Enhancing Catholic Education Together

Although my professional background is in corporate marketing, this was one of the best planned, organized, and run conferences I’ve ever attended (and I’ve been to many over the past 40 years).

As a first-timer at Summer Institute, I left with a full heart and singing Partners in Mission’s praises. I’m new in the President’s Office, but I’m confident now because I have a trusted resource to help guide our school forward. I walked in feeling like the new kid on the first day of school and walked out knowing I’d made the best choice.”

As a Head of School, opportunities to step away, reflect, and learn alongside other Catholic school leaders are invaluable. The Partners in Mission National Advancement Summer Institute provided practical strategies, thoughtful discussion, and a clear focus on mission-centered advancement. I returned to Rosary College Prep energized, inspired, and equipped with ideas that will strengthen our work moving forward. I am grateful for the experience and the relationships built throughout the week.

As someone brand new in their role, from outside of education and in the private sector, PIMSI helped me realize just how much my skills can transfer to the mission of Catholic education. It can be a wild transition where you can easily get down on yourself, but PIMSI helped me realize I was put in this place for a reason — my skills are needed and can be used to their full potential!

As the Director of Advancement at our school, I believe professional development is one of the best investments we can make, not only in ourselves but also in the future of our mission. Over the past eight years, I’ve had the opportunity to attend four Partners in Mission Summer Institutes. This year was especially meaningful because I attended with almost our entire Advancement team. Sharing the experience meant we came home with the same vision, the same vocabulary, and a long list of ideas we were excited to put into action.

What I value most about Partners in Mission is that the learning is practical. I never leave wondering how to apply what I’ve heard. I leave with ideas I can implement as soon as I get back to school. Some have been small adjustments to how we communicate with donors. Others have led us to rethink the way we steward relationships, engage alumni, or plan our fundraising calendar. One of the biggest benefits for our team is learning how to focus our time. Like many schools, we have more opportunities than we have people. The conference helps us step back, prioritize what will have the greatest impact, and make thoughtful decisions about where to invest our limited staff time and energy. Over the years, those ideas have made a measurable difference.

We’ve steadily increased the number of dollars we’re able to raise, and that’s a direct result of continually learning, refining our approach, and implementing best practices we first discovered through Partners in Mission. I always come home energized and confident. The sessions are relevant, the presenters understand the realities of Catholic school Advancement, and the conversations with colleagues are just as valuable as the presentations themselves. Every time I attend, I leave believing our school can do even more, and I’m grateful to bring that enthusiasm back to our team.

Come open-minded, leave with a mind full of transformative ideas.

Coming to the Partners in Mission Summer Institute, I was one year into my role as Director of Enrollment and Recruitment. I had found a great rhythm, celebrated some meaningful milestones, and was looking ahead to the challenges I wanted to tackle in year two. The breakout sessions and conference content didn’t just provide ideas — they helped me develop practical strategies I could take back to my school. Just as valuable were the relationships I built with fellow Catholic school leaders and Partners from Partners in Mission. Those connections have become an ongoing network of support that I know I can lean on long past the conference.

Great conference. Informative and practical. Worth the time. Highly recommend.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to attend the Partners in Mission Conference. The experience was both inspiring and practical, and I left every session with at least one meaningful takeaway that I can apply to help the Rapid City Catholic School System grow and flourish. I appreciate the investment in my professional and spiritual formation, and I look forward to implementing what I have learned to strengthen our vision of forming hearts and minds in the Truth. Thank you for making this valuable opportunity possible.

I began my career in advancement for secondary education two weeks prior to attending my first Summer Institute. I came in as a development director from a national nonprofit. This conference validated my career choice and transformed me — not only spiritually, but professionally! I owe so much to PIM!

I wish I had started coming to this conference six years ago when I started my job.

It was a wonderful conference that motivated me and solidified that I had made the right choice in switching careers from corporate to my true calling. I am ready to take what I learned and put it into action.

Partners in Mission does great work on the back end of how Catholic schools run. Too often, all of this work is invisible; PIM celebrates and helps those doing the “behind-the-scenes” work.

PIM is a class-act organization! I’ve attended their conferences multiple times, and always walk away energized and encouraged to continue this good work!

PIMSI is truly life-changing! As Catholic school leaders, we are tasked with tremendous challenges in very meaningful work. At this conference, you learn you’re not alone; you learn best practices, the reasoning behind them, and the guidance, courage, and confidence to implement them at your school. The partners treat you as their best friend and model what they preach. While we all need Jesus, I feel that we all need Partners in Mission too! Seems too costly? We attended the conference for the first time four years ago, went home, hired PIM, and grew our annual fund 865% in just two years. Still feel like it’s too costly? Best investment we ever made! Start with the conference, and you and your school will be changed forever.

The encouragement and inspiration that comes out of this conference makes it worth the cost to attend. You leave with a network of friends in the business, all ready and waiting to support you in this journey!

The Partners in Mission Summer Institute was an outstanding experience that renewed both my sense of mission and my hope for the future of Catholic education. Throughout the week, I was challenged to think more deeply about how every aspect of school leadership — advancement, enrollment, governance, finance, and strategic planning — must ultimately serve our mission of leading young people to an encounter with Jesus Christ. Just as valuable as the excellent presentations were the conversations with more than 500 Catholic school leaders from across the country. Sharing ideas, challenges, and successes with colleagues who are equally committed to Catholic education was both encouraging and inspiring.

The partners/presenters at PIM are so inspiring, professional, and energizing!

The PIM Conference was an informative and valuable investment, providing practical ideas, meaningful connections, and insights I can immediately apply.

The PIM Summer Institute in 2023 empowered me to revamp our admissions process. When I attended the conference, I found that we were the only high school that did direct enrollment and did not require an application for all students. Since then, we have had three full and successful admissions cycles, receiving over 500 applications each year for the freshman class alone. This year, I was able to reconnect with some of the partners I met in 2023, thank them and update them on our process, and ask more questions about the best ways to fine-tune our admissions cycle. They have all encouraged me to continue advocating for what is necessary and good, and I am grateful for everything I learned in my one-on-ones and throughout the breakout sessions. I also loved being able to network with so many professionals who share the same struggles. Thank you, PIM!

The PIM Summer Institute was invigorating. As a first-year admissions director, I feel the topics covered were on par with my current position and offered a wealth of ideas that I could implement to make the experience my own. I would highly recommend this conference to anyone new to their role. Looking forward to attending again in a few years to refresh.

The Summer Institute represents the kind of community we encourage our students to build: collaborative, energetic, insightful, and Christ-centered. Everyone who works in Catholic education should attend at least once.

This conference was so beneficial to me in my new position. Besides the breakout sessions being very informative, the PIM team was incredibly uplifting, inspiring, and encouraging! They were professional and serious when expected, and light and funny when appropriate. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire conference! Another point I’d like to make is how safe I felt throughout the conference — I felt as if I could leave my bag in a meeting room and know without a doubt it would be fine. Thank you, PIM, for making my very first conference incredible!

We started working with PIM in 2020 (a great year) and have had a team attend the in-person conference every year since. We have completed five Days of Giving and raised over $1.3 million over those five years. It has been life-altering for our community. We also used PIM for strategic planning, and that was one of the best experiences I have been a part of. I am very thankful for who they are and what they represent. Thank you for all you do for Catholic institutions!