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An
excerpt from "Lemons to Lemonade: The Story of Voice
of the Faithful," a talk given by VOTF president Jim
Post at the Annual Meeting of the MA Chapter of the
Association of Fundraising Professionals on December
9, 2003. The full text is available on the VOTF
Web site.
Apart from fundraising, there are some larger themes
in our (VOTF) story.
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Conscience
matters. Sometimes, you simply have to stand up
and be counted! Conscience is the essence of "voice
of the faithful" - the name itself derives from
Vatican II and the sensus fidelium, or sense
of the people, that is vital to the work of the
Church. We have never had to explain what Voice
of the Faithful means or what it is about. That's
a great brand name!
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Media
matters. Name recognition is invaluable. My favorite
words are "Voice of the Faithful, the Catholic
lay reform group, said today …" We have seen
thousands of stories about VOTF, and have worked
to shape a public image that is consistent with
our actual work.
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The
Internet matters. Internet - web site visitors are
measured in the millions of hits. We can track the
pages, content, and frequency of visitors. This
is an invaluable source of information about what
people seek from VOTF.
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Catholics
want accountability. Laurie Goodstein, religion
writer for the New York Times, in an article entitled
"Catholics in Survey Seek Accountability"
wrote, "Three of every four Roman Catholics who
regularly attend Mass say they want their church
to be more financially accountable in the wake of
its sexual-abuse crisis." (New York Times, November
7, 2003)
In conclusion, we have tried to respond to a crisis
that we did not seek, that was caused by others, and
that cried out for a response. My closing thought is
simply this: A Catholic activist of another era rightly
said: "Know where you stand … then stand there!"
That is what we have tried to do with Voice of
the Faithful.
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.
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