New Appeal director plans to wear out shoes

James Kopp jokes about having led a "pilgrim life."

Now, his path has taken him to the Albany Diocese, where he has accepted the position of executive director of development. He succeeds John Manning, who has become associate director of pastoral planning for the Diocese. Mr. Manning worked in the Bishop's Appeal and Stewardship Office for 23 years.

Mr. Kopp, a Catholic, is taking his credo from televangelist Oral Roberts: "'The strongest theological document a person has in their life is their checkbook.' We spend our resources to intensify what is dearest in our lives."

Biography

A native of Long Island, Mr. Kopp went to Catholic schools there and began studying for the priesthood. Eventually, he moved to Maine with his parents and began working toward a teaching career in English literature instead.

While at the University of Maine, he got involved with student affairs, which led to many years as a college dean -- first at Keuka College in western New York, then at colleges in Illinois and Vermont. When he was asked by the president of Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, to run its development office, he decided to take the risk.

"I'd always worked at colleges that were 'resource-challenged,'" Mr. Kopp remarked. "I always wanted to do the best I could for the students as a dean, but I had to find funding" for programs and services. In the process, "I found out I was good at it."

The former dean progressed in his new career to doing presentations at regional and national conferences, teaching others how to do grant writing. "I've got the background in preaching," he joked.

Albany next

When Mr. Kopp's wife, Elizabeth, got a job in Albany, it was impossible to commute to Vermont, so he took positions as director of donor relations for Albany College of Pharmacy, then as director of development for Albany's Capital Repertory Theatre.

He boasted of the latter: "Where else can you work, where, at 3 o'clock, if you're looking to relax a bit, you can poke your head in and see a rehearsal for a Broadway-caliber production?"

However, another twist was to come: Interested in applying his skills to serve the Church, Mr. Kopp met with C. Elizabeth Rowe of the diocesan Office of Ministry Formation to talk about becoming a deacon.

Noting his background, she told him: "There may be an opening in development" for the Diocese.

New work

For Mr. Kopp, that was "that voice in the back of your head" that urges you take one path over another. "This is right; this makes sense," he said of the position, and applied.

As he prepared to begin his new role, the director said that "for anybody to come in and say, 'I'm changing everything,' would do major damage to this office."

Instead, he plans to listen, learn the language the Church uses in its stewardship efforts and spend a lot of time meeting people face-to-face.

"I'm a shoe-leather development officer," he stated. "You can't do this work spinning the dial on a phone or sending out appeal letters. It's [about] relationships."

Finding donations

Fundraising by the Church, he added, is very different from development efforts by secular organizations because it "cannot be divorced from the issues of faith that fundraising addresses. It is a faith-based activity. To advance the kingdom of God, we have to have the fuel that drives the engine."

One way he hopes to do so is by teaching priests and parish life directors how to maximize their money-raising efforts.

"I've got 175 staff members," he said, referring to the number of parishes in the Diocese. "Giving them skills to enhance their abilities is critical. There's a reason the collection is after the homily; it's like a Nielsen rating."

(The Bishop's Appeal/Stewardship Office is developing a new model for its work, combining philanthropic support for parishes with support for the annual Bishop's Appeal campaign, Catholic schools, Catholic Charities and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. Contact the office at 453-6680.)

(2/3/05)