keep working and pressing forward.”
Nick said he learned at the conference that members of Sacred Heart in Norfolk are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to enthusiastic support for their parish and school. On one hand, it’s because in a town the size of Norfolk, there’s an understanding that everyone has to do their part to make their parish or school successful.
In his role, Nick works to grow the Fund for NC, the annual Spirit auction gala, other events, and the Sacred Heart and Norfolk Catholic endowment funds. All of these work in unison to help support the operating vitality for the local Catholic community. The endowment funds provide long-term support through investments, while the Fund for NC and events such as Spirit assist with short-term needs. Additionally, Nick leads marketing for Norfolk Catholic, especially in social media and enrollment promotions.
Nick said it was interesting to hear people from much larger cities – like Houston, New Orleans or Charlotte, N.C. – talk about their struggles with fundraising.
“Our stewardship, our giving of our gifts, our talents and our resources – we understand that it’s on all of us to make things happen, to make our events happen, to make the financial support happen,” he said. “We understand it comes down to us. In a smaller community, it’s harder to say that someone else can do it.”
A priest at the conference told Nick he believes also setting a focus on its mission has made Sacred Heart a success.
“We have embraced this idea of walking with you to meet Jesus,” Nick said. “It’s our mission statement. You’ll see it in our conference room and all of our communications. It’s something we try to embody in all of our small groups, through our parish festival and all of the things we’ve taken on over the years. You really see the clear focus of working to evangelize and spread the gospel in everything we do.”
Nick said he attended several sessions throughout the conference, including one led by FOCUS founder Curtis Martin and another by New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson. He brought back with him many notes to consider, knowing whatever is next involves meeting others where they are, another point he made during his session.
“As much as you want to do everything, it’s very hard to. I encouraged people to take one step at a time. Smaller communities, smaller offices, work on what you can do as opposed to trying to do everything. I tried to reinforce the idea that every department, every parish, every school and every community is different, so you’ll want to adjust things that work for you. There are things we do very well in Norfolk that don’t work quite as well in Houston,” he said before later adding, “We are very blessed here in Norfolk, and it’s because of the people who are here.”
If you’d like to learn more about stewardship opportunities in the Heart of Jesus Family of Parishes, please call the parish office at 402-371-2621.
