Development Office

At St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church and School, we believe that the Development Office is a ministry. Our main goal is to develop, grow, and advance BOTH the church and school. Yes, we are here to help raise funds for the church and school, but we are also here to reach out into the community with a loving heart in order to help those in need and to point those with means towards a goal that will benefit all of St. Gregory and the surrounding community. We are here to help build connections between the school, the church, and the community.

In the Development Office...

Cultivate relationships to help us fulfill the church and school’s mission and vision
Collect and manage data, conduct prospect research, record gifts, work with volunteers, collaborate with donors, and help to manage events
Grow a giving nature in our community
Educate our donors about the benefits of investing in our community

The Development process is sometimes defined as “fundraising”, but fundraising is only one aspect of development. Our fundraisers support immediate small enhancements or needs in the parish; however, the results alone are not sufficient to assure a parish’s survival for the future. Development has to do with long-range plans. Our premise will be here 100 years from now; as a result, that has set into motion a series of activities that will lead to a secure and sustainable future.

Some of us have a greater responsibility because of the gifts we have been given and because of our faith experiences. Many of our people have boldly accepted the challenge, and that is why St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church and School is what it is today! We believe that our school and parish are great gifts to our church and community. We commit ourselves to meet the challenges of the future and to look back on our past in gratitude to those who paved the way.

History of Development

1992-2011

This office originated in 1992 with Mrs. Patricia Usyk as Director of Development. In 1993, the feasibility study was conducted, long-range plans were laid and the "Building Together in Faith" Capital Campaign was launched under the supervision of this office.

It was a historic time for our parish community. The campaign was launched for $4 million and reached over $5 million. This provided for our new school, gymnatorium, parking lot, refurbishment of the rectory and the ministry building.

2011-2018

Through the guidance of Donna Wells, the dedication of the entrance archway to the Prayer Garden in memory of Monsignor Fogarty was established. She helped grow the endowment funds for St. Gregory to be in the millions. She was also the first director to take our Walk-a-thon Giving online. Her biggest passion was building our church and school on the belief that it is all, "For the Love of Our Children".

2018-2022

As the Director of Development, Carla Landron instituted the Crusader Corner newsletter for the school and the Gregorian News to be the church newsletter. She collaborated with various members of the church and school to create a modern and user-friendly website and worked executing the three annual fundraisers and building the endowments.

2022-Present

As we embark upon hiring a new Director of Development a new team is forming to take the three traditional Fund raisers and to work on the implementation of a new capital campaign with the goal of several facilities’ enhancements and renovations that will take St. Gregory school and parish to new levels in order to properly serve our growing diverse population. New Team Leaders: Martha Betancourt and Michelle Courtenay.

What's new in Development?

The new Development forming team will continue working on improving the visibility of the church and school to our community by:

Becoming a very active and participating entity within our city
Rebuilding the sense of community by strengthening interaction and communication with our parishioners, school families and neighbors
Encouraging parents and parishioners involvement with the activities of the church and school, maintaining open and clear communication channels
Supporting the network of our parish’s business owners by creating opportunities for them to participate and support the life of St. Gregory becoming active in our community that in return will allow them to have exposure to it
Reaching out to our growing new neighbor communities to welcome them in order to build new inviting connections

We want you to become involved and be a part of it. Feel free to reach out to our new Team leaders Martha Betancourt and Michelle Courtenay at the Development Office to volunteer for our next events: development@saintgreg.org or 954.473.8170.