What's next for CAA?

by Jared Roddy, Editor

Spring is a time of change. The snows melt, the streams and rivers swell, the earth eases out a sigh of moist organic smells and the sky is once again filled with the song of birds. Out from their shuttered homes troop the stoic Upper-Midwesterners to sunny, 40-degree weather and declare winter officially over as snowbirds return from their winter escapes.

Like those that came before it for untold years, the spring of 2010 will tempt out the winter-weary, drop a few more inches of unwelcome snow, then bloom into the season of green. Unlike those of years past, Catholic Aid is in for some changes as well.

Nothing remains static, true of nature and the nature of business. Change keeps things fresh, allows an organization to adapt, and prevents the stagnation of ideas. So at a spry 132 years old, what’s new for Catholic Aid in this coming year?

Making It Count
The social and service aspects of a fraternal society are part of what makes our Association so different from commercial insurers.

In 2010, Catholic Aid will test a pilot-program seeking to involve more people in larger, region-wide celebrations and service projects. It is the hope of the company to organize festive gatherings this summer and fall, while in some way improving the lives of Catholics and the communities in which they live.

A change announced at last year’s Convention was the plan for a shorter, one-day business meeting in August this year. With the money saved by shortening the main convention, Catholic Aid hopes to throw two or three member celebrations across its territory. The focus of these will not be the business of the Association, but the business of fraternalism.

The idea at this stage is to offer members and non-members the opportunity to take part in a volunteer activity that would directly improve the community in which it takes place.

“As far as we know, this will be a first for Catholic Aid,” Fraternal Director Kathleen Moriarty says. “Organizing a community event, leveraging our membership base to improve a community, offering a chance to give back – we like to think that our Council events do all these things, but we’ve never done it on such a large scale.”

In 2011, there will be time to reflect on the success of this year’s member celebrations, which will likely offer a community picnic, children’s activities and service opportunities, capped off by an outdoor Saturday evening Mass. The goals of the program are to increase the visibility of Catholic Aid in the communities and Dioceses it operates in, to improve the community itself, to increase awareness of the company and its products, and ultimately, to increase membership rolls. These events are meant to involve members and non-members, and we hope to have a large turnout.

Participants will have the opportunity to do a good work, meet new people, and see the power of an organized Fraternal in action. For kids and youth, it’s another way to improve college applications and instill a culture of service; for adults and seniors, it’s a way to give back to the community and work together.

For everyone, it’s a chance to spend a nice day outdoors with family and friends. Though no firm dates have been established, a trial run is hoped to be offered in early summer, with another one or two in the early fall.

Once again, the name game
For most members and employees of the Catholic Aid Association, however, no change will be more monumental than the one the delegates will consider at the official one-day convention in August.

Like a debate in Washington, this issue has been polarizing at times. One goal throughout the process, aided by this publication, has been transparency and due process. President Michael McGovern explains what has gone into this process so far:

“By last summer’s convention, we had committed to the name update enough to end our gathering with a video that explained why. After the convention, the real work began. We compiled names, sifted them against our criteria, checked whether they were legally available, commissioned a survey of members and non-members and compiled the results. There has been a clear winner, in all our surveys. And on Thursday, March 11, the Board voted to accept this name. The very next day, the Constitution Committee approved the name and declared the path clear for a vote at the convention. We’ll continue to accept feedback and hope to engage our members more than ever over the next few months to further understanding of why this name update is important to our organization.”

Before the Board vote, however, Lead Director Fran Barten spoke to her fellow board members and helped to crystallize exactly why she believes the update was necessary. “This is about our future, and our future members. If you Google ‘Catholic’ and ‘financial,’ we don’t even show up. Yet this is exactly what we do as an organization. We have to be able to be found by the current generation. They don’t look in the yellow pages, they don’t make the connection between ‘aid’ and ‘financial’ except in terms of college loans. Catholic is who we are. United is what we are. Financial is what we do. This name update is about our future, not our past. For those who, like myself, grew up with Catholic Aid, we have to remember that the most important element of our name, ‘Catholic,’ still comes first. It influences every decision we make, and so, like Catholic Aid, Catholic United Financial is Catholic first.”
The more things change

A yea or nay vote in August by the elected delegates of the Catholic Aid Association will determine what name the Association takes in the future. That control of this great Association is one thing that has not and will not change. We may try different ways of involving our members, or of holding our annual meetings, we may even change what we call ourselves. But none of those things changes who we are or what we do. And as always, the final decisions will rest in the hands of the members.

Originally published in the March/April 2010 issue of Catholic Aid Journey, the official magazine of Catholic Aid Association.