By David Lewellen
Vision editor
The coming years may see the NACC move toward becoming a service organization.
At last week’s annual business meeting, conducted by Zoom, Executive Director Erica Cohen Moore and Board Chair Jack Conrad described the current state of the association, and where the board hopes to go from here.
Membership has continued its 30-year downward trend, and now stands at just over 1,800, with 1,150 certified. The breakdown is now 59% lay, 21% priests, 14% sisters, and 6% other. And as revenue from membership dues has declined, the NACC is looking harder at grants and programming fees as a source of future income.
“Due to great stewardship of past boards we have a sizable investment portfolio,” totaling slightly over $2 million, Conrad said. The NACC budgeted for a deficit in 2022, but it turned out to be smaller than expected.
“We are now at an inflection point,” he said, on the path from being a membership-based to a grant-based organization. Cohen Moore said the association is working on a major grant application now. More will follow, for projects such as upgrading technology, promoting the new certified associate chaplain designation, and more.
Discussing the strategic plan, Cohen Moore said that providing programming to Catholic partners in pastoral care, such as dioceses and parishes, may both extend the NACC’s reach and provide revenue. Another goal is to provide more entry points to chaplaincy, with steps that can be “stacked.” “We want to create a smooth road to chaplaincy,” she said. “We know a lot of you had a lot of hurdles, and we don’t want that.”
For education and marketing, the association is planning its webinar series farther in advance and hopes to survey members soon on where to focus and what the needs are.
NACC leadership has taken diversity, equity, and inclusion training as part of its strategic commitment to racial justice. During the question period, Conrad and Cohen Moore said that LGBTQ issues also need to be addressed, possibly in partnership with CHA.
The association’s structure and finance have undergone changes because of three staff retirements within a twelve-month period. All financial services are now contracted out, and the new hires on staff have revised job descriptions.
Participation in the Vatican synod process was a highlight of the past year. “It’s the largest strategic planning process ever in the world,” Cohen Moore said, “and it helped people appreciate the treasure that we are.”
Next year’s conference will be a joint gathering with APC, in St. Louis from June 20-23, and a joint gathering of all the cognate groups is a goal within the next several years. The NACC would like to move its conference around the country, but Cohen Moore said, “We’re being priced out of some cities. The coasts, especially, are very expensive.”
Following the question period, she concluded, “Put on your seatbelts and get ready. It’s going to be a busy year.”
Note: You can watch the recording of the meeting here.
