Letter from VOTF president Jim Post

August 2004

In theory, summer is a time to relax, recharge batteries, and prepare for a busy autumn. In reality, things are a little different. Predictably, our summers become too busy, our vacations too brief, and our in-boxes too full. In the waning days of this summer season, I would like to use this issue of In the Vineyard to address several matters that have been accumulating and deserve my response. One has to do with the organizational design of VOTF, the second with plans for the future.

How is VOTF Organized Today?

VOTF is an organization with many "moving parts," and some members have wondered how VOTF is organized. We are, after all, a grassroots movement, but we also have elected officers, a Representative Council, a nonprofit corporation and a network of affiliates. How do these pieces fit together?

Because VOTF is, first and foremost, a movement of Catholics who share a sense of mission and purpose, we recognize that authority ultimately resides in the membership. This membership, in turn, operates through a representative system that is formalized in the right of each affiliate to have its representative participate in the discussions and actions of the Representative Council. VOTF now has more than 200 affiliates, and this means that the Council also has more than 200 representatives.

This has created several issues.

First, some affiliates haven't named or elected representatives to the Council. This deprives them of a real voice. Second, geographic distance makes it impossible for most affiliate representatives to meet face-to-face. The Council has recognized these problems, recently electing a Steering Committee (5 members) to work on improving Council operations. Finally, some members connect only through the Web site, but not through a geographical group. These issues suggest the need for a better form of representation, although the specifics are not yet clear. You will read elsewhere in this issue a call to VOTF members from VOTF vice president Kris Ward to join the Governance Committee - this group will address these complexities.

An aspect of governance that has worked well is the election of officers. Since its formation, VOTF has regularly elected officers - president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. Since June 2002, there have been five rounds of elections. On several occasions, the officers were chosen by a vote of the members of the Representative Council. In December 2003, however, we conducted a direct election by members via the Internet to elect current officers. The next election is scheduled for December 2004.

As elected leaders, the officers have two major roles: To provide overall guidance and direction to the organization and to oversee specific areas of activity. As president, I am responsible for overall strategy, public statements, and communication with Church leaders and other VOTF constituencies. Vice president Kristine Ward (Dayton, Ohio) leads our efforts to engage national members through activities such as the National

Policy Forum (a monthly call with officers and members from various regions of the U.S.). Our treasurer, Ann Carroll, oversees financial stewardship and the preparation of financial reports to our members and to state and federal government agencies. Sr. Betsy Conway, CSJ, is secretary-clerk of VOTF and attends to the orderly collection of minutes and documents related to VOTF.

In 2002, the founders of VOTF agreed to form a nonprofit corporation to serve as the organization's legal and administrative "home." Voice of the Faithful, Inc. is a nonprofit entity, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This organization has also secured recognition from the Internal Revenue Service as a Sec. 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity. This enables donors to VOTF to claim deductible contributions on their federal tax returns. Our Board of Trustees is responsible for the financial and legal integrity of VOTF, Inc.

Because this movement began in the pews of our many churches, VOTF working groups remain the heart of the organization - these are the focus groups that have come together behind our goals and mission statement. On the national level, we have the Survivor Support Working Group, Priests' Support Working Group, the Structural Change Working Group, Protecting Our Children, and Prayerful Voice. Voice of Renewal is another group that emerged later, in response to the need for continuing our education on the lessons of Vatican II. Some affiliates replicate these groups exactly and others vary according to the needs of their particular parish or diocese. The national groups connect with hundreds of people across the country via the Internet to share common interests and concerns but all working groups, national or local, fuel actions that support the goals VOTF represents.

VOTF Office

June 2004 marked the second anniversary of the establishment of a national office for VOTF. Since we are becoming more international every day, we can now legitimately speak of VOTF's "world headquarters." Over the past two years, the office has become a physical and communications hub of VOTF activities from Massachusetts to Melbourne, Australia and a vital expression of our mission.

The office was established under the leadership of Steve Krueger, who has been employed as executive director by VOTF, Inc. to serve the entire organization. This is a large, complex, sometimes unwieldy job. The ED is responsible for all operational aspects of VOTF activities. Steve has worked tirelessly to "make sure the trains run on time," but there is no mistaking the fact that we have many more "trains" today than we did two years ago.

VOTF's staff operations fall into three broad areas: Parish Voice, Communications, Finance and Administration. Among the people whose names and e-mail addresses you may recognize are Mary Ann Keyes and Suzy Nauman who lead the Parish Voice operations and have personally interacted with thousands of VOTF members in the past two years.

Suzanne Morse is director of communications and coordinates national press releases and media relations. Suzanne works with local VOTF members when local or regional events have a national media or policy dimension (e.g., the recent bankruptcy petition filed by the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon.) The communications team includes Luise Cahill Dittrich and Peggie Thorp, who work on VOTF publications, and Julie Rafferty who works on communication, development, and marketing. Jim Bertorelli coordinates our financial operations, along with Donna Salacuse, Jean Boyle (development), and Rose Walsh and Ann Moynihan Coursey (office administration). Many other volunteers and members assist in these efforts; each area has a "spider web" of committed VOTF members, including many outside of Boston, who share the work.

There is also a Development Committee responsible for fundraising - these people work with the Executive Director to communicate with donors on a regular basis and to create a reliable flow of financial resources.

Plans for the Future

Nonprofit organizations often face transition issues as they reach the second or third year of operations. Many of these issues reflect the challenges of complexity and scale that grow out of early success. VOTF fits this description. The officers, trustees, staff, and Council Steering Committee are pledged to address these issues in a professional and systematic manner.

We have been dealing with various strains as our start-up organization has grown. Our intention is to reorganize some aspects of VOTF operations so as to enable us to achieve the next level of organizational accomplishment.

All of us take our commitments to the mission, purpose, and goals of VOTF very seriously. We have made much progress in the past two years, and we need a platform on which we can design exciting future activities. We understand that change must happen in our organization if we are to effectively bring change to our Church.

We have to become a more effective "voice of the faithful," and we will do so. In the next few months, we must make decisions about the Council, elected officers, and other important matters. Please consider how you can contribute to the future of VOTF.

Well, this summer afternoon has slipped away too quickly. Thanks for reading this note and for all you do to help Voice of the Faithful be the organization, and the movement, we believe it is called to be.

Voice of the Faithful, VOTF, "Keep the Faith, Change the Church,"
Voice of Compassion, VOTF logo(s), Parish Voice, and
Prayerful Voice are trademarks of Voice of the Faithful, Inc.

Voice of the Faithful is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization.